Behind The Curve: Fright Night (2011)

Hey Everybody, Chris Here
Sometimes movies get lost in the jumble of life. I have a young daughter, a wife, a full time job, friends, and a dog. Needless to say I don't always get to go to the theater when I would have liked to. Yes it's true that as we age we get to do less and and less of the things we want to, and more and more of the things we need to. With that in mind I sometimes miss movies that the younger, less responsible version of myself would have gone to see opening weekend. I still get to see these movies, sometimes just a little too late to have a true discussion with people about them. Lets just say sometimes, I'm a little behind the curve.
I will also preface this by saying I have not seen the original, so I won't be comparing them.

Nice symbolism, Farrell is gonna eat you good.

     I just finished watching Fright Night (2011) and boy did I enjoy it. I'm normally not one for big dumb movies that score about a C+ in the grand scheme of things but I found this one very enjoyable. I'm a sucker for vampires... (get it? ... sucker...?) Well I guess that's kind of a loaded statement, now I'm not a vampire expert or fanatic, but I'm glad to see a vampire that doesn't sparkle. I like my vampires two ways, sexy and evil. Fright Night does this very well, I may not be gay but I can respect a good looking man, and I know Colin Farrell is quite the looker. Unfortunately, he is too good looking and never comes off as menacing as he is trying to be. Maybe its just me but he has always looked more like a good guy than a bad guy. Other than Farrell this film is perfectly casted. David Tennant as Peter Vincent and Christopher Mintz-Plasse as a friend turned vampire fits well but I feel like he is still being type-casted as "McLovin". The rest of the cast, including the main character, I don't know and did an okay job. I was never questioning these actors as these people.

He doesn't look evil to me...

OH FUCK! KILL IT WITH FIRE!

     I briefly touched on my like for vampires, allow me to explain. I like learning the rules for vampires on a movie to movie basis. This one had the following; Crosses, stakes, invitation only, sunlight, always evil, holy water, garlic (mentioned but not seen) and fire. Because of the large number of ways vampires can die I wonder how they manage to be alive for so long. It's like the writers sat down and said "what kills a vampire?" They wrote down all they could think of and said "yeah that works". As opposed to several other vampire films where they have one or two weaknesses and can still be good guys. Vampires are bad guys, always. They want to eat us. Do people not understand this? It's as classic a foe as can ever be seen, something that is as smart as humans (or smarter) that is higher on the food chain. It's a scary thought. I digress back to the film.

I guess crosses only work for those that have faith.

     There are a few shots that are single camera/single take shots which I am always impressed with. The sets were good looking and I easily believed they were in the Las Vegas desert. My biggest issue with the film was the cinematography. It was filmed with 3D in mind which isn't bad in and of itself but I watched it in 2D, so it was just kind of annoying to see things coming at the camera. I'm really starting to get tired of 3D films in general, but with a film like this which is tongue in cheek horror comedy I think it's more acceptable.

   Bottom line: This movie is well written, well directed and well acted. If you like horror comedies that don't take themselves seriously take a look here. Be warned, this isn't high cinema, it's hang back, drink a few beers and enjoy cinema. I recommend it.

8 out of 10 house for sale signs stuck into a vampire.