Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) and his mum (Toni Collete) have got a new neighbour called Jerry (Colin Farrell). Ever since Jerry moved in, local residents have gone missing. It’s been about a year since Charley last spoke to his geeky best friend, Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse).
Charley is desperate to outgrow his nerdy roots. He has got himself a girlfriend (Imogen Poots) and spends his days trying to befriend/ impress the school’s dumb jocks. So when Ed starts making outlandish claims that Jerry is a vampire, Charley tries to distance himself even further from Ed. Ed then goes missing, causing Charley to believe Ed’s theory. The thing is, now nobody believes Charley.
Charley’s last hope is magician and vampire hunter Peter Vincent (David Tennant). Now, I like David Tennant but if you’re going to cast Russell Brand in your remake cast Russell Brand. Tennant plays the role brilliantly but be warned he swears, a lot. This isn’t one for the kids.
I’m a fan of the original so I approached this remake with a lot of trepidation. But unlike most remakes, this is entirely enjoyable. It’s faithful enough to the fun of the original whilst ramping up the tension and putting a modern spin on it.
It’s got a good, strong cast. Farrell is really intimidating as Jerry. He owns every scene he is in. The dialogue is sharp and witty and the movie is well-paced. Dare I say it, the acting is so much better in this than the original. In fact, the only thing letting this movie down is the 3D. Most of the film takes place at night (obviously) so it made the images a little too dark to truly work in 3D. The only part of the 3D I thought that worked was the opening titles. This is a decent remake and well worth a watch but, if possible, catch the 2D showing.
Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) and his mum (Toni Collete) have got a new neighbour called Jerry (Colin Farrell). Ever since Jerry moved in, local residents have gone missing. It’s also been about a year since Charley last spoke to his geeky best friend, Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse).