August 19, 2011
| Walt Disney Studios
| 106 minutes
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
| Written by: Marti Noxon, Tom Holland
| Cinematography: Javier Aguirresarobe
| Editing: Tatiana S. Riegel
| Costume Design: Susan Matheson
| Production Design: Richard Bridgland
| Music: Ramin Djawadi
Charlie (Anton Yelchin) finally has it all going on: he’s running with the popular crowd and dating the most coveted girl in his high school. But trouble arrives when Jerry (Colin Farrell) moves in next door. He seems like a great guy at first, but there’s something not quite right—but everyone, including Charlie’s mom (Toni Collette), doesn’t notice. After observing some very strange activity, Charlie comes to an unmistakable conclusion: Jerry is a vampire preying on the neighborhood. Unable to convince anyone, Charlie has to find a way to get rid of the monster himself.
Cast: Anton Yelchin (Charley Brewster), Colin Farrell (Jerry), Toni Collette (Jane Brewster), David Tennant (Peter Vincent), Imogen Poots (Amy), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Ed), Dave Franco (Mark), Reid Ewing (Ben), Will Denton (Adam), Sandra Vergara (Ginger), Chris Sarandon (Jay Dee)
Production Notes
“Fright Night” is directed by Craig Gillespie and produced by Michael De Luca and Alison Rosenzweig. Rosenzweig and Executive Producer Michael Gaeta, who are big fans of vampire movies, said, “We had been tracking the rights to the property for a couple of years, and when we realized that they were going to become available we pounced.” The filmmakers knew from the start that they wanted to maintain the basic story and the delicate balance of comedy and horror of the original film. That was one of the important aspects of the project that Director Gillespie loved about the screenplay. “There are really horrific moments that are very scary, and also very human moments,” Gillespie says. “It wasn’t just a straight genre film. Marti managed to balance thriller, humor and horror.”
With his success directing the feature film “Lars and the Real Girl,” as well as “United States of Tara,” there was no doubt that Gillespie would bring his filmmaking integrity to “Fright Night.” Upon reading Marti Noxon’s screenplay, Gillespie found that he could not stop thinking about it and was eager to immerse himself in the project. “I wasn’t necessarily looking to do a vampire movie at the time,” he says of the unexpected opportunity, “but the script was so well written it gripped me the whole way through.” An obvious mutual admiration society exists between Toni Collette and Gillespie and the director offers equal tribute to his friend and colleague. “I was very excited to get Toni for this role,” he says. “She’s able to blend humor and drama, which is such a tricky dance to do, and she does it beautifully. Also, you feel an instant bond between Toni and Anton, which made my work easy.” Reflecting on her eagerness to join the “Fright Night” cast, Collette says, “I love working with Craig Gillespie. If I’d been offered this film and there was another director, I really don’t know if I’d have taken it, but I trust him wholeheartedly. I think he’s going to make the film scarier by making it real and honest. But you know,” she adds facetiously, “I don’t get to play a vampire or be seduced by one.”
When the film released US theaters in August 2011, Robert Koehler of Variety, wrote that “Fright Night” has “a cleverly balanced mix of scares and laughs”. Sean O’Connell, reviewing the movie for The Washington Post, also praised the film but criticizes the use of 3D as “ineffective” and “forgettable”.
