Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Fright...Delight?

You probably know by now that I love remakes.
But you probably already know that sometimes, just sometimes, it seems warranted.

Well, I've known about the remake of Fright Night for some time now.  I've not been happy about it, until now.
Maybe I'm okay with it.

In the original movie, Charlie Brewster watches a late night horror show (the kind with a host who bumpers the commercials.) Much like Svengoolie or Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. When Charlie believes a real vampire (played by Chris Sarandon) has moved in next door, his only hope is to seek the help of Peter Vincent, the Great Vampire Killer (played by Roddy McDowall) - the host of the late night horror host program, "Fright Night." Peter Vincent tries to tell Charlie that's just a character he plays. But when Charlie is proven correct - the neighbor is a vampire - Peter Vincent must step up to the role. It's a great little movie. Very well balanced between comedy and horror. Personally, I think that's a difficult genre to pull off.

It doesn't need a remake, though.

Unless you put a twist on it...? Such as... the "meta" approach.

In the new movie, the Charlie Parker character will be a fan of Fright Night. As in, having seen the movie. The movie I just spoke about. Well, wouldn't you know it but a vampire moves in next door? Since the late night horror host format is not as popular as it had been during the first movie... who can he turn to? The only person who can help him is Chris Sarandon... after all, he played the undead dude in the first movie...

Last night visiting at Banky's, I told both Banky and Clara this idea.
They agreed. It's just silly enough to work.
UPDATE

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