Fright Night: the 2011 remake against the 1985 original
The 2011 Fright Night is one of the better horror remakes of its era, but comparing it with the original shows how much the story depends on its decade.
The premise of Fright Night is so clean it hardly needs updating. A teenager becomes convinced that the charming man who has moved in next door is a vampire. Nobody believes him, so he turns for help to the one person who might: a performer whose career is built on pretending to fight the undead. That idea served Tom Holland’s 1985 film well, and it carried over largely intact when Craig Gillespie directed a remake released in 2011.
The 1985 original
Holland, who wrote and directed the first film, made something that was both a loving tribute to old-fashioned horror and a product of its moment. William Ragsdale played Charley Brewster, Chris Sarandon was the suave vampire Jerry Dandrige, and Roddy McDowall played Peter Vincent, a washed-up actor hosting late-night horror movies on local television. Vincent is the heart of the film: a man who plays a vampire hunter on screen and is terrified to discover that the role has become real. The film balanced jokes and scares, used practical effects with real enthusiasm, and became a lasting favourite of 1980s horror.
The 2011 remake
The remake, written by Marti Noxon, a veteran of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, moved the story to a suburb on the edge of Las Vegas, a setting full of transient residents and people who work at night, where a vampire could go unnoticed. Anton Yelchin played Charley, Colin Farrell played Jerry, and Toni Collette played Charley’s mother. The biggest change was Peter Vincent, reinvented by David Tennant as a flamboyant Las Vegas stage magician who sells the occult as entertainment.
How they compare
- The vampire. Sarandon’s Jerry is seductive and theatrical. Farrell’s is more predatory, an animal who barely bothers to disguise himself. Both work; they simply belong to different kinds of horror.
- The hunter. McDowall’s Vincent is a sad, gentle figure, a relic of a fading horror tradition. Tennant’s is a brash showman hiding a private wound. The remake’s version is funnier; the original’s is more touching.
- The tone. The 1985 film loves the old horror films it echoes. The 2011 version is sleeker, faster and more interested in action, and it was released in 3D.
- The friend. Christopher Mintz-Plasse’s Ed in the remake is an affectionate update of the original’s Evil Ed, though with less screen time to make an impression.
The remake was generally well reviewed, often described as one of the stronger horror remakes of its time, but it did not find a large audience in cinemas. It has aged well, helped by Farrell’s menace and Tennant’s energy. Still, the original keeps an edge for one reason: its affection. Holland’s film is about loving monster movies, and that warmth is hard to remake.
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