From the onset of Fright Night (1985) the postmodernity of this film is apparent. Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) is having an intimate moment with his innocent Amy (Amanda Bearse) and watching his favorite campy horror movie host Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall). The camera immediately has a voyeuristic perspective of the two as it enters Charley’s bedroom. The fact that Charley himself is watching a campy, contrived horror film alongside the over top sexual tension of the teens in many ways demonstrates the centrality of postmodern.[i] In 2011 Craig Gillespie remade the cult classic moving the tale from LA to Las Vegas and replacing Peter Vincent Vampire hunter with Peter Vincent tacky magician. But the Fright Night remake is worth watching due to its innate nostalgia for a return to camp 1970s horror and similarly a nostalgia for the simplicity of childhood and a stable family dynamic. The film’s contrived, obvious and disparaging barrage of special effects, intended to be seen in 3-D, can be forgiven largely due to the centrality of postmodernity in the original and the fact that the remake is heavily referential to the 1985 cult classic.
The remake of Fright Night has a very similar plot to its predecessor with a few major alterations. Instead of Peter Vincent being a horror host he is instead, a Chris Angel-like, Las Vegas magician (Peter Tenant). Evil Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plaase) is an unpopular childhood friend instead of an annoying sidekick and the sexual tension between Amy and Charley is replaced by Charley’s (Anton Yelchin) insecurity largely due to Amy’s (Imogen Poots) popularity. The film is nonetheless grounded in the original. Many scenes within the film are directly taken from the 80s version. The scene in which Amy attempts to sleep with distracted Charley and the scene in which Jerry seductively captures Amy at a nightclub are two such examples. Similarly the remake takes lines directly from the original. The most obvious being the famous line from Evil Ed, “Oh you’re so cool Brewster”. More subtle references are similarly made. Once Amy is turned into a vampire she wears the same dress as in the original and even the original Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) becomes a victim to Colin Farrell’s Jerry while chasing Charley, Amy and his Mother. These commonalities and references help to ground the remake in its predecessor and thereby establish a sense of nostalgia for the dawn of postmodern horror. Longing for an era of horror long forgotten was crucial to the original and for this reason the remake is well crafted.
The nostalgia also arises within the remake thematically. Secretly Charlie longs for the time he spent with his unpopular nerd friend Ed. The complexity of being “cool” and having a beautiful girlfriend similarly distresses the young protagonist. Nostalgia also arises in the domestic landscape. Charley’s mother (Toni Collette), who is a real estate agent, reminisces about how great her old neighbours were. Las Vegas suburbia is central to this film and the landscape is littered with abandoned houses. Nostalgia and longing for the lost is central to both films and both films articulate this longing in very different ways.
Both Fright Night films reflect on the contrived nature of cinema and the horror genre. The character that most obviously articulates this fact is Peter Vincent. Within the remake everything about the character seems to be an act. From Vincent’s facial hair, to his tattoos and even his supposed relics that he has purchased from ebay. Though contrived both Vincent and his weapons nonetheless triumph and help Charley save Amy. The character in many ways does justice to the original Peter Vincent in that he embodies the contrived nature of the genre while at the same time revealing the genre's poignancy and relevance. The triumph of the contrived in many ways helps to save the film from the over the top special effects that it harbors. Frequently objects fall towards the camera making the 3-D element of the movie obvious. This gimmick is frequent to the genre and is over the top, campy and blatantly executed. This ploy can be forgiven largely because the film itself comments on the contrived and even champions it.
Nostalgia is central to both Fright Night films and both reflect on the genre and it’s past and present. The fact that the remake is true to the original plot and is referential to its predecessor grounds the film and makes it that much more enjoyable. Also the cast and their performances similarly make this remake both fun and worthwhile.
[i] For more on postmodernity in Fright Night see "Forget Peter Vincent: Nostalgia, Self-Reflexivity, and Genre Past in Fright Night." Murray Leeder. Journal of Popular Film and Television Winter. Vol 36.4 (2009): 190-199.
The remake of Fright Night has a very similar plot to its predecessor with a few major alterations. Instead of Peter Vincent being a horror host he is instead, a Chris Angel-like, Las Vegas magician (Peter Tenant). Evil Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plaase) is an unpopular childhood friend instead of an annoying sidekick and the sexual tension between Amy and Charley is replaced by Charley’s (Anton Yelchin) insecurity largely due to Amy’s (Imogen Poots) popularity. The film is nonetheless grounded in the original. Many scenes within the film are directly taken from the 80s version. The scene in which Amy attempts to sleep with distracted Charley and the scene in which Jerry seductively captures Amy at a nightclub are two such examples. Similarly the remake takes lines directly from the original. The most obvious being the famous line from Evil Ed, “Oh you’re so cool Brewster”. More subtle references are similarly made. Once Amy is turned into a vampire she wears the same dress as in the original and even the original Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) becomes a victim to Colin Farrell’s Jerry while chasing Charley, Amy and his Mother. These commonalities and references help to ground the remake in its predecessor and thereby establish a sense of nostalgia for the dawn of postmodern horror. Longing for an era of horror long forgotten was crucial to the original and for this reason the remake is well crafted.
The nostalgia also arises within the remake thematically. Secretly Charlie longs for the time he spent with his unpopular nerd friend Ed. The complexity of being “cool” and having a beautiful girlfriend similarly distresses the young protagonist. Nostalgia also arises in the domestic landscape. Charley’s mother (Toni Collette), who is a real estate agent, reminisces about how great her old neighbours were. Las Vegas suburbia is central to this film and the landscape is littered with abandoned houses. Nostalgia and longing for the lost is central to both films and both films articulate this longing in very different ways.
Both Fright Night films reflect on the contrived nature of cinema and the horror genre. The character that most obviously articulates this fact is Peter Vincent. Within the remake everything about the character seems to be an act. From Vincent’s facial hair, to his tattoos and even his supposed relics that he has purchased from ebay. Though contrived both Vincent and his weapons nonetheless triumph and help Charley save Amy. The character in many ways does justice to the original Peter Vincent in that he embodies the contrived nature of the genre while at the same time revealing the genre's poignancy and relevance. The triumph of the contrived in many ways helps to save the film from the over the top special effects that it harbors. Frequently objects fall towards the camera making the 3-D element of the movie obvious. This gimmick is frequent to the genre and is over the top, campy and blatantly executed. This ploy can be forgiven largely because the film itself comments on the contrived and even champions it.
Nostalgia is central to both Fright Night films and both reflect on the genre and it’s past and present. The fact that the remake is true to the original plot and is referential to its predecessor grounds the film and makes it that much more enjoyable. Also the cast and their performances similarly make this remake both fun and worthwhile.
[i] For more on postmodernity in Fright Night see "Forget Peter Vincent: Nostalgia, Self-Reflexivity, and Genre Past in Fright Night." Murray Leeder. Journal of Popular Film and Television Winter. Vol 36.4 (2009): 190-199.