Made Then Remade: Fright Night, 1985 and 2011

Have you ever noticed the tags that come up at the bottom of the screen on this blog? I have since I put them there. Anyway, I noticed I mention David Tennant a lot, which is odd since I haven't actually reviewed anything he was in, I just keep throwing in Doctor Who clips. So, to be different, I've decided to talk about a movie David Tennant was actually in. And yes, that might be the poster for the international release. I just happened to like it the most for some reason that I may or may not be able to divine. I do have to say, though, the classic Fright Night poster is about the coolest part of that movie. It's as if they said, hey, we have a lame movie, let's make a really cool poster for it! And cast Marcy from Married With Children as the girlfriend! Oh, and let's add a song on the end credits where we sing "Fright Night!" That'll do it! It worked for Ghostbusters!


Okay, story is this: kid named Charlie Brewster finds out he is living next door to a vampire. He seeks help from a vampire expert, Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall and David Tennant) and has to go to war with Jerry the vampire neighbor when his best friend and girlfriend become vampires. I had already read a lot of reviews of the new one that said it was just a lame, glossy version of the old one and have you seen the old one? For real? It's just a stupid vampire movie with a cheesy eighties soundtrack that I think people must be watching ironically. I don't get it, okay? I'm not going to say the remake is the best film ever, but it's definitely better. To start off with, it has David Tennant. No offense Roddy McDowall, but you must know you don't look like David Tennant. Or you might if you were still alive, sorry.

To me, he's the best part of this movie, which shouldn't exactly be a bombshell. He's hilarious as the very often drunk and explicit, Criss Angel-like magician/vampire expert. Whovians, you won't be disappointed. I think Colin Farrell is a definite improvement as Jerry over Chris Sarandon, he's not just a vampire, he's a vampire who watches too much Criminal Minds, which is scarier. I have no idea what Chris Sarandon's deal is supposed to be. He's just there and I know I am supposed to be scared, but I'm not. Toni Collette plays Charlie's mom in the remake and it seems like an odd place to find her, but contributes notably to the proceedings over her counterpart in the remake. She's got one of the best parts in a fight scene, I hate to ruin it. I also liked the humor in the movie, showing it wasn't taking itself very seriously which I really wouldn't have been able to stand.

Like, I've stated before, my theory on remakes is that sometimes a crappy movie gets improved. Like this time.

Now might be the time for my disclaimer: I don't really care for horror movies, I freaking hate vampire movies and yes, I went to see this movie because David Tennant was in it and I didn't win the lottery to see Much Ado About Nothing in London this summer, okay? I probably should have bought a ticket. Questions, comments, concerns? Or you know, try and tell me why the old one doesn't suck. Really, I'm asking.

My Life In Movies Flashes Before My Eyes: Witness, 1985

Let's think back to a time (1985) and a place (America, I guess) where there was no fourth Indiana Jones movie and the legacy of Harrison Ford's career wasn't dragged down by crap like Random Hearts and whatever one he made with Anne Heche while she was still with Ellen. This is a time when Harrison Ford is successful from films like Raiders of the Lost Ark (my favorite ever, but it came out the year before I was born, what are you gonna do?) and Star Wars, once again, before crap sequels/prequels were made. He's just starting to delve into deeper work and that work is Witness. By the way, this is already the second Harrison Ford movie on this list and I think it could be as high as five.



This is the film where Kelly McGillis plays an Amish woman. This was before she taught at Top Gun, so I guess that makes sense. Anyway, she's the mother of a young boy and they're on their way to visit relatives when her son witnesses a murder. Harrison Ford plays John Book, the cop who's investigating that murder. There's immediate tension between the Amish and non-Amish characters in the film. Book asks Samuel to identify the killer by looking at a bunch of pictures, but then the killer is in a newspaper at the police station because he's a cop (Oh, yeah, it's Danny Glover. That's not really a spoiler, it happens in like the first fifteen minutes anyway. Also, I don't really care if you think it's a spoiler.) So, next Book discovers that his police captain is in on it and takes Kelly McGillis and the kid back to Amish country, after an attempt on his life. There, he recovers and stays in hiding as an Amish guy, making this even more fraught with tension between the Amish and the English, which is apparently what the Amish call the non-Amish.

And here's one of my favorite scenes, though it is so atypical of the film. Cute, but not too cute, and I always watch wondering when the other shoe is going to drop.



So, overall summation, this is such an incredible movie because it is so sparing and so subtle. Director Peter Weir doesn't waste a moment but doesn't overdo anything, either. The love story between Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis, albeit inevitable, is told in a very mature way, not sensational and the film doesn't resort to any cheap tricks. The thriller part of this movie is in there, but what's most important are the characters.

So, opinions on Witness or my spoiler policies? Let loose in the comments section.