Our second piece of remake news today concerns my least favorite movie monster… vampires. But it’s also about one of my favorite vampire movies, Fright Night. Which means that I should probably be pretty upset, right?
But I’m not. The possible casting of the two leads along with a reported plot point make the remake actually sound appealing.
1985’s Fright Night remains a ton of fun twenty-five years later. The story about a teenager named Charlie Brewster who suspects his new neighbor is a vampire succeeds at being funny, scary, and occasionally sexy, and it all holds up even today. The cast was a big part of that success with William Ragsdale as Brewster, Roddy McDowall, Stephen Geoffreys (what the hell happened to this guy anyway? He’s hilarious in Heaven Help Us too), and Chris Sarandon as the vampire neighbor all bringing their A-game to the the flick. McDowall played an aging TV horror host that Brewster turns to for assistance in battling the bloodsucker, and the remake has reportedly made an entertaining change to that formula.
HeatVision is reporting that Anton Yelchin is in talks for the Charlie Brewster role and Sarandon may be returning for the remake… but instead of playing the vampire next door, he’ll be playing himself. Brewster will turn to Sarandon as the actor from a movie called Fright Night for help in fighting the vampire. I actually love that idea. And the addition of Yelchin would be a solid move in the right direction too. The kid feels a bit cocky and artificial in person, but he’s a fantastic actor with a some solid comedic skills. I’m not as sure of director Craig Gillespie (Mr. Woodcock) but with a strong cast and screenplay there’s still hope this could turn out to be an incredibly entertaining (albeit still unnecessary) remake.
Incidentally, I’ve just checked IMDB to see what the hell happened to Stephen Geoffreys’ career… holy shit. Not sure how I could have missed flicks like Cock Pit, Uncut Glory, and Seamen Training Day?
What do you think about a Fright Night remake with Anton Yelchin? And seriously, have you checked out Stephen Geoffreys’ IMDB page?
Related Topics: Fright Night
