MovieChat Forums > Fright Night (2011) Discussion > I think the main thing missing from the ...

I think the main thing missing from the remake...


was that it lacked a bit of emotion in places.
Like when Ed dies, I really wansn't that bothered by it as he wasn't made out to be a very likeable character. I thought his best friend might have had a bit more of an emotional response to having to kill his friend.

Also the club scene definately lacked the Romance/erotic side that the original had (something I beleive Cloin Farrell himself refered to).

If it had a bit more emotion to it, it would be really great!
I don't hate the remake, I just thought they could have done a bit more with the characters. Colin Farrells charm was a bit wasted I thought.

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Royale with cheese!

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It was too much by the numbers. Lacking the campy charm of the original and a spirit of its own.


Its that man again!!

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agree...by the numbers, playing safe and seriously the cgi effects were horrible especially when they do all that jaw nonsense with enlarged goofy cartoon mouths....i'm scared....that they though that was in any way scary!!?

“What we have here is a failure to communicate”, Captain

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I agree. The movie lacked character development and depth, and no one cared enough about their friends and family considering the vampire next door.

There are two deleted scenes on the Blu-ray I think would have really fleshed out Charley and Ed. One was him in the car before going to get coffee before school, worrying about being late for class. Cutting that scene made the line from the final cut that Amy says not make sense. "See, Charley. We're on time! You always make that worried face..."
The other scene was at the school with Charley, Amy, and the two dumb jock/stoner friends. Charley and Dave Franco's character clash because Franco doesn't care Ed is missing and Charley stands up for him.

Having those two scenes would have increased the quality of the movie greatly in my opinion. If they need to cut anything for time, they could have cut the scene where Amy finds a haggard Charley on the school computer, researching vampire stuff and telling Amy he's working on porn. I would also have appreciated another suspenseful scene like the one where Charley gets Doris out of the secret cell.



"Oh, my God. Bear is driving! How can that be?!"

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i was thinkin why the original is so much better also. the emotion in the remake is JUST NOT THERE. also, the soundtrack is JUST NOT THERE. the script is JUST NOT THERE. i cant stress enough the dialogue was just laughable. when charley gets picked on, its by some sort of wannabe cool kids and the ridicule is so stupid that the bullys should have been picked on for their pathetic attempt at bullying. i digress

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I thought the club scene was pretty good. One scene that stands out to me are the tears streaming down Amy's face as she's being bitten into.

For someone who hasn't seen the original, that might have been a little surprising.

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True the club scene was not like it was in the original but it was good just the same. Loved seeing that tear coming down Amy's face as Jerry was converting her.

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I liked that scene too for its show of how she doesn't want it as he's being pulled away by bouncers. Just as he was helpless to his neightbor, now he is once again for his gf.

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I thought the club scene was pretty good. One scene that stands out to me are the tears streaming down Amy's face as she's being bitten into.

For someone who hasn't seen the original, that might have been a little surprising.


Agreed. I thought the tear was an effective touch. The club scene was one of the best parts of the original and I thought the club scene was quite good in this one.

"I'm the ultimate badass,you do NOT wanna f-ck wit me!"Hudson,Aliens😬

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Actually when Ed dies you can see Charley shed a tear, it's just not that well visible, though I must agree after that scene he was pretty much quickly forgotten.

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Plus if you listen closely, Ed said, "its ok Charley," which solidifies he was comming out of it as he died and was glad it was over. Plus he didn't want Charley to blame himself, but to let go and was glad he ended him before he could do more harm.

I disagree that there was no heart or emotion. I just think it was mixed in with the horror and comedy aspects that you might miss it in group viewings but by your self or with just one person, you see the subtle nods.

Ed knew and he and his friend figured Jerry out prior to the first home invasion(prompting Jerry's informing Ed he knew he was watching). Charley felt guilt for abandoning his friends and making new ones to fit-in(Similar to undertone of 'This Is The End' with Franco's brother and friends taking Seth from Jay). The 'shhhh' from the neighbor as shes bitten by Jerry. The gf bite in the club. Charley's goodbye and reluctance to kill Ed. Jerry asking if Charley can protect his loved ones and if he's ready to. Charley with his mother in hospital. Charley confessing his guilt at the hospital. Charley trying to get Peter to believe him. Jerry recalling Peter's Parents. Peter morning his girl in the elevator.

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Plus if you listen closely, Ed said, "its ok Charley," which solidifies he was comming out of it as he died and was glad it was over. Plus he didn't want Charley to blame himself, but to let go and was glad he ended him before he could do more harm.

I disagree that there was no heart or emotion. I just think it was mixed in with the horror and comedy aspects that you might miss it in group viewings but by your self or with just one person, you see the subtle nods.

Ed knew and he and his friend figured Jerry out prior to the first home invasion(prompting Jerry's informing Ed he knew he was watching). Charley felt guilt for abandoning his friends and making new ones to fit-in(Similar to undertone of 'This Is The End' with Franco's brother and friends taking Seth from Jay). The 'shhhh' from the neighbor as shes bitten by Jerry. The gf bite in the club. Charley's goodbye and reluctance to kill Ed. Jerry asking if Charley can protect his loved ones and if he's ready to. Charley with his mother in hospital. Charley confessing his guilt at the hospital. Charley trying to get Peter to believe him. Jerry recalling Peter's Parents. Peter morning his girl in the elevator.


This. I thought that was a pretty sad scene, especially how Charley doesn't want to leave him. Thought that was touching.

"I'm the ultimate badass,you do NOT wanna f-ck wit me!"Hudson,Aliens😬

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I'm a big fan of the original, and I have a hard time with remakes in general because I feel they lack a lot of what made the original great in the first place. That said, this wasn't horrible, but as others have pointed out, there was just something lacklustre about it.

Collint27... you make a great point about the father-figure aspect of the original. That was sorely lacking here. I'm sorry, but David Tennant's Peter Vincent was more like a childish uncle/immature big brother type of thing, but definitely not a father figure.

Evil Ed? I really didn't feel any attachment to him. Course, I didn't really feel much toward the original Evil, either, but the original did seem to gel more with the original Charlie and Amy. Also, the current Evil reminded me too much of Paul Ruebens when he was in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and he was making antagonistic/sarcastic comments to Buffy. I don't know if that was intended or not, but that's what the current Evil reminded me of. Maybe it had to do with the whole one arm thing. *shrugs* There were several parts of the movie that had a similar vibe to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, movie.

I did like the current Amy better than Amanda Bearse's Amy, but the current Amy definitely lacked the innocence that Amanda's Amy had.

I actually did like the Chris Sarandon tribute/passing the torch thing with his cameo. That actually did have a bit of campiness to it, and I was cracking up when I saw it.

I also liked that Toni Collette played the mom as tougher, and less clueless than the original.

But yes, it did feel rushed in places, and dragging in others.

While I didn't hate this as much as I expected to, it still has NOTHING on the original, and I remain loyal to that version.

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The original is definately closer to my heart. That being said, the special effects of the remake made a truly worthwhile watch. I loved it for that reason...and I liked the mother better in the remake. Very gutsy!!

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I liked Evil in the original because while he was annoying, he was pathetic enough to warrant pathos for the path he goes down.

I found Evil Ed this annoying kid I wanted to punch in the face. Evil would have also never had to blackmail bully his friend into meeting him. Evil's storyline was alittle more sympathetic because he was still one of Charlie's only friends.

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The original Evil Ed is my fave character. The one in the remake was lame and lacked the gay undertones. The scene in which Jerry turns him in the original is beautiful.

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Yeah, I missed the scene with Ed turning into the wolf and Peter having to reluctantly kill him, thus gaining his "faith". As well, I missed Jerry's caretaker from the original. The club scene also was missing the seductive taking of Amy as well.

Having said that, I did enjoy the film. I thought it was a fun romp. It wasn't anything entirely special, but it was certainly not a boring film.



I'm just a guy that likes horror flicks.

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pretty fun remake.
Although the main problem i had was that they confirmed Jerry to be a vampire way too early.
I like the fact that the original version played the "Rear Window" element (Is he, or isnt he, a vampire) for a good portion of the film.
I thought this was kind of lacking in the film.


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I feel the opposite actually. I liked the movie for the most part, and I think it's just as good as the original, but the original spent too much time on the premise "No one believes me that my neighbor is a vampire!" rather than "How do I deal with saving my family and friends from this vampire?" It emphasizes the point of becoming a man, whereas the last one seemed to be more about being perceived as a weirdo by skeptics.




"Oh, my God. Bear is driving! How can that be?!"

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I have to agree
it did lack a lot of emotion in some parts,

and in other parts people were acting way too cool for seeing a monster,
everyone was kinda acting too "okay" with things, I was actually surprised the mom fainted,
Yes they were screaming in the car, but they were not as freaked out as they should have been, no one was, I am not talking about screaming or acting hysterical either, just felt like there was no emotion from the characters either way, either sadness or surprise,

I'll look down, and whisper no

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Totally agree vinchenzo19. We cared about evil when he died. There was something there when amy was taken in the club scene. There was meaning to the film while it was funny at the same time. This film was ok by itself. As compared to, and a remake of, the original, it was not very good. So for those who have not seen it yet, just forget the original and you will be fine. Just don't think of the original when you watch the remake, they are nothing alike.

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It was a pretty good movie. I enjoyed it. Yes it was different than the original, but that was a good thing.

I liked that Jerry was not a love sick vampire. I liked that he does not seduce Amy at the club, he feeds on her. Jerry was shown to be a blood thirsty predator, period.

I liked that Charlie's mom was tough and intelligent. Too bad she disappears from the rest of the movie once she's hospitalized.

I also hated that Ed was turned so early in the movie. He should've been around a lot more during the movie.

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