Dirty Harry Cast

Review: 'Fright Night' is Slick, Sinister and Playful

, The tone and pace a perfect example of eighties horror done right – smart and campy all at once. Like most re-makes/re-imaginings, if the original felt good and was a part of my film collage growing up, it would have colored my perception of the new offering by default. This certainly isn’t bad, but it’s not always the best way to approach something new.

I am glad then that in putting the cart before the horse, I was able to appreciate and have a good bit of fun with this latest offering.

Charley Brewster ( Anton Yelchin ) lives in a nameless, cookie-cutter suburb on the outskirts of Las Vegas with his mother. Charley has recently moved up a station in life, breaking through the high school social glass ceiling from dweeb to popular kid via his relationship with alpha pretty Amy Peterson ( Imogen Poots ), and perhaps an improved complexion. The last remnant of his past geekdom is the fraying connection he has with former best friend Ed Thompson ( Christopher Mintz-Plasse ). Ed tries to pull Charley out of the world of keggers and dude-bros long enough to convince him that Charley’s new wife-beater sporting neighbor Jerry ( Colin Farrell ) is an honest-to-god vampire, and responsible for the rash of vanishing classmates that nobody seems to pay much notice but him.

By the time Charley is convinced, it’s all too late — as Ed has vanished, Jerry has been outed as a bloodsucker, and Charley is left to make a stand against him to save the people he loves.

Screenwriter Marti Noxon ‘s script is mostly slick, sinister, and playful — and the casting goes far to make sure that almost all of the characters pop, though some supporting cast confoundedly fall by the wayside. The fantastic David Tennant ( Doctor Who, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ) is perfectly cast as Chris Angel-style Vegas blowhard and vampire expert Peter Vincent. Kudos to the casting director for avoiding the obvious but inexplicably popular Russel Brand for a role he was born to butcher. Tennant’s snark and drunken bluster are welcome and enjoyable, and the turn on the character from a poor has-been in the previous film to a wealthy douche-canoe works relatively well.