Screen Rant » fright night

DVD/Blu-ray Breakdown: December 13, 2011

Paul Young — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:14:24 +0000

There are 26 new releases out on Blu-ray this week and of those we have picked 10 we think are worth talking about. It is an interesting mix of films: a classic black and white comedy – Seven Chances starring Buster Keaton – a summer blockbuster – Rise of the Planet of the Apes – an award winning drama – Heavenly Creatures – an animated martial arts bear – Kung Fu Panda 2 – a family friendly action film – The Rocketeer – a neighbor who is a vampire – Fright Night – and a high-kicking, limb-severing, face-punching ninja movie from the ’80s – Five Elemental Ninjas.

Let’s see which are worth owning, which are worth renting and which ones to avoid altogether.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

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Screen Rant Underground: The Return of the Screen Rant Podcast!

Ben Kendrick — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 21:27:12 +0000

You asked for it and we’ve (finally) answered, Screen Rant is officially re-launching our weekly podcast. We’re calling it Screen Rant Underground, and you can find our first episode right here.

Back in the day when it was just site owner Vic Holtreman covering the news he made an attempt at a weekly podcast, but that was 5 years ago and short-lived – now that the site has grown exponentially in size and staff we thought it was time to start a shiny, brand new one.

Join host Ben Kendrick as well as fellow SR editors Rob Keyes, Anthony Ocasio, and Kofi Outlaw as we discuss a one of two recent horror film remakes: Craig Gillespie’s Fright Night. This podcast was actually recorded a week ago but we held off going live with it as we worked out the bugs. We ...

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Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: August 29, 2011

Niall Browne — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:51:26 +0000

This week: The box office needs Help – but it isn’t Afraid of the Dark; Paul Solet sees Faces; Mary Harron isn’t Wicked or Lovely for Universal; Harris and Greengrass have The Fear Index and Source Code writer Ben Ripley’s career Flatlines.

Box Office

Hurricane Irene had an impact on the box office over the weekend, which saw a hefty drop. The Help retained the top spot and scored an additional $14.3 million. The drama has now banked over $96 million, which is pretty darn good for a movie with a $25 million budget.

Colombiana, the Luc Besson-produced action film starring Zoe Saldana, made its debut at No. 2 with $10.3 million. It’s not a bad start, especially when you think that it’s the same number that Conan had last week, and Colombiana (read our review) cost less than half the price of the Barbarian epic!

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Are Audiences Tired of Remakes & 3D Movies?

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:02:42 +0000

When you’re immersed in the movie business as deeply as we movie bloggers are, it can be hard to stay in tune with the shifting attitudes and opinions of the general movie going public. Of course it’s also hard getting an accurate reading on public opinion because, frankly, the attitudes of the public are often finicky and unpredictable.

So in that sense, it’s easy to understand why sometimes it’s hard not to be skeptical when movie fans complain about trends in cinema – sometimes they are voicing legitimate concerns or objections – other times, people are just parroting a popular buzz word or phrase that has taken on a certain connotation. A perfect example of this is the word “remake” and its current dirty-word connotation in the movie fan community.

Movie remakes are nothing new (
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Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: August 21st, 2011

Niall Browne — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 20:20:40 +0000

This week:

The Help cleans up at the box office and moves to the top spot. Meanwhile Conan laments and the Spy Kids may have all the time in the world – but they don’t have the cash, and Fright Night‘s box office sucks; Phillip Noyce gives up the Hunt; Bill Paxton saddles up and joins Kevin Costner in The Hatfields and McCoys; great Scott – it’s The Wild Bunch and Michael Fassbender takes Prisoners.

Box Office

A slew of new entries saw disappointing results as The Help took the top spot over the weekend. The drama grossed an additional $20 million and upped its gross to almost $72 million, making it one of the biggest sleeper hits of the summer.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes dropped to second place after grossing another $16.3 million. This latest instalment of the Planet of the Apes franchise is holding very well, ...

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Interview: ‘Fright Night’ Director Craig Gillespie

Roth Cornet — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:52:56 +0000

The remake of 1985′s vamp-camp classic Fright Night opens in theaters this weekend, and we had the chance to speak with the (somewhat surprising) directorial choice for the film, indi-film favorite Craig Gillespie. Among the topics we discussed were what drew him to this project, finding the aesthetic balance between practical and digital effects, and the tonal balance between comedy and horror.

Standing on a rooftop of the San Diego convention center amidst the bustle and mayhem of Comic-Con weekend, it initially seemed as though the conversation Gillespie and I were scheduled to have was destined to be thwarted. After three attempts and three dropped calls I bested the demons of bad cell service and got through to the director.

“Roth! How did I do on my last interview?”

SR: It was ...

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‘Fright Night’ Review

Kofi Outlaw — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 16:05:39 +0000

The original Fright Night was far from being a cinematic masterpiece, but it did pull off the difficult trifecta of being funny, freaky and all-around fun. The movie (and so many other campy B-movies like it) has carved out its place in the hallowed hall of fan nostalgia, which is why the notion of remaking the film has been met with ire, anxiety, and more than a bit of annoyance.

So, do director Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl) and his cast manage to make their remake a worthwhile venture, while still honoring that which made the original Fright Night a cult-classic?

Short answer: Pretty much.

The premise is the same, though the setting has changed: Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) lives in a small development community just off the Las ...

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‘Fright Night’ Star David Tennant Talks Playing Iconic Roles

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 20:39:27 +0000

David Tennant is no stranger to playing an icon. After portraying sci-fi’s most famous time traveller, Doctor Who, for half a decade, the Scottish actor knows exactly what it’s like to step into some well-worn shoes and still make them look brand new.

That skill no doubt aided Tennant while filming director Craig Gillespie’s remake of Fright Night, in which Tennant plays Las Vegas illusionist/vampire hunter Peter Vincent – a role first made famous by iconic actor Roddy McDowall (Planet of the Apes).

Take a look at that synopsis of the Fright Night remake:

Teenager Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) guesses that his new neighbor Jerry Dandrige (Colin Farrell) is a vampire responsible for a string of recent deaths. When no one he knows believes him, he enlists Peter Vincent (David Tennant), ...

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‘Fright Night’ Red Band Clip: F-Bombs, Explosions, & Evil Colin Farrell

Sandy Schaefer — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:15:14 +0000

DreamWorks is pulling out all the stops marketing its Fright Night remake just a few days before it finally hits theaters. No matter where you travel around the Interwebs, chances are good you’ll see an advertisement for the flick, with Colin Farrell as the red-eyed, blood-thirsty vampiric monster, Jerry.

Those of you who are eager to see the updated, but still brutal, vampire tale can help pass the time by checking out a new red-band clip released for the 3D feature.

Quick recap: Farrell is Jerry, the handsome new neighbor to Fright Night protagonist Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) – and, as it turns out, a literal lady/man-killer who plans on drinking the blood of just about everyone in town. Naturally, Charley decides to take action before Jerry can sink his fangs into either his mom (Oscar-nominee Toni Collette) ...

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Fright Night Video Interview: Screenwriter Marti Noxon Talks Monsters, Buffy & Colin Farrell

Roth Cornet — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:35:43 +0000

This weekend the highly anticipated remake of the beloved 1985 vamp-camp classic Fright Night opens in theaters. The team behind the film ranges from star (and lifetime diehard Fright Night original fan) Colin Farrell to the rather surprising directorial choice — indie film favorite Craig Gillespie (Lars and rhe Real Girl). When it came time to select the film’s writer however, there was no more perfect choice than vampire lore veteran and former Buffy the Vampire Slayer showrunner Marti Noxon.

Noxon worked as a writer/producer on both Angel and, as mentioned, Buffy the Vampire Slayer with series creator and executive producer Joss Whedon and has since been attached to projects as varied as I Am Number Four and Mad Men. We recently had the chance to chat with Noxon about bringing this predatory, horrifically monstrous, version of ...

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‘Fright Night’ Clips Hint At A Dark Vampire Tale

Sandy Schaefer — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:38:17 +0000

Director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Marti Noxon are ready to correct the notion that pretty boy vampires are sensitive Gary Stus with their Fright Night remake, which arrives in theaters this week.

Previous trailers, TV spots, and footage from the supernatural horror romp have been big on playing it up as the anti-Twilight, in virtually every way possible. However, we’ve yet to see much of the potty-mouthed humor and comedy the film promises to deliver – on top of the gruesome vampire violence.

Three new Fright Night clips have been released online; not surprisingly, they’re short on laughs and scares, which are (hopefully) being saved for the actual movie. They do affirm what we’ve suspected all along, though – that Anton Yelchin is the everyman meant to ground all the madness; Colin ...

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‘Fright Night’ International Trailer & Comic-Con Clips

Sandy Schaefer — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:39:16 +0000

DreamWorks’ Fright Night remake did all right for itself with its panel at the 2011 Comic-Con this past weekend. More footage was shown of fan-favorite David Tennant as Las Vegas showman/vampire slayer Peter Vincent, as well as digs at the all-too-popular Twilight franchise.

That Comic-Con material is now online, along with a new international trailer for the Fright Night reworking. But does the tongue-in-cheek horrorfest look better or worse for it?

When the first Fright Night trailer hit the scene, it suggested the remake could be more serious and grim in tone than the 1985 original – not to mention visually dark and murky, making the 3D effect seem less appealing. Not a whole lot of the film’s R-Rated humor has been shown since then (for obvious reasons), but by and large ...

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‘Conan’ and ‘Fright Night’ TV Spots: Blood-Thirsty Warriors & Vampires

Sandy Schaefer — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 15:11:34 +0000

The same weekend next month marks the arrival of two (gory) 1980s movie reboots: A new Conan the Barbarian flick and the remake of the cult horror-comedy, Fright Night.

A red band international TV spot for Conan has made its way online, teasing more of the film’s raw and bloody violence; the first Fright Night TV spot, by comparison, is for all audiences, but also hints at some nasty deaths and killing, courtesy of Colin Farrell’s blood-sucker, Jerry.

Both these flicks are being released in 3D as well, though it doesn’t seem like either one will be worth paying the extra cash to see in that format. Fright Night just looks too visually dark and murky to really benefit from 3D, while the extra dimension in Conan appears designed to merely enhance ...

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Complete Comic-Con 2011 Movie Panel Schedule

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 20:39:56 +0000

The 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International is just about here, which means that we (and a few of you readers) need to start plotting our itineraries and map routes that will help navigate the mad halls of the San Diego Convention Center in time to make all of those highly-anticipated panels.

This post will detail the movie-related panels that will held at Comic-Con ’11. You can find schedules for any of the TV-related panels over on our official Comic-Con ’11 Coverage Page.

The panels posted below are ones we’ll be scrambling to attend. Most of them are of course related to movies, but there is always room for some comic-related stuff too – after all, comics and movies are like close cousins these days .

That said, included in the list ...

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Early ‘Fright Night’ Screening At Comic-Con 2011

Sandy Schaefer — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:02:49 +0000

Even though certain comic book superheroes are skipping out on a presentation at the 2011 Comic-Con Festival in San Diego next month, creatures of the night will be represented in full force – and not only by the glittering characters of Twilight infamy, but rather the more traditional vampire tale, Fright Night.

DreamWorks has announced the details of its Comic-Con presentation for the Fright Night remake, which will include the presence of cast members Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Imogen Poots – as well as screenwriter Marti Noxon and director Craig Gillespie.

The Fright Night panel will take place on Friday, July 22nd in Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center. In addition to a fan appreciation party following the event, DreamWorks has also scheduled an advanced screening of the 3D scarefest remake for select Con ...

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‘Fright Night’ TV Trailer Includes ‘Twilight’ Jokes & David Tennant

Sandy Schaefer — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 17:09:07 +0000

The 2011 MTV Movie Awards aired last night – and once again, the Twilight franchise reigned triumphant at the ceremony. Among the new goodies that aired during the show was a television trailer for the Fright Night remake, which promises to be the anti-Twilight in every sense of the term.

Fright Night features many of the same ingredients (teens, romance, handsome but deadly vampires) as author Stephenie Meyer’s creation, but very much combines them in a different and hard R-Rated manner.

The first Fright Night trailer introduced us to most of the important players in the film – including protagonist Charlie Brewster (Anton Yelchin) and evil blood-sucker Jerry Dandridge (Colin Farrell). However, that trailer failed to offer any footage of fan-favorite David Tennant as the illusionist/vampire hunter Peter Vincent. That problem is ...

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‘Fright Night’ Will Have Plenty of Blood, Gore & F-Bombs

Kofi Outlaw — Tue, 31 May 2011 18:48:07 +0000

MTV gave a screening of the Fright Night, remake, and one thing that definitely came out of it was evidence that the film won’t be following in the modern trend of making vampires into softer, sparklier, more sensitive creatures.

In fact, director Craig Gillespie and star Christopher Mintz-Plasse made sure to let all those listening know that what we saw in the Fright Night trailer was nothing: this movie will earn every inch of its R-rating.

As Gillespie told MTV:

“From the get go, DreamWorks said, ‘Let’s not hold back and let’s really do this…When you’re dealing with vampires and blood and stuff, it’s hard to not be R-rated. There’s a lot of gore going on.”

Gillespie also touched on what kind of vampire star Colin Farrell will be portraying in ...

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‘Super 8′ and ‘Fright Night’ Clips: Exploding Trains & Evil Vampires

Sandy Schaefer — Tue, 31 May 2011 14:28:53 +0000

Today’s batch of footage from upcoming titles includes yet another clip from J.J. Abrams’ Super 8 that focuses on the pivotal but mysterious train crash which sets the film’s plot in motion – and the first clip from Fright Night, director Craig Gillespie’s upcoming remake of the cult classic horror-comedy about a boy and his less-than-friendly neighbor.

The former hits theaters next week and looks to be an endearing homage to old-fashioned sci-fi and coming-of-age movies released in the late 1970s/early 1980s. Gillespie’s film on the other hand, hasn’t inspired a whole lot of confidence just yet.

Abrams’ Super 8 takes place in 1979 and revolves around Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), a young boy who spends his days hanging out with a pack of eccentric but creative kids who are making ...

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‘Fright Night’ Trailer: Murky Action, Few Laughs

Kofi Outlaw — Fri, 13 May 2011 18:11:09 +0000

Fright Night is one movie that is on our 2011 summer movie slate with several big fat question marks next to it. The original 1980s version - about a geek who discovers his next door neighbor is a vampire – is considered a cult-classic, in large part because of a great mix of horror and comedy.

However, in the age where every other movie wants to go “Dark Knight” on us (i.e., darker and edgier) one of those aforementioned question marks next to this new version of Fright Night is whether or not director Craig Gillespie will honor the comedy/horror balance of the original.

Today, with the first trailer for the new Fright Night we have an early estimate in regards to that question: this remake looks to be going for more of an action/thriller ...

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First Image of David Tennant In ‘Fright Night’ Remake

Sandy Schaefer — Wed, 11 May 2011 17:05:23 +0000

One of a handful of horror(ish) flicks due to arrive in theaters this upcoming August, Fright Night hasn’t been promoted all that much by DreamWorks up until now. That’s apparently going to change in the very near future (read: expect a trailer for the film soon, possibly within the week). Today, however, the studio has released two more images from the remake.

Fright Night is a reworking of the cult 1985 horror-comedy that (based on earlier images from the movie) will remain true to the creepy but fun spirit of the original – and not cross over into the Twilight realm of stories that involve teens and vampires.

Here is an official synopsis for the Fright Night remake:

Senior Charlie Brewster (Anton Yelchin) finally has it all going on: he’s running with the popular crowd and ...

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