The Big Picture
- Colin Farrell’s performance in the 2011 remake of Fright Night proves that he should work within the horror genre more often.
- Farrell adds a different sense of charisma to the role of Jerry, the vampire, as compared to the 1985 version.
- Farrell’s ability to be both funny and scary, and to make the stakes of the film feel real, adds something unique to the horror genre.
Colin Farrell seemed to at one point be an underrated actor that wasn’t appreciated for his unique qualities, but in the 2020s, he’s become the actor of the moment. Farrell couldn’t have had a better year than 2022; he earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance in Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy The Banshees Of Inisherin, popped up in the heartbreaking science fiction drama After Yang, gave a more nuanced dramatic performance in Ron Howard’s underrated drama Thirteen Lives, and chewed the scenery as The Penguin in The Batman. Farrell has bended many genres to his will, but his performance in the terrific 2011 remake of the classic horror film Fright Night proves that he should work within the spooky genre more often.
Colin Farrell Is the Perfect Vampire
1985’s Fright Night is a fun, albeit very dated re-imagining of the vampire movie genre. The film hasn’t aged as well as some other 1980s horror “midnight classics,” but its premise was ingenious; what if there was a version of Rear Window with vampires? The film followed the teenage horror movie buff Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale), who begins to suspect that his mother (Dorothy Fielding) is being seduced by their enigmatic nextdoor neighbor, Jerry Dandrige (Chris Sarandon). As fate would suggest, Jerry is a vampire, and has more sinister motivations than simply romancing Charley’s mother. It’s a fun premise that works well because of Sarandon’s eccentricities, but the character was even more entertaining once Farrell stepped into the role.
Criag Gillespie’s 2011 version of Fright Night doesn’t change much. Although Charley (Anton Yelchin) is less of a creep and there’s a larger role for the horror reality show host Peter Vincent (David Tennant), the story is largely similar; Charley is just trying to catch Jerry’s vampirism on tape, so he can convince his mother (Toni Collette) to stop seeing him. However, Farrell was able to add a very different sense of charisma than Sarandon. While the 1985 film presented Jerry as a clearly malevolent character, the 2011 film had more fun playing into the awkward situational comedy of Charley being suspicious of his mother’s ignorance. Farrell chews the scenery by simply dominating Yelchin in every physical encounter. The physical differences between them make these scenes even more amusing.
What’s amusing is that initially, Charley’s anxieties aren’t based around Jerry being a vampire; he’s just an awkward kid who doesn’t want to see his mother with their creepy new neighbor! Jerry does everything in his power to make Charley feel awkward, particularly during a hilarious “guy to guy” talk when he stops by in the middle of the night. Charley doesn’t want to invite Jerry into their home for multiple reasons. He doesn’t want Jerry taking over his life, but he’s also watched enough horror movies to know that he shouldn’t invite a vampire in the door. The nature of Jerry’s “mysterious drinks” also becomes humorous once Charley begins to suspect there’s a bloody secret ingredient. Farrell was able to play both sides of the character; he’s both an awkward bachelor with weird obsessions and a potentially bloodsucking monster.
‘Fright Night’ Is Scary Because of Farrell
The opening scenes are largely humorous, but Farrell was able to make the scariness real when it counted. Charley’s suspicions about Jerry’s real intentions begin to arise when his friend “Evil Ed Lee” (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) mysteriously goes missing after digging into the strange new neighbor. The encounter between Mintz-Plasse and Farrell is terrifying; it’s evident that Jerry holds all the power in the situation, and won’t be giving into answering the odd teenager’s demands. The scene is extended in order to maximize the tension. Jerry could strike down Ed at any moment, but he’s enjoying simply toying with him as a means of sport. It was an interesting new take on a vampire’s prowl that Farrell made feel distinct from Sarandon’s.
While Farrell’s interpretation was wholly original, he also understood why Sarandon’s had been so popular, and why the original Fright Night continues to be a beloved cult classic for many moviegoers. Gillespie’s Fright Night is no safe, PG-13 reboot that attempts to dull down the graphic material; Farrell (literally) chews the scenery once Charley and his girlfriend Amy (Imogen Poots) try burning down Jerry’s house in order to put his reign of terror to a close. Farrell doesn’t mind looking a little goofy once the film leans into his campiness. He somehow manages to growl and snarl without ever feeling like he’s trying too hard. The film merges its tones brilliantly. Yelchin, Poots, and Collette are so straight-faced in the early scenes that Farrell’s eccentricity feels even more goofy in comparison.
Colin Farrell Adds Multiple Layers to His Character in ‘Fright Night’
The final act of Fright Night wouldn’t have worked without Farrell. The presence of a more comedic character like Tennant’s Peter Vincent made it even more necessary for Farrell to actually be intimidating. There was an element of goofiness to the film, but Fright Night wasn’t trying to be a parody. During the moments in which Jerry transforms Amy into one of his minions, it actually feels like he’s struck a blow to Charley; he’s had to watch both his mother and girlfriend fall under Jerry’s spell. Yes, the one-liners are goofy, but Farrell makes them feel natural within the moment. The stakes of the film felt real, particularly the one that Charley shoves through Jerry’s chest!
Fright Night showed that Farrell could add something unique to the horror genre. He was funny, scary, and sexy all at once, showing that vampires had a versatility to them; given the popularity of the Twilight franchise at the time, it’s impressive that Farrell was able to take the bloodsuckers seriously. Remaking a cult classic like Fright Night was ambitious, but Farrell transformed the new version into a film that left a legacy of its own. Now that he’s more dominant than he’s ever been before in his career, it’s about time that Farrell returns to the horror genre. His performance in Fright Night is too much fun to be an anomaly.
