“ [sigh] You know, it’s … not terrible. But it’s just OK. I’m not seeing the level of creativity I would like to see.”
That’s Nina Garcia eviscerating another would-be designer on “Project Runway” a few weeks ago. But I’m quoting Ms. G because she completely nailed my feelings about “Fright Night,” a remake of the goofy and entertaining 1985 horror-comedy about a teen boy whom no one believes when he claims a vampire moves in next door.
In fact, the new “Fright Night” is actually an improvement in many ways -- it's good enough, and entertaining enough, and scary enough. It's just that by Labor Day, you’ll probably forget you even saw it.
The original was shot in a quiet neighborhood that was very obviously a studio backlot, but this update features a very specific setting: a sun-baked suburb of Las Vegas where former nerd Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) lives with his mom Jane (Toni Collette). Since Sin City is known for its nightlife and its transient population, what better place for a vampire who wants his crimes to escape notice?
Except in this case, they don’t: Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Charley’s onetime best friend — back when they used to go to “Farscape” conventions together — worries that lots of families in the neighborhood have been disappearing since the charismatic Jerry (Colin Farrell) moved next door to the Brewsters. So of course Ed is convinced that Jerry has been sinking his teeth into the locals.
Charley dismisses Ed’s fears until Ed himself disappears, and Charley finds enough evidence to prove that something creepy is going on at Jerry’s place. With the help of his girlfriend Amy (Imogen Poots) and flamboyant magician Peter Vincent (David Tennant) — a Criss Angel/Russell Brand hybrid who’s both more and less than he seems in the fearless-vampire-killer department — Charley sets out to stake the bloodsucker down the street.
Screenwriter Marti Noxon, a key member of TV’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” brain trust, shows a sure hand in updating the material and in making the characters more interesting than they might have been in the hands of another writer. Charley, Amy, and Ed feel like fleshed-out, interesting teenagers, and the notion that Charley would leave his geek roots behind to have a chance with pretty, popular Amy makes for an interesting subplot.
And while the whole 3D craze just gets more and more annoying, director Craig Gillespie (“Lars and the Real Girl”) at least decides to have fun with it, hurling crucifixes, bricks, and gobs of viscera right at the audience. If a movie has to be in 3D, let it indulge in shameless paddle-ball-at-the-camera-lens action every so often, or what’s the point?
Gillespie’s lucky to have such a talented ensemble working with him — Farrell projects equal parts seduction and menace as the sinister Jerry, and Yelchin keeps Charley from ever turning into too much of a chirpy boy scout.
