YOU'RE SOOOO COOL BREWSTER: BEETLES REVIEW OF FRIGHT NIGHT 3D

Fright Night was one of my favorite films to come out of one of my favorite eras: the 80's. Fright Night was about boy next door Charlie Brewster, who discovers the new neighbor that lives next door to him is a bloodthirsty vampire. It started out as a campy, fun PG-13 film but as the film progressed it went places that the audience didn't expect it to go and eventually morphed into a dark, sexy hard R film. That's what I loved about the original, it's ability to surprise and thrill the audience while still being able to have fun with itself was what made the film an instant classic. Now, there's a remake that has awakened. Now, I know in these days the word remake is shunned and frowned upon. In a market where the fountain of creative, original ideas has seemingly run dry Hollywood has resorted to remaking classic films for the modern day. While most remakes end up being predictable pieces of crap, Fright Night is THE remake to remember.

In Fright Night 2011, Charlie Brewster is an everyday guy ( Anton Yelchin) who is struggling (like all teens) to fit in and be cool. He's nailed the almost impossible task of nabbing the incredibly hot Amy ( Imogen Poots) as his girlfriend. His life seems to be heading for easy street until new neighbor Jerry Dandridge (Colin Ferrel) moves in next door and kids start disappearing. Of course, none of this registers on Charlie's radar until his forgotten friend, "Evil" Ed brings up the strange goings-on surrounding Jerry. Charlie blows him off and Ed eventually winds up missing as well. Feeling guilty, Charlie sets out to investigate and finds himself in the fight for his life, his family, and his girlfriend.

Unlike the original Fright Night, Fright Night 2011 starts out as a pretty dark, cool, sexy film and stays that way for most of its running time. Luckily, it still manages to show its audience a good time (especially in 3D). It performs the difficult task of updating the source material for the modern day, staying true to the source material, and being its own film. against all odds, Fright night 2011 succeeds in doing all of these things brilliantly. It also throws in many references to the original classic which made me grin (There's the white dress, a cool bedroom scene where Charlie is too busy watching Jerry to notice Amy is waiting for him on his bed, some lines that also appeared in the original, etc.).

Fright Night 2011 also showcases the proper way to use the 3D technology. The film showcases the most depth I've seen in a 3D film thus far, it feels like you're looking through a window at another world. Fright Night 2011 also does a great job at allowing objects to penetrate the theatre screen (spurts of blood, crosses, it also boasts the most impressive use of fire in a 3D film as well. The fire and explosions seem to billow out into the theatre). Overall I can safely say that, although my eyes did start to hurt near the end of the film, that I thoroughly enjoyed and loved the 3D experince to be sampled here. If you do make the decision to sample Fright Night in 3D, you will not be throwing away a few extra dollars, as the 3D here only serves to enhance an already great film.

Anton Yelchin (my favorite up-and-coming actor) stars as the everyday guy next door Charlie Brewster. The film beefs up Charlie's backstory a bit, which makes the character all the more identifiable and interesting.Fright Night 2011 turns the character of Charlie into an ex-nerd who is trying to become cool and popular, in the process ditching his best friend "Evil" Ed. Yelchin puts on a brilliant performance as Charlie, perfectly capturing the problem of our generation: fitting in. He shows the right amount of regret when he realizes he may have been able to save Ed, but was too selfish to help his friend out and it is this dilemma that propels the film forward and ignites the rest of the film.

Christopher Mintz-Plasse (best known a for his role as McLovin) is great fun as "Evil" Ed. He is kind of an A-hole throughout most of the film, but his actions and such are understandable. He is losing his best friend and begins to view Charlie as almost a traitor of sorts. Plasse's best scene in the film is his brief stint as a secondary villain of sorts. It's great fun to watch two friends (Charlie and Ed) battle it out, and the dialogue they share is absolutely hilarious (Not to mention Plasse looks pretty damn cool as a bad guy). While he's not in the film alot, he still adds much to it by just appearing in it.

Imogen Poots is sexy as the incredibly desirable Amy. In the original film ,Amy was a mousy nerdy girl who was Charlie's girlfriend, However in Fright Night 2011 Amy has been transformed into a hot, sexy, tight-assed goddess. Luckily, she is not used purely as eye candy (her 3d scenes were pretty damn hot though) and actually appears as a fleshed out character in the film. She is what drives the action and plot for the end of the film and is the reason why Charlie finally goes all-out in his quest to vanquish Jerry.

David Tennant is also great fun as the almost comic foil of the film, Peter Vincent. In the original Fright Night his character was a late night horror show host who starred in many films as a vampire hunter. In Fright Night 2011 he is a Las Vegas illusionist/magician whose act revolves around killing Vampires. By the time we are fully introduced to his character, Charlie has realized he is in waaaaay over his head and so, goes to Peter Vincent for help and advice. David Tennant plays his part perfectly as the sarcastic, extravagent, alcohol loving bad-ass. He's almost a mentor of sorts to Charlie for the parts he is in, and let's face it, the climax just wouldn't be the same without him.

Colin Farrell is perfect as Jerry Dandridge, the vampire next door and the antagonist for the film. He is the ultimate, cool bachelor. He has girls over every night, has a nice car, goes to parties, and even talks like a bad-ass. He enjoys being a vampire, and the perks that come with it. Every piece of dialogue he has is absolutely electric and he lights up the screen here like it's nobodies business. Him and Anton Yelchin work off of each other perfectly here (one scene comes to mind when Jerry comes over asking for a pack of beer) and you can tell that both are enjoying the hell out of their roles here. Jerry is almost always in control for most of the film, and it's fun to watch him plot and plan. Jerry is a real vampire here, he is deathly allergic to sunlight, hisses and growls, and even vamps out into one ugly monster when he gets hungry. It feels great to finally see a real vampire back on the big screen.

While it is a remake, Fright night 2011 (like it's predecessor before it) manages to take itself to some pretty surprising and fun places. It's very rare to see a remake do everything so right. The 3D is great, the SFX are stunning, the acting is top-notch, the references are smart and fun, the script is smart, and it's reverential to its source material but it still emerges as its own film. In the end, while nothing can replace the original Fright Night, Fright Night 2011 is every bit as good as the original was (In fact, I'd say I prefer the remake to the original).

4/5 Stars