Fright Night (2011 film)

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You can't run from evil when it lives next door.

Fright Night (2011) is a remake of the cult 1985 horror-comedy hit, starring Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, David Tennant and Toni Collette. It drops the Peter Vincent Becoming the Mask story and turns Charley into a Buffy-type character, with Jerry resembling both Spike (suave and cool) and Angelus (a Complete Monster who loves to kill and psychologically torture his victims), and Peter now being a Vegas showman instead of a former actor.

Despite underperforming at the box office, the film has turned out to be a critical success.

The film features the following tropes:

• Actor Allusion: David Tennant uses the same accent he used during his tenure on Doctor Who (he's actually Scottish). He even draws out his "Well...", which was one of Ten's catch phrases.
  • Most British actors use a "TV" accent rather than their real regional one.
    • Talking about Doctor Who, Peter holds the stake like Ten does the sonic.
  • This isn't the first time Imogen Poots has been attacked by the undead. Last time it was zombies though.
  • Christopher Mintz-Plasse is seen LARPing.
• Adaptational Badass: Charlie goes from being the Action Survivor to a slayer who gets his own Lock and Load Montage.
  • Jerry Dandridge BLOWS UP YOUR HOUSE.
  • Hell, even Amy and Charley's mom were upgraded.
• Affably Evil: Jerry. He even continues to act casual and make smalltalk while attacking his prey. May border on Faux Affably Evil, but we're given little reason to believe this isn't his true personality.
• All Is Well That Ends Well: Peter lost his girlfriend, but that's okay! We have proof and a whole group of witnesses/victims who can prove vampires exist, but they don't seem to have gone public.
• An Axe to Grind: Charley wields a battle version one during his battle with vampire Ed. He also is seen holding a normal one on the poster to the film.
• Asshole Victim: Mark
• Badass Longcoat: Part of Peter Vincent's standard stage attire. He also wears it during the assault on Jerry's house.
• Big Bad: Jerry, once again!
• Big Eater: Amy, who admits to having an insatiable appetite after asking Charlie about dinner before even finishing a smoothie that looks too big to even fit in her stomach.
• Blackmail: Evil Ed threatens to reveal some awful truths about Charlie's past.
• Call Back:
  • To the original, among them:
    • Jerry eating an apple
    • "You've got to have faith."
    • "You're so cool, Brewster!"
    • "Welcome to Fright Night. For real."
  • To its sequel:
    • The stake gun being similar to the one used in Fright Night II.
    • Charlie and Amy being chased by Evil Ed in Peter's lair is extremely similar to a similar scene in Fright Night II, specifically the characters being chased by the werewolf character through the library.
  • Just when you think they've turned Peter Vincent into a Criss Angel clone, he pulls off the facial hair and wig, resembling something much closer to Roddy McDowall's character (albeit with some Mick Jagger rubbed on).
• Car Fu: And a motorcycle.
• Cassandra Truth: Played straight multiple times, then averted just as many.
• Cell Phone: Charley's works well enough for him to look up a guide on lockpicking, and his camera works when needed, as did Ed's. But none of them get a signal out in the Nevada desert while being chased by Jerry.
• Chekhov's Armoury: Peter Vincent's collection of relics and weapons
• Chekhov's Gun: Several. In order of use:
  • 1. Charlie's mother uses a real estate sign she had from earlier to stake Jerry.
  • 2. The symbol that Charlie photographs, which leads to Vincent's reaction to whom they were dealing with.
  • 3. The camera focuses on a revolver in one of Peter Vincent's display cases, and Amy tries using it against Jerry later.
  • 4. When Charlie is looking through Ed's notes, he speculates about a stake gun at the bottom of the page, and Peter uses one of his own in the finale.
• Cluster F-Bomb: Peter Vincent drops one or two.
• Convection, Schmonvection: Despite Charley's fire-retardant clothing he was burning long enough to feel some extreme pain if not actually be burned.
• Cowardly Lion: Peter Vincent. He does spend a majority of the time going straight into panic mode, but when the chips are down, he finally proves he has a little bit of grit.
• Crazy Prepared: Peter Vincent. A panic room, yes. But also guns with silver bullets, and chalices apparently kept full of holy water even while in a display case.
• Dare to Be Badass: Possibly invoked by Jerry to Charlie, when he was speaking to him about his mom and girlfriend. This leads Charley to become a Buffy-type vampire slayer.
• Dawson Casting: Dave Franco plays a high school student despite being 26 and playing a medical student in the final season of Scrubs.
• Deadly Delivery: One of the vampires impersonates a delivery guy so he will be invited inside and bypass the entry prohibition.
• Death by Cameo: Chris Sarandon, who played Jerry in the original, is one of Jerry's victims.
• Determinator: Evil Ed keeps going and kicking ass even after getting one of his arms taken off.
• Disappeared Dad: Charley's. And in Peter's case, his dad and his mother as well. But there is a good reason for that.
• Double Entendre: Possibly. At the very end, when Charley is about to have sex with Amy, his mom calls. Charley tells her that he can't talk right now because "something just came up."
• Dying as Yourself: Implied with Ed and Jerry.
• Evil Gloating: Jerry has Charley right where he can kill him. what does he do? Point out the proper spot to stake a vampire - which Charlie didn't know previously. Nice Job Fixing It, Villain.
• Exactly What I Aimed At: Charley misses Amy's heart with a stake
• Epic Flail: Amy uses one.
• Fake American: Colin Farrell is Irish, Toni Collette is Australian, Imogen Poots is English. Anton Yelchin is Russian but raised in America.
• Fire-Forged Friends: Peter and Charley.
• Genre Savvy: Charley, once realizing that he should've taken Ed seriously about Jerry being a vampire. He kicks in with crosses and every other anti-vampire tactic he can think of.
• Give Geeks a Chance:

Amy: I knew you were a dweeb.

• Hannibal Lecture: Jerry delivers one to Charley.
• Hell-Bent for Leather: Peter Vincent, subverted: He hates it, but it's part of his costume.
• Hope Spot: Charley and Amy are almost out of the club that is apart of Peter's penthouse complex. But then Jerry is also there and Charley is caught by a bouncer only he watches his girlfriend get turned, as he was being taken away.
• I Was Just Joking: Peter's reaction to finding out that Charlie had taken his suggestion about setting himself on fire seriously.
  • Not really. He suggested setting *Jerry* on fire, and he *was* completely serious. He was just surprised that Peter took his suggestion after pointing out the obvious flaw in the plan (how do you get close enough to stake a vampire while he's on fire?).
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Peter Vincent in Jerry's basement.

Peter: Oh shit. I may not be drunk enough for this.

• Instant Expert: Zig-zagged. Charlie looks up a guide on how to pick locks when trying to break into Jerry's house, but he gives up and looks for a key instead. However, only a little while later, he manages to pick the lock on Doris's cell without even consulting the guide again.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Charley tried to completely cut off and avoid Edward when he got a hot girlfriend and popular friends, and blew off Ed's concern that Jerry was a vampire — only to discover Ed was right. Guilt and desire to protect his mother and Amy drive him to seek out Peter Vincent for help.
  • Peter as well. He starts as a foul-mouthed, alcoholic prima donna who refuses to help Charlie even after Jerry killed everyone in the night club he lives above. However he shows up at the end to help Charlie defeat Jerry.
• Key Under the Doormat: Fake rock version.
• Kill It with Fire: ...and a stake. Peter's suggestion on the best way to try taking out the vampire Jerry.
• Large Ham: Jerry! Which leads to Evil Is Hammy.
  • Also while we're on the subject David Tennant as Peter Vincent.
• Lock and Load Montage: Done by Charlie before the Final Battle.
• Logo Joke: Down through the Dreamworks clouds to the town below.
• Man On Fire: For the final battle, Charlie suits up in a fireproof suit drenched in gas and sets himself ablaze in order to burn Jerry.
• More Teeth Than the Osmond Family: The vampires have this going on.
• Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Lampshaded by Charlie.

Charlie: "Jerry? What kind of name is that for a vampire?"

• Nightmare Face: The vampires. Especially Amy
• Noodle Incident: "What about the time you took my Stretch Armstrong so you could tie it to your balls and jerk off for an hour? [...] I still want my Stretch back, y'know..."
• No Time to Explain: Charley tells his mother he doesn't have time to explain a million things to her.
• Not Distracted by the Sexy: Charley is so wigged out by Jerry bringing Doris into his apartment that he blows off Amy's advances, much to her irritation.
• Oh Crap:
  • Peter's face when he realizes Jerry has set him in a room full of new and hungry vampires and just lured them out.
  • Charlie also reacts this way when he finally manages to get Doris out of Jerry's house, only to have her suddenly turn into ash upon being exposed to sunlight.
• The Oner: Much of the highway chase is filmed as a long take with the camera within the car, moving in between car seats and actors, ala Children of Men.
• Our Vampires Are Different: And how.
  • More specifically, they can't enter a house without an invitation though they can find sneaky loopholes like pretending to be delivery boys, cornering people in abandoned buildings, or just blowing the place up. They turn humans with a bite, are burned by holy water and can be turned instantly to dust by a stake or sunlight.
    • For extra fun Vincent's dialogue, refering to Jerry's lot as a particular "breed," suggests there might be other kinds of vampires out there.
• Parental Obliviousness: Ed's. They tell Charley he leaves early, having no idea he's actually missing - However he may have been dropping by before the sun came up and after the sun went down to make his parents think he was still around.
• Plain Name: Jerry the Vampire
• Product Placement:
  • Note how clearly the brand name "Vizio" stands out on the TV in the beginning.
  • Budweiser
  • Chilis
  • Century 21 real estate
• Reality Ensues: Characters repeatedly hurt their legs by falling from sizable heights.
  • See Soft Glass below.
• Remake Cameo: Chris Sarandon, the original Jerry Dandridge, ends up being a snack for the new Jerry Dandridge.
• Setting Update: The remake is set in Las Vegas, with Peter Vincent turned into a Criss Angel-esque figure. As Charlie and Ed both point out, it makes a very good place for vampires (lots of people work night shift, people move in and out of there all the time).
• Silver Bullet: Amy shoots Jerry with some. they don't work.
• Soft Glass: Notably averted unlike so many other films. Every time a character breaks glass, be it a window or a display case, they hit it with something else rather than punching through it. Jerry plays this straight though, being a vampire and all.
• Title Drop: As in the original, Fright Night is the name of Peter Vincent's show.
• Trailers Always Spoil: The scene where Jerry blows up the Brewsters' house is one of the main set pieces featured in the trailers.
  • Poster ads in Asia would often spoiler the vampire Game Faces, added to the bottom corner, as if they were afraid people would think it's that kind of vampire movie.
• Underside Ride: Jerry, after the heroes try to run him over.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: Charlie has a pretty broad knowledge of every known substance that's supposed to repel and kill vampires in fiction, most of which Jerry laughingly shrugs off at every attempt. He learns the hard way that, among other things, you actually need to hit the heart for a stake to work, and you have to have faith for holy symbols to be a real deterrent (otherwise, he can quickly grab it and toss it away). We also never see Jerry's reaction to garlic.
  • Also happens with Amy when she tries shooting silver bullets at Jerry. As he happily informs her, that only hurts werewolves. She follows it up with holy water, which DOES hurt vampires.
• Vampire Bites Suck: Some of the victims get their throats torn out bloodily. Others get the classic bite and suck.
• Vampire Invitation: Jerry makes several attempts to get one. When he fails, he simply blows up the Brewsters' house.

Jerry: "Don't need an invitation if there's no house."

• • Ed also finds out the hard way that this trope doesn't work if a home has been abandoned.
  • They also use technicalities to their advantage, like casually inviting a deliveryman in for an unusually late night package.
• Viva Las Vegas: Couldn't really move the setting here without at least once scene like this at the very end.
• You Killed My Parents: Peter Vincent's backstory with Jerry.
• Your Vampires Suck: Evil Ed takes great offense when Charlie accuses him of reading Twilight.
  • May also count as Fridge Brilliance. Ed's formal name is Edward.