Hey there readers, it's been a whole week since we saw you! That's because our lovely and talented mother is in town and we have spent several days lounging by the pool and catching up with her. We only see our parents two or three times a year so when they are in town we have a very loose policy on blogging that goes something like "If it gets done, cool but if writing a post would mean taking time away from one of the four people who raised us and are still willing to admit that they know us, forget it." It seems only fair. So last week was a bust but this week I can almost promise you that we are getting our act back together... Starting right this minute as I follow my Doctor David Tennant to Fright Night.
I admit fully that this was a movie that CT and I saw because we were in love with the actors and we didn't really expect much out of it. As long as Anton and David showed up, we didn't much care what or how much "plot" they chose to involve themselves in. I knew it was a remake of a campy horror movie, but the original Fright Night was one of the rare 80's vampire flicks I missed so I had no concept of what to expect. But this film delivered on so many levels, dear readers. It's funny and dark and there are definitely some very tense and scary moments. The characters are mostly believable (except David Tennant but we'll get to that in a minute) and they are easy enough to relate to that you care about seeing them make it through the film without being eaten. Anton Yelchin had a rare talent when it came to taking characters that could have been boring and instilling them with charm and humility. I wanted to be friends with Charley in this movie. I wanted to see him get the girl and beat the monster and save his mom, but also I wanted to play video games with him for hours and talk about music. He's relatable in a way that not everyone manages to be.
Let's talk about David Tennant's character in this film for a moment. Before Peter Vincent shows up with his goth magic act everyone in this film is more or less normal. But as soon as Charley walks into one of his shows the whole film changes tone. Charley's best friend who was a nerdy but otherwise average movie character shows up as a maniacal baby vampire. The villain played by Colin Farrel goes from edgy and dangerous monster to a monologue prone bad guy who smiles while threatening to tear apart everyone that Charlie loves. Basically as soon as David Tennant shows up in this film, everyone starts having a lot more fun. This is my favorite type of character in a horror film because they break up the tension. So few people actually pull off a straight forward tense scary movie. But it's a lot easier to make a movie that alternates between scary and funny. Same thing is true for Matt Smith's character in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Gotta hand it to the former Doctors. They have style.
The last big thing I want to mention about this movie is the soundtrack. I always take note when the tunes that get chosen for a film really click. There's everything from Lupe Fiasco to Young the Giant in here and it all gets topped off by a cover of Jay-Z's 99 Problems that is sort of southern. It includes a lot of banjo and it should not work but by god it does and it's one of my favorite summer Jams.
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