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Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Toni Collette, David Tennant, Imogen Poots ... see more see more... , Christopher Mintz-Plasse , Dave Franco , Reid Ewing , Will Denton , Sandra Vergara , Emily Montague , Chris Sarandon , Grace Phipps , Chelsea Tavares , Lisa Loeb , Brian Huskey , Michael Miller , Marya Beauvais , Kent Kirkpatrick , Arron Shiver , Rick A. Ortega, Jr. , Charlie Brown , Rebekah Wiggins , Eb Lottimer , Liezl Carstens , Laura Aidan , Alma Sisneros , Bruce Holmes , Christopher Ranney , Lovie Johnson , Jerry G. Angelo , Tait Fletcher , Kevin Christopher Brown , Jesse Pickett , William H. Burton , Bonnie Morgan , Michelle Waterson , Paula Francis , Dave Courvoisier

Senior Charlie Brewster (Anton Yelchin) finally has it all-he's running with the popular crowd and dating the hottest girl in high school. In fact, he's so cool he's even dissing his best friend Ed (C... read more read more...hristopher Mintz-Plasse). But trouble arrives when an intriguing stranger Jerry (Colin Farrell) moves in next door. He seems like a great guy at first, but there's something not quite right-and everyone, including Charlie's mom (Toni Collette), doesn't notice. After witnessing some very unusual activity, Charlie comes to an unmistakable conclusion: Jerry is a vampire preying on his neighborhood. Unable to convince anyone that he's telling the truth, Charlie has to find a way to get rid of the monster himself in this revamp of the comedy-horror classic. -- (C) DreamWorks

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156 critics

R, 1 hr. 41 min.

Directed by: Craig Gillespie

Release Date: August 19, 2011

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DVD Release Date: December 13, 2011

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Tennant as Peter Vincent Fright Night David Tennant Fright Night Poster Colin Farrell David Tennant Anton Yelchin Christopher Mintz-Plasse David Tennant Colin Farrell Anton Yelchin Anton Yelchin Christopher Mintz-Plasse Anton Yelchin Anton Yelchin and Imogen poots Imogen Poots Colin Farrell Imogen Poots
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Flixster Reviews (4,726)

  • MizturY0da
    May 21, 2012
    MizturY0da
    four stars!!
  • fb1378820053
    April 12, 2012
    fb1378820053
    Fright Night is a Highly enjoyable Vampire Flick with terrific performances from Colin Farrell as Vampire "Jerry" and David Tennant as Vampire slayer "Peter Vincent" Anton Yelchin's character is very unrealistic and always seems so composed and calm which takes the suspense away ... read morefrom the film sometimes. The Film also lacks in the SFX department but "Fright Night" is a Funny,Smart,Gory Remake of the 1985 Original Film.
  • theylovealexis
    April 6, 2012
    theylovealexis
    I didn't hate it, but it wasn't as good as the original .
  • sergioogarcia
    March 4, 2012
    sergioogarcia
    I like this movie in the 80's. Yeah it was absurd and funny as hell, so I was expecting something similar and not really. Colin is a great actor and this boy Anton also impress me a few times in the past. But the movie is not what I was expecting.
  • mrbungle7821
    March 1, 2012
    mrbungle7821
    Horror is a genre that's been notoriously cannibalistic, especially as of late. I don't mean flesh-eating, I mean the glut of remakes that has polluted the horror market in recent years. After remakes of Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the Thirteenth, The Hills Have ... read moreEyes, House of Wax, Prom Night, My Bloody Valentine, The Amityville Horror, The Fog, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Black Christmas, Sorority Row, Dawn of the Dead, The Crazies, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, I Spit on Your Grave, Last House on the Left, The Thing, and scads more, you'd be forgiven for believing that the remake of 1985's Fright Night would be another soulless cash grab. It turns out that it's way better than even the original and quite an entertaining movie that got lost in the shuffle.

    In a quiet little suburb outside Las Vegas, students are going missing. Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) suspects that there is a vampire in town. Ed's former friend, Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin), dismisses this idea, especially since the would-be vampire in question is his new neighbor, Jerry (Colin Farrell), a home construction worker who seems to work at night mostly. But lo and behold, after Ed goes missing, Charley concludes that his old friend was right all along. Jerry has his eyes set on Charley's single realtor mom, Jane (Toni Colette), and maybe even Charlie's sprightly girlfriend, Amy (Imogen Poots). The only ally Charley can muster is a drunken Vegas magician in the Criss Angel tradition. Peter Vincent (David Tennant) has been studying vampires for years due to his tragic personal connection to vampires, notably Jerry.

    Fright Night finds that horror sweet spot, equal parts scary and funny. Credit screenwriter Marti Noxon who cut her teeth on TV's seminal show (yeah, I said it) Buffy the Vampire Slayer; there's even a reference to a "Scooby gang" for we Buffy fans. Noxon does a terrific job of establishing a suspenseful situation and then developing it nicely, teasing it out. There's a sequence where Charley is trying to rescue a neighbor lady that just involves a series of hiding places but uses a simple setup of ducking around corners so well. When our plucky protagonist checks in with Vincent for some assistance, we're introduced to an array of exotic vampire-hunting weapons and artifacts that the Vegas magician has under glass. With a setup like that, you better believe we're going to be using those weapons later, and how. The character development is richer than most teens-battle-monster genre films. The relationship between Charley and Ed, and the awkwardness and resentment of two friends growing apart, feels rather believable even dropped into the middle of a vampire adventure. The standard girlfriend role is given a bit more weight, as she's the one who feels confidant and aggressive. She knows what she wants, and as played by the adorably named Imogen Poots (Solitary Man), you want to be what she wants. Seriously, this actress is striking in her Grecian features and I like a woman who knows how to handle a mace. There are also small touches that I really enjoyed that helped round out the movie. At one moment, a woman is being feed on by Jerry and she spots Charley hiding behind a door. Rather than cry out for help, she carefully draws a shaking finger to her mouth, wishing him to keep quiet and not to save her. The resolution of this rescue attempt is shocking in all the right ways. It's a surprise that feels completely within reason, and organic twists and turns are always the most satisfying.

    Noxon's script continually surprises even when it starts to follow a by-the-numbers plot. Instead of an axe lopping off a vampire's head, it just goes about halfway through thanks to the rigidity of bone. That's a nice touch, but then when that same vampire tries to bite our hero and can't move his fairly severed neck closer, then that's when Noxon has capitalized on her cleverness. And she capitalizes often enough for Fright Night to be a real step above most vampire action flicks. Noxon also finds clever spins on vampire mythos; to get around the whole can't-enter-without-an-invitation rule, Jerry just attempts to blow up the Brewster's home to drive them out ("Don't need an invitation if there's no house"). There's a particularly ingenious method to light a vampire on fire. And the entire character of Peter Vincent, played brilliantly by Dr. Who actor David Tennant, is a hoot and a great addition. He's a riot as a cynical, profane, and selfish stage performer. His character is such an enjoyably comic foil, and Tennant plays him with aplomb, that you almost wish for a Peter Vincent spinoff movie.

    Director Craig Gillespie shows that he is shocking adept when it comes to staging a horror film. I would not have expected this level of competency from the director of Lars and the Real Girl. It embraces its R-rating and the bloodshed is plentiful though the gore is restrained. Gillespie draws out scenes with judicious editing, letting the dread build steadily. The tension of something simple like Jerry standing in a doorway, waiting for any verbal slipup to come inside, can be terrific. Gillespie also has some nifty visual tricks up his sleeve to complement Noxon's crafty screenplay. There's one scene where Jerry walks into a hotel lobby and is confronted by a security guard. The camera pans over a series of security monitors that do not pick up Jerry. Then in the background we see Jerry hurl the guard to the ground to bite him and in the foreground we see the security footage minus Jerry. There's an ongoing tracking shot inside a fleeing minivan that's not exactly Children of Men but still a good way to feel the fever of panic. The final showdown between Charley and Vincent versus Jerry is suitably climactic and rewarding, nicely tying back elements that were introduced earlier and giving Poots an opportunity to vamp out, literally and figuratively.

    Farrell (Horrible Bosses) is a charming, sexy, alluring menace as Jerry, which is exactly what you'd want in a vampire (sorry Twilight fans). Vampires are supposed to be seductive; they're inherently sexual, what with all that biting and sucking and sharing of body fluids. If Jerry is going to be dangerous, he also has to be seductive, and Farrell is exactly that. With his swaggering walk, with his pose-worthy stances, with his grins, he's a great ambassador for vampire kind. But this guy does more than preen; he's also a credible threat. He's the bad boy that is actually quite bad. Farrell's enjoyment of his villainous role is noticeable. Jerry taunts Vincent: "You have your mother's eyes." He shoots and misses the big bad vamp. "And your father's aim," he add, chillingly. Having a strong villain can do wonders for an action movie, and Jerry is a formidable foe played with great relish by Farrell.

    Not everything goes off without a hitch. The special effects can be dodgy at times, especially when Jerry goes into full CGI vampire face. The vampires tend to look like shark people, with long exaggerated jaws and rows of gnarly teeth. It's not a particularly good look. While Noxon's script excels in most areas, there is still enough dangling plot threads. Charley's mother is really never a figure of significance. Her potential romance of her neighbor/vampire is a storyline that is never capitalized upon, oddly enough. That seems like the kind of storyline you'd build a whole movie around. She's written out of the movie in hasty fashion, immediately going from a sequence of driving to being unconscious in a hospital bed. How did that happen exactly? After the Brewster house explodes, nobody seems to make a big deal out of this, like it's just some regular neighborhood occurrence. What kind of neighborhood watch is this?

    Fright Night is just a fun night out at the movies. It's got plenty of laughs thanks to Noxon's clever script, plenty of scares thanks to Gillespie, and plenty of sex appeal oozing from Farrell (though "sex appeal" and "oozing" don't sound like an advisable linguistic match). It's not much more than a vampire action flick but it's a really good vampire action flick, clearly a cut above the dreck that usually just relies on its audience's understanding of genre convention to cover up for its shortcomings. There's no reason you cannot be a bad movie with this genre, and Fright Night is proof of that. Convincingly acted, cleverly staged, and surprisingly well-executed, this is one genre movie that hits the right vein.

    Nate's Grade: A-
  • MrMarakai
    February 17, 2012
    MrMarakai
    Yet another horror remake comes our way with this modern take on the 1985 original. Really though, all this latest one delivers is use of CGI that wasn't available in the 80's. Added to which, the special effects from the original were actually rather good, so ultimately, this is... read more no improvement whatsoever.
    Charley Brewster's (Anton Yelchin) teenage life is going pretty well. He has a good relationship with his mother Jane (Toni Collette); Heā(TM)s dating the gorgeous Amy (Imogen Poots), albeit at the expense of losing his geeky friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), and is about to finish high school. But then he begins to suspect that new neighbour Jerry (Colin Farrell) is a vampire and enlists the help of 'vampire slayer' Peter Vincent (David Tennant), to protect himself and loved ones.
    Having the claustrophobic American suburbia as your setting, while sinister things are going on, is normally a winning concoction. It certainly looks this way, when we are introduced to our characters from the get go. However, we kind of know where the story is supposed to be heading yet it takes an age to get there. Too much time is spent on yapping and not enough on biting. It's no big secret that Farrell is the bloodsucking villain of the show but it seems to waste a lot of time reminding you of this, instead of letting his fangs loose. Like the original, the mixture of humour and horror is competently handled (most notably from Mintz-Plasse doing his "Superbad" schtick and Tennant in the mould of a leather clad, ball scratching Russell Brand) and the film does deliver some dark and threatening moments but overall, it has far too many lulls to fully grip. It's a bit of a stop and start affair. The performances are what (almost) keep the film's life from draining away. Farrell makes for an intriguing, brooding vampire, seemingly, relishing the role and Tennant adds some much needed zest to the proceedings. Wasting the talents of the wonderful Toni Collette is unforgivable though.
    Ultimately, it's a lacklustre affair that should appeal mainly to the "Twilight" generation of spotty-faced youths. There may be some biting involved here, but really, there's nothing to chew on.
  • CloudStrife84
    February 9, 2012
    CloudStrife84
    Nice to see a new vampire flick that doesn't involve any glitter or awkward teen angst. This is more like the ones we got in the 80's and 90's, where vampires do what vampires are supposed to, as in sucking blood and spawning terror, as opposed to just sucking. Pacing-wise, it's ... read morepretty draggy in the first half. Had it been like that for its entire length, it would have earned nothing more than a mediocre 3 stars. Luckily, however, it gets a lot better in the second act, where the action is kicked up into a gloriously bloody gore-fest. Great SFX as well, even if I wasn't too keen on the whole "monsterization" of the vamps. And by that I don't mean the way they are depicted as a race - for their are undoubtedly a bunch of evil bastards in this - but rather their physical transformations into over-the-top CGI freaks. A little more subtlety would definitely have been preferable. And altough creepy and suspenseful, I'm not sure it really deserves the title "Fright Night". Maybe I'm just jaded, but in my view, it was never any scary. A pretty entertaining film either way though, with dependable performances from the entire cast. Christopher Mintz-Plasse in particular is very fun as the typical nerd, who also happens to be a self-entitled vampire hunter. Sort of reminiscent of the movie The Lost Boys, except with more humor and better action. An optimal pick for Halloween, or if you're in the mood for a good horror-comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously.
  • jjnxn
    February 2, 2012
    jjnxn
    Messy remake is missing much of the goofy charm of the original which it substitutes with unnecessary gore. The cast can't be blamed even though none really share the chemistry that Chris Sarandon and Roddy McDowell had in the first film. It's good to see Colin Farrell back in a ... read moremainstream movie but the film is weak and Toni Collette is wasted.
  • kiriyamakazou
    January 7, 2012
    kiriyamakazou
    The original for me has no nostalgic value, as I only saw it a few months ago. But I absolutely adored it. This remake does exactly what I want from a remake. It keeps the core components, but makes enough changes to make it a different movie. The little changes make all the diff... read moreerence, and although I preferred everything in the original, this is a different film that I will check out again. Yelchin plays the lead role of a young man that eventually finds out his neighbour is a vampire. Farrell is the charming, sexy, and sinister vampire named Jerry. The tension heightens, but never as much as the original. I loved Farrell's portrayal, where he was truly threatening without ever really trying. However, he was also inexplicably aggressive. I'd imagine vampires would try and keep their heads down, but here Farrell doesn't exactly try and hide his vampiristic tendencies. He'll kill people in the street, or blow up a house. Tennant is a scene stealer as Peter Vincent, a clever update from his predecessor, but with some needless backstory. Tennant is the archetypal fake hero, that claims to be a slayer of the occult. But when his chance to prove his heroism comes to fruition, will he rise to the challenge? The humour and horror are well mixed together, with some scenes being particularly shocking, which is a great compliment for such a worn genre. It is also a very exciting action films at time. The car chase scene, shot in one continuous take is exhilirating and has a nice cameo too. Sometimes it has too much CGI, and more plotholes than I feel comfortable with. Nevertheless, this is a great entertaining film, with a sinister but not to serious vibe.
  • LWOODS04
    December 18, 2011
    LWOODS04
    Cast: Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, David Tennant, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Imogen Poots, Toni Collette, Dave Franco, Grace Phipps, Reid Ewing

    Director: Craig Gillespie

    Summary: This update of the 1985 horror comedy focuses more on terror than laughs when teen Charley Br... read moreewster (Anton Yelchin) suspects that his new neighbor, the sinister Jerry Dandrige (Colin Farrell), is a vampire, and turns to a self-styled vampire expert, Peter Vincent (David Tennant), for help. Las Vegas magician Vincent proves useless, and it's up to Charley to save his mom, Jane (Toni Collette), and girlfriend, Amy, from the seductive bloodsucker.

    My Thoughts: "I had not planned on seeing this movie until I had seen the original, but I just couldn't help myself. I really enjoyed it. I didn't find it scary, but more funny and sometimes silly which I'm sure it's meant to be. I enjoyed all the performances and I thought Colin Farrell is definitely a hot vamp. He does justice to the charming yet lethal vampires. I very much enjoyed his performance. The film had some good creepy cat and mouse scenes. I am looking forward to seeing the original now to see how they differ or how they are much of the same. One I will be seeing again."

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Critic Reviews

Keith Staskiewicz
August 19, 2011
Keith Staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly

Colin Farrell's performance as Jerry is the pulsing, stakeable heart of the movie. Full Review

Adam Graham
August 19, 2011
Adam Graham, Detroit News

Farrell is all darting eyes, facial ticks and macho confidence. He never goes over the top, he's not a showy actor, but he's clearly relishing his role and eating it up with abandon. He makes this a N... Full Review

William Goss
August 19, 2011
William Goss, Film.com

A remarkably confident remake that boasts its own pleasures more often than not. Full Review

Liam Lacey
August 19, 2011
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

The new Dreamworks/Disney teen horror comedy, Fright Night, falls into the better-than-expected category. Full Review

Peter Travers
August 19, 2011
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Voilą! Black magic. Full Review

Sean O'Connell
August 19, 2011
Sean O'Connell, Washington Post

It improves on the premise it has been handed, producing a modernized version of a decades-old story that's superior to its predecessor in virtually every aspect. Full Review

Peter Howell
August 19, 2011
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Gillespie just wants to alternately amuse and frighten you and, to a large extent, he succeeds. Full Review

Kyle Smith
August 19, 2011
Kyle Smith, New York Post

Feeble comic one-liners and slow pacing combine for a routine fangfest in this remake of the 1985 film. Full Review

Scott Bowles
August 18, 2011
Scott Bowles, USA Today

Fright has matured nicely over the quarter-century. While remaining sharp-tongued, the film knows its place on the teen landscape. Full Review

Peter Hartlaub
August 18, 2011
Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

"Fright Night" isn't quite a classic vampire movie, but it's refreshingly straightforward and self-deprecating. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Charley Brewster: You read way too much TWILIGHT.
    • Evil Ed: 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 everyone around him is dead. And I seriously am so angry you think I read TWILIGHT.
    • Jerry: This girl tonight. She's a handful, you know? Women who look a certain way, they...they need to be managed. It's true. Your dad ducked out on you, huh? Your mom, she didn't exactly say, but there's a kind of...neglect. Gives off a scent. You don't mind my saying, you got a lot on your shoulders for a kid. The two of you, alone. And your girl...Amy. She's ripe. I bet there's a line of guys dying to pluck that. Your mom, too. You don't see it. Maybe you do, but she's putting it out. It's on you to look after them. You up for that, guy?
    • Charley Brewster: I think I can manage.
    • Jerry: Good. Because there's a lot of bad people out there, Charley. Everyone's got to look after his own business.
    • Ed: Can't get in without an invitation.
    • Jerry: [steps in] I thought you did your homework. You've been watching me, I've been watching you. That's fair enough.
    • Jerry: No house, no invitation.
    • Amy: [shoots Jerry]
    • Jerry: [pulls out silver bullet] Werewolves.
    • Amy: [grabs chalice filled with holy water] Vampires. [throws water]
    • Peter Vincent: Get me drunk enough and I'll try anything.
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Fright Night : Watch Free on TV

Fright Night Trivia

  • Charlie spies on his new creepy neighbor Chris Sarandon who happens to be after his girlfriend Amanda Bearse & has to call Roddy McDowell for help. Evil stops by too?  Answer »
  • Marcy Darcy (Married With Children) played William Ragsdale's girlfriend in this horror/comedy, which also had Vince Price in it?  Answer »
  • What movie starred Chris Sarandon as a vampire?  Answer »
  • In what movie did Amanda Bearse play a vampire's love interest?  Answer »
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