'Fright Night' for the 'Twilight' Set

Okay, so for some reason I failed to see the remake of one of my favorite 80's horror films, 'Fright Night' while it was in theaters. Something about this being 3D has bothered me since the first trailer. It doesn't need to be in 3D, that's for sure. Having watched it today in regular old 2D, I have to say I was pleased despite the occasionally cheesy 3D effect (in 2D!) ruin an otherwise okay moment in the film.

It updates the original film in several ingenious ways that should definitely stand out to fans of the original film- yet does enough to modernize the film and make it feel like more than a retread of previous material. Anton Yelchin is great here, but he tends to be. His Charley Brewster is less immediately likable than the William Ragsdale's original but as the film progresses he makes it work. Imogen Poots (whataname!) is hot and makes Amy less annoying than Amanda Bearse did. But stealing the show is Colin Farrell. THIS is a vampire. I like that this remake didn't shy away from being a little mean-spirited and enjoyed how it stumped my expectations by progressing much differently than the original. The audience (and most of the main cast of characters) are aware Jerry is a vampire ("Jerry, the vampire?!?! ha") maybe 20-minutes in. I thought my OnDemand had skipped ahead, but once I got into the film's groove I enjoyed it.