Fright Night - Blu-ray Review

4.3 Stars (out of 5)

Synopsis                               

This update of the 1985 horror comedy focuses more on terror than laughs when teen Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) suspects that his new neighbor, the sinister Jerry Dandrige (Colin Farrell), is a vampire, and turns to a self-styled vampire expert, Peter Vincent (David Tennant), for help. Las Vegas magician Vincent proves useless, and it's up to Charley to save his mom, Jane (Toni Collette), and girlfriend, Amy, from the seductive bloodsucker. Buy Now $22.99

Starring:

Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, David Tennant, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Imogen Poots, Toni Collette, Dave Franco, Grace Phipps, Reid Ewing

Director:

Craig Gillespie

Blu-ray Release Date:

December 13, 2010

Subtitles:

English, French, Spanish

Rating

Overall rating weighted as follows:
Audio 40%, Video 40%, Special Features 20%, Movie - its just our opinion so take it with a grain of salt

Audio 4.8 Stars (out of 5)

Dolby and DTS Demo Discs used as basis for comparison

• Subwoofer – 5.0 Stars
• Dialog – 4.5 Stars
• Surround Effects – 4.5 Stars
• Dynamic Range – 5.0 Stars

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1

During the opening credits, deep roaring thunder rumbled across the sky and I knew this movie would deliver a bold audio performance. The music soundtrack also gets your attention buy utilizing all speakers, especially during the club scene. Low end sounds like car crashes, gunshots, and explosions resonate with clean deep bass. Surround speakers are utilized often and are even put to use during the quite scenes. School bells ring in corners of the room, crickets chirp around you, and school kids chatter in the background. At times a few lines of dialog get lost in the action, but the movie makes up for it in almost every other category.

Video  4.6 Stars (out of 5)

Spears & Munsil Benchmark Blu-ray Edition used as basis for comparison

• Color Accuracy  - 4.5 Stars
• Shadow detail – 4.0 Stars
• Clarity – 4.5 Stars
• Skin tones – 5.0 Stars
• Compression – 5.0 Stars

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC, Resolution: 1080p, Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1, Original Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Fright Night has two different color palettes. During night scenes it’s blue and cold, and during the day it’s natural and warm. Video is clean enough to make out small pimples on faces, clothing textures, and small blood splatters. About 50% of the movie is in the dark, and lots of details are lost to the crushing darkness.

Bonus Features 3.0 Stars (out of 5)

• Peter Vincent: Come Swim in My Mind (1080p, 2:09): A silly interview with Peter Vincent (David Tennant)
• The Official "How to Make a Funny Vampire Movie" Guide (1080p, 8:04): Cast and crew offer a brief overview of the movie's various elements and goals they wanted the film to achieve.
• Deleted & Extended Scenes (1080p, 4:51): Six different scenes that add a little more character development to the film.
• Squid Man: Extended & Uncut (1080p, 2:56): The entire video of Charlie and Ed playing around in the backyard.
• Bloopers (1080p, 3:23).
• Music Video (1080p, 5:21): "No One Believes Me" by Kid Cudi.

Movie – 3.5 Stars (out of 5)

Review

I was a fan of the original Fright Night and had high expectations for this remake and was not let down. Fright Night is still bloody, funny, and full of scares. I was glad that it didn’t follow the original plot 100%. It had its own voice but still retained some of the familiar plot points. The script seemed fresh and didn’t resort to overused horror film tricks. It doesn't take it's time to tell the story, once the credits end the tension and action don't stop. Colin Farrell’s performance as Jerry was great. He seamed like a charismatic guy the ladies would like, but somehow still had the attitude of a creepy violent jerk. I was a bit disappointed in Anton Yelchin's performance. It wasn’t bad, it just flat and forgettable. This is a fun popcorn movie that flew under the radar during the summer. Hopefully this movie will find a better life on Blu-ray.