2009 May 15 « Entertainment Today and Beyond

FRIGHT NIGHT – The Latest Remake

Fright_night_poster According to the Hollywood Reporter, DreamWorks has picked up the rights to produce a remake of the 1985 horror comedy “Fright Night.” The original film, directed by Tom Holland, is about a teenager who discovers that his neighbor is a vampire – it’s one of my all time favorites. It’s one of those films you can pop into your DVD player and totally enjoy over and over… especially late at night. One of the things that made it work so well was the casting of Roddy McDowell as late night horror host and vampire hunter, Peter Vincent. He brought a class to the film that will be impossible to duplicate. While attending a horror convention 15 years ago I met Roddy who was there to sign autographs – as a fan I had him sign a still from Fright Night. My friend Mike now has it so Mike, if you’re reading this, please keep it safe – LOL.

The film also benefited greatly from the casting of William Ragsdale as Charlie Brewster, Stephen Geoffreys as “Evil” Ed Thompson and Chris Sarandon as the next door vampire, Jerry Dandridge. I’m still convinced that Sarandon’s Jerry Dandridge is the coolest vampire in movie history. While there is no way that a remake can be near as good, I’m glad a major studio like DreamWorks will do it instead of an independent who would just produce a cheapo version. A sequel to Fright Night was produced in 1988 with Ragsdale and McDowell returning but it barely received a theatrical release. While watchable it didn’t have the magic of the original and the film stock it was shot on was absolutely awful. It was directed by Tommy Lee Wallace (Stephen King’s IT).

May 15, 2009 Posted by Entertainment Today & Beyond | And Beyond - Trailers & News | Fright Night Remake Trailer | Leave a Comment

THE ROAD Trailer

THE ROAD Trailer: When I hear “Post-Apocalyptic” it’s music to my ears as this has always been my favorite genre. I can’t explain why but there’s something about the end of the world that puts a smile on my face. Well, I really like what I see here with the release of Dimension Films’ first-look trailer to “The Road”, a film based on the Cormac McCarthy novel about the end of civilization. The film tells the story of a man (Viggo Mortensen) and his young son (Kodi Smit McPhee) as they travel through a post-apocalyptic world gone mad. Robert Duvall, Charlize Theron and Guy Pearce co-star. Earlier this week Esquire Magazine published a review of the movie calling it “The most important film of the year.” The Road lands in theaters October 16, 2009. Take a LOOK