Feb 14: Fright Night

"A teenager suspects that his new neighbor is a vampire."

   So my girlfriend and I decided that on Valentine's day, we'd eat a bunch of Italian food and come home to watch Fright Night. I mean, vampires have kind of become a new symbol for love lately... in a way? The film follows Charlie (played by the underrated Anton Yelchin), a teenager who tries to prevent the monster next door from killing anymore people. Fright Night turns out to be an exceptionally good pick not just for the holiday, but any day of the week you want to see a crazy monster vampire (not the lame sparkly kind) wreak havoc in a Las Vegas suburb.

Colin Farrell would tear this pedophile night walker to pieces. 

   Fright Night has the perfect combination of scares and laughs and just the right amount of gore to keep things interesting. The film does have its fair share of cliches but it seems almost tongue-in-cheek as though it's making fun of itself.  Colin Farrell is perfectly terrifying as Jerry, the vampire, and he looks like he's having a ton of fun in the role. Hell, if I could play a bloodthirsty vampire in a movie, I'd have a blast. His mannerisms, from how he stomps around his house to biting into an apple, is creepy, and the way he talks with Charlie gives you the chills. With the addition of McLovin and Doctor Who himself, Fright Night is even better than you can expect. 

Even without the Tardis and the sonic-screwdriver, Tenant kicks ass. 

   Fright Night is a remake, and I am usually against them, but it proves to be worthwhile. The film doesn't give the strongest depth to its characters but instead of worrying about it, Fright Night jumps right into the action. It's no secret that Farrell is a vampire, and instead of say, Disturbia, where the kid is trying to prove his neighbor's a killer, we know right away how dangerous Farrell is. He's ruthless and genuinely scary and the whole ordeal becomes a bloody game of cat and mouse. That is, if the cat was an ancient blood-sucking manbat and the mouse was a nerdy wannabe cool kid with a smoking hot girlfriend. 

The Good:

smart script that gets to the point and handles vampires how they're meant to be seen, as badass monsters 

The Bad:

the pacing for the first part is a little over the place, because you are actually surprised as to how fast everything starts 

The Ugly:

Twi-hards and tweens complaining that this vampire isn't half naked and fighting for their love

Overall: 7.4/10

Best Quote:

Charley Brewster: "You read way too much Twilight." 
'Evil' Ed Thompson: "That's fiction, okay. This is real. He's a real monster and he's not brooding, or lovesick, or noble. He's the fucking shark from Jaws. He kills, he feeds, and he doesn't stop until everybody around him is dead. And I seriously am so angry you think I read Twilight."