Fright Night

raig Gillespie’s Fright Night is that rarest of Hollywood beasts: a remake that brings fresh life and energy to an old idea. It helps that the original 1985 film has a lower profile than many of the horror flicks from that era. It also helps that Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl) understands character and pace and writer Marti Noxon (TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer) knows how to deftly balance humour and horror. Their update of the story about a teenager (Anton Yelchin) menaced by the vampire next door (Colin Farrell) is full of great performances, too, from Yelchin’s endearing hero to Farrell’s suave-but-savage predator to a vampire expert and Vegas showman played by David Tennant as a Russell Brand/David Blaine mash-up. All of these elements add up to a witty, bloody delight. –Matt Semansky