It’s always fun when you head into a picture expecting the worst and walk away with a little something positive. In the case of Eduardo Rodriguez’s "Fright Night 2: New Blood" the positives are indeed few and far between, but for a film that is essentially a remake of a remake, it could have been a hell of a lot worse. It could have been like Lost Boys: The Tribe really bad, but somehow this movie steers clear of total and complete failure. It doesn’t necessarily work wonders as a whole, but if a film of this nature can deliver at least a few enjoyable sequences it’s hard to be too riled up about it.
First, we need to take a quick glance at the movie’s synopsis per imdb.com: By day Gerri Dandridge is a sexy professor, but by night she transforms into a real-life vampire with an unquenchable thirst for human blood. So when a group of high school students travel abroad to study in Romania, they find themselves ensnared in Gerri's chilling web of lust and terror. Charley and "Evil" Ed must stop Gerri from drinking and bathing in the blood of a "new moon virgin," which just so happens to be Charley's ex-girlfriend, Amy. They enlist help from Peter Vincent, the vampire hunting host of a reality show called "Fright Night," to drive a stake through Gerri's plan and save Amy from a fate far worse than death.
Now, if that breakdown doesn’t convince you that the film is a near carbon copy of its predecessors, nothing will. We’ve got the same lineup of characters featured in Tom Holland’s original 1985 flick as well as Craig Gillespie’s 2011 reboot – even Evil Ed surfaces, who’s now been offed twice in the past. Our antagonist, though female, is named Gerri Dandridge, and she just so happens to be staying in an apartment directly across the street from Charley Brewster, and guess what? He spots her, through his window making out and eventually biting the neck of some attractive young lady. You know, exactly what happens in both renditions of Fright Night. The setting is Romania, and while that works to bring something a little different to the table, there are just a few too many rip-off moments to ever become fully engrossed in the picture. We’ve already seen it, more than twice!
But for all of the misfires presented by "Fright Night 2: New Blood", there are some things that do indeed impress. First off it’s easy to argue that the film looks marginally better than Gillespie’s revival. The enormous amounts of nauseating visual effects have – for the most part – been done away with. We see plenty of practical FX work and some of it is rather impressive. Second off, Jaime Murray does a stellar job of portraying a super sexy psycho vampire bitch. Her effort isn’t without hitch, but it is quite convincing overall. Will Payne plays Charley Brewster, and while he’s got a haircut that’s sure to take you back to Edward Furlong’s Terminator 2 days (did someone actually think that looked cool, or trendy... in 2013?!) he doesn’t do a terrible job in the shoes of the lead protagonist. Chris Waller tackles the role of “Evil” Ed Bates and he’s animated and comical enough to stand in as a memorable supporting character while Sacha Parkinson is serviceable as Charley’s love interest, Amy. All in all, the cast really isn’t too shabby.
The film fumbles most in the originality department, as we’ve now discussed, but there’s also a positional shift within the characters that doesn’t pan out. Charley and “Evil” have basically switched roles. Charley’s the beta male while oddly enough Ed is clearly the alpha of the two. Ed lacks the appropriate personality to squeeze into heroic shoes, but his presence is so powerful that he nearly mutes Charley’s complete existence. I’ll go on the record now and say it, if Chris Waller opts to move stateside and really pursue some major roles, he’ll do big things. But, distancing ourselves from Ed, Amy’s character needs addressing. She and Charley are on the rocks in the film, so they have very little affectionate moments. As viewers we’re not even entirely sure how much this young lady does or doesn’t dig Charley. It’s a weird that Amy is introduced as a disconnected character, and remains such throughout the entire picture. And finally, what’s a Fright Night review without discussing good old Peter Vincent? To be honest, I can’t quite decide whether this was a quality character or not. Sean Power’s work as the now iconic “vampire hunter” follows the design of Gillespie’s character, to an extent. He’s a reality ghost hunter show host who’s got a taste for booze and women, but there’s some good in the man and we can see it. I’m partial to Roddy McDowall’s depiction of the character, and that’s obviously going to sway my opinion of anyone to approach the role. But in truth, McDowall, Powers and David Tenant have all offered some fairly decent renditions of Mr. Vincent.
Fright Night 2: New Blood certainly isn’t a classic in the making. It probably won’t be remembered in a decade, but for a flick with all the chips stacked against it, it’s decent enough. Before you check this one out, understand that it’s a seriously different type of Fright Night feature delivered in an obviously familiar format. A few characters are going to win fans over, and a few are going to have franchise followers going nuts. Diehards won’t dig the flick. They just... won’t! If you’re out for a killer vampire flick or you hold high expectations you may want to just steer clear of the movie. If you’re okay with a so-so bloodsucker tale, go ahead and give it a go. You may discover something that surprises you.
Fright Night Part 2 - Movie Trailer
No comments:
Post a Comment