Fright Night
Directed by Craig Gillespie
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, David Tennant, Imogen Poots, Toni Collette, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Release Date: August 19, 2011

Horror fans are well aware of the gloom associated with many remakes of well-known films, but despite this, I was pleasantly surprised with Craig Gillespie‘s take on Fright Night. The new film certainly pays tribute to the original film, but definitely brings it into the contemporary age, with a faster pace and some solid performances from the lead cast members.

Fright Night follows a great deal of the same plot elements as its original namesake. Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) begins to have a sneaking suspicion that his new neighbor, Jerry Dandrige (Colin Farrell) is a vampire. Brewster seeks the assistance of famous “vampire hunter” Peter Vincent (David Tennant) in the fight against Dandrige, to protect his mother, Jane Brewster (Toni Collette), and his girlfriend, Amy Peterson (Imogen Poots).

The principal strength of the remake is in the substantial performances from both David Tennant and Colin Farrell, and even Anton Yelchin puts in a very convincing role that truly makes you want to cheer on his character as the film heads to its climax. However, having said that, it is Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin!) who truly steals the show in his rendition of the character of “Evil” Ed Lee. In the original film, Ed was a lovable highlight who was depicted as a hilarious weirdo. Yet in the new movie, Mintz-Plasse brings the character into the 21st century, providing that “weirdo” element but adapted to his demeanor.

DreamWorks has released three brief new clips from their much-touted 3D remake of Fright Night, directed by Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl) and written by Marti Noxon (I Am Number Four), at the film’s YouTube channel. EW has an exclusive clip, while IGN has an exclusive red band clip.

You can check them out below this article.

There’s not much in the way of action or juicy gore on display in the YouTube videos, but in two of the clips we do get to see more of former Doctor Who star David Tennant as Peter Vincent, the reluctant vampire killer played by the late Roddy McDowall in the 1985 original. The IGN clip on the other hand features some intense action, flying dirt bikes, and a cool unbroken 360 degree interior tracking shot, while the EW clip shows what happens when a vampire comes up against a cross.

The Fright Night panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2011 included director Craig Gillespie, writer Marti Noxon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and actors Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and last (but not least) as moderator, Chris Sarandon (from the original Fright Night).

Craig Gillespie was drawn to direct the remake because of how well the original was written. Writer Noxon was also drawn to updating the vampire genre for a modern audience.

Then they played a clip in which Mintz-Plasse’s character, Evil Ed, compares villain Jerry Dandridge (Farrell) to “the shark from Jaws,” a non-stop eating machine.

Farrell was reluctant to play Dandridge because he felt intimidated by Sarandon’s incredible performance in the original film. He was pleased by the fact that Noxon had updated the characters enough to make them their own.

The remake of Fright Night is right around the corner, to be released on August 19, 2011, and stars Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Imogen Poots, and David Tennant. With the countdown on, the studio has released some new international posters, focusing on the main characters, which you can see at the bottom of this post.

I’m looking forward to seeing this flick, but like I’ve mentioned in a few previous posts, when it comes to remakes it always counts to be cautious. Best approach this one with a “not sure if want” attitude, folks.

Having said that, however, the trailers thus far have looked impressive; and in addition we get to see Doctor Who‘s David Tennant on the big screen again. I know there’s a lot of Who fans out there that are anticipating this film simply because of Tennant’s role – and it could potentially be a bit of a springboard for the actor into some future bigger roles.

Here’s hoping so, anyway. Enjoy the posters…

The first trailer and poster for director Craig Gillespie‘s remake of the 1985 horror favorite, Fright Night, has finally been released online.

To great surprise, the movie actually looks very promising. The images that were released not too long ago certainly got people curious, but now that we have a real feel for how the remake was handled, it’s a lot easier to jump on one side or the other.

Personally, a lot of this movie hinges greatly on what rating it will get. Apart from that, color me intrigued. Be sure to click on over to the other side to read a synopsis and check out the brand new trailer and poster for Fright Night. Share your thoughts in the comments below!