“F” Is for ‘Fright Night’ (2011)

“Fright Night” is coming to theaters this summer, August 19^th to be precise starring Anton Yelchin as suburbanite teenager Charley Brewster and Colin Farrell as the vampire who moves in next door.

This is the third time a movie with this title has hit the silver screen though the first was 1947 Three Stooges film bearing no resemblance to the latter two films.

The original “Fright Night” was released in 1985 and starred William Ragsdale as the teenager and Chris Sarandon as the vampire. It was billed as a horror film but was laced with comedy and was moderate hit.

With some modifications, the new plotline closely follows the original. Still billed as a horror film filled with scares and plenty of blood, it also promises a few laughs. In this version, no one believes Charley either when he tells them a vampire lives in the neighborhood. Instead of teaming up with a washed-up actor who has just been fired from his job as the host of a late-night horror show (originally played by Roddy McDowell), Charlie must team with a Vegas stage-show magician played by David Tennant. The new story still Charley’s mom (Toni Collette) falling under the vampire’s spell and a pretty high school honey for Charley to protect.

Farrell may be one of Ireland’s national treasures and has quite a filmography to boot. With more than 40 films to his credit, he first caught my eye in the Tom Cruise flick “Minority Report.” He was good in “The Recruit” with Al Pacino but I loved his performance in “The Phone booth.” He started as a busy, self-centered public relations man whom you are loathe to care about until he happens to answer a phone in a public phone booth ona busy New York City corner. There his life unfurls and he transforms into a terrified and desperate person you find yourself rooting for.

Yelchin is young and has only a few films under his belt but what films they are. He started as the little girl’s school friend in “Along Came a Spider”. You might remember him from “Star Trek” as the young Checkov. I next noticed him in “Terminator Salvation” as Kyle Reese.

If you like a good horror film with a little humor, this might be the ticket this summer.