Fright Night 2 Review
The Fright Night remake with Colin Farrell was by no means the bottom of the barrel of remakes. It carried with it some of the clever, quirky, and endearing camp of the original, while bringing it to modern audiences. Fright Night wasn't really a film that needed a remake, but for which great classics would that ring true? And for that matter, how also in regards to belated sequels?
Fright Night 2 changed our villain to the female persuasion. It carried over the brash and overconfidence of the lead vampire that is a staple of the "franchise". As the mind games begin, we get our overzealous protagonist, the sidekick that fuels the campiness of the film, and the Fright Night necessity of the horror genre fake celebrity, all encased in the sensual tension common in this vampire facade. In the end, what we get is a straightforward sequel that trends on the train tracks of previous entries and dares not waver.
Perhaps my blind eye led me to a moment of inevitable disappointment in this film, but I couldn't help but notice that our primary villain and her opening scene victim look very similar. I had convinced myself early on that the antagonist would end up being nothing more than a pawn. This scenario seemed to be playing out perfectly until, suddenly, my prediction was not realized on screen. I then was forced to scour the credits to verify the opening scene victim and our countess of the night were two separate actresses, and as it turns out they were. I'm not sure if I discovered a flaw in my own facial recognition skill, or perhaps brought awareness to a flaw in the film, presenting a route perhaps it should have taken.
The climax left me wanting. The forced motifs didn't trigger properly with the ceremonial destiny of our characters, and the flow of battle could not have had more yield signs preventing any real build to action or tension. The constant flip-flopping of resolutions was tiring long before its final turnover, and it drains you of interest before the actual conclusion occurs. It was frustrating to say the least.
There were some fantastic shots within the film. The attention to practical effects and stunts did not go unnoticed, and several of the stunts had the feel of a much larger budget film. However, the sound effects guy could have backed off of the excruciatingly auditory blood squishing sounds. Sometimes the sound effect didn't even make sense, but it was far more disgusting than the conventional method, so it was abused to a fault. Jaime Murray was a fantastic villain and played it well, but few deliveries from the rest of the cast matched her prowess. In the end, she was really the only part of the film you could sink your teeth into.
Horror Qualifier: 9/10
Horror Quality: 5/10
Film Quality: 3/10