Fright Night
Menace and mirth can cancel each other out. But the combo clicked in 1985’s Fright Night (banish the 1988 sequel), and it clicks again in this frisky 3D remake. For that, bow to Colin Farrell. He’s hot stuff as a vampire named Jerry (really) who moves next door to teenage Charley (Anton Yelchin) and his single mom (Toni Collette). Jerry can do his undead nasty on Charley’s buddy (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and glamour Charley’s girl (Imogen Poots) and still tickle you with terror. Damn, that Farrell is good. So is David Tennant (Doctor Who) as Peter Vincent, a tacky Vegas magician Charley enlists to kill Jerry. The young lovers are Twilight bland next to the power punch of Farrell and Tennant. Director Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl) is wise to just turn them loose. Voilà! Black magic.
Related
• Video: Peter Travers Reviews Fright Night in “At the Movies With Peter Travers”
• The 12 Must-See Summer Movies — Plus Five Unheralded Gems and Five More to Skip
• The Best and Worst Movies of 2011 — So Far