Fright Night (2011)

Fright Night is another addition to the long list of remakes Hollywood has been putting out of horror movies that were beloved classics in the 70's and 80's. The difference, though, is that the plot of Fright Night is so simple that, if you just do a half way decent job, cast some decent actors, and have good effects, it's hard NOT to make an enjoyable movie. Luckily, they did that.

Kid is living next door to a vampire. Vampire is killing everyone around him, and targets him next when he figures it out. That's it. That's the whole plot. Director Craig Gillespie and lead actors Anton Yelchin (as Charlie Brewster, the high schooler tasked with killing the vampire) and Colin Farrell (as Jerry, the vampire), don't miss any beats and keep Fright Night lean and mean. Supporting actors like Toni Collette and Imogen Poots (as Charlie's Mom and girlfriend, respectively) and David Tennant (as "vampire hunter" Peter Vincent) give Charlie the back up he needs to fight Jerry.

Fright Night is fun. Gillespie doesn't try to make it something it's not, thankfully. This isn't the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, where more effort was put into the visual aspect than the story or acting. This film knows EXACTLY what it is, and it knows its limits, and it doesn't mess around. It's a rather light, gory, fun horror film that you can't say too much bad about.