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Fright Night 2: New Blood - Unrated
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (17th December 2013). |
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The Film
 Before we can even delve into any criticism of “Fright Night 2: New Blood” (2013), it must first be defined in regard to where it stands in this series. In 2011, the original “Fright Night” (1985) was rebooted with a cast of mostly-familiar famous faces inhabiting the classic roles. This film was not a success, critically or commercially. Despite that, the producers elected to move forward with a direct-to-video “sequel”, this film, which is given a title that implies it might be a remake of “Fright Night Part 2” (1988). It is not. Rather (confusingly), the film is for all intents and purposes another remake of the 1985 film, only this time using the female antagonist approach its 1988 film used. Still with me? Basically, this is a reboot/reimagining/remake of the series, intended to be the launching pad for what I assume will be numerous low-budget sequels helmed in Romania and spat out onto home video on a biyearly basis. And I’m totally cool with that. It still amazes me to say it, but there’s some level of B-movie charm coursing through this film’s veins that just made it click. The story is kinda cool, the myth behind it all is even cooler, the actors are relatively strong unknowns, and – good god – Jaime Murray is savagely gorgeous. Things just manage to work, and while there are no doubt going to be many who disagree with this assessment, horror fans with a more open mind might do well to give this one a spin. Back are your favorite “Fright Night” characters; only the setting has changed. Charley Brewster (Will Payne) and his girlfriend, Amy (Sacha Parkinson), are studying abroad with their class in Romania. They’ve been fighting recently, so Charley has been seeking some kind of solace with his best friend, “Evil” Ed Bates (Chris Waller). The two decide to go on a tour of some ancient castles in a nearby town, but during the tour Charley sees his mysterious neighbor, Gerri Dandridge (Jaime Murray), seducing a female student who is later reported missing. Charley had been suspicious of Gerri earlier when he saw her bite another woman in her apartment, which is directly across from his. So, he does the sensible thing every smart kid does in a horror movie – he breaks into her home and waits for her to come home so he can confirm his suspicions. She does, alright, and Charley is left scrambling for the door before he becomes the next victim. He and Ed do a little research and determine Gerri is really Elisabeth Bathory, the famed “Blood Countess” who was rumored to bathe in the blood of virgins. Knowing they’re out of their league, the two contact Peter Vincent (Sean Power), host of the reality TV show “Fright Night”, which happens to be filming locally at a nearby castle. They enlist him, but only after many drinks and the promise of a big payday. Before their big attack commences, Ed is bitten and transformed, Amy is kidnapped, and Peter is nowhere to be seen, leaving Charley to take on Gerri by himself. What “Fright Night 2: New Blood” does right is what every remake ought to aspire to achieving – using familiar characters in a wholly new way. That’s it. Now, “Fright Night” ’85 is a damn fine film – quite possibly my favorite vampire film – and there was absolutely zero reason to remake it, since the original had little marquee value (which was proven) and the concept isn’t so original that it couldn’t have been slightly reworked and called something else. Still, it exists. But that the producers would decide to give it another go, and take it in such a wildly alternate direction, was such a smart move. This way, it’s free of the expectations and baggage that come with doing a true remake. Plus, there was no way they were going to remake the original “Fright Night Part 2”. Not after the first remake failed, and certainly not with the wild cast of mutant characters that populate Tommy Lee Wallace’s 1988 film. They only carried over the idea of a female antagonist, and tying Gerri Dandridge’s past into the Bathory legend instead of using the tired old Dracula angle again, felt refreshing. You know what else is refreshing? New faces. I had not seen a single one of these actors anywhere else before, which allowed them to breathe some new life into these characters without me constantly thinking, “Oh, it’s Chekov from “Star Trek” (2009) fighting Colin Farrell.” Not everyone is a solid performer, though. Chris Waller’s interpretation of Evil Ed is to basically make him a raging douchebag with zero filter, something so tonally different from Stephen Geoffrey’s iconic performance. I get they had to do something different so as not to ape what came before, but try making him slightly more likeable? Ed aside, Charley and Amy both came across like – gasp – actual people in a real relationship. There weren’t a lot of phony fake boyfriend/girlfriend lines thrown around. The romance was kept on the backburner throughout the film, allowing it to be used later without smothering the audience first. The idea of making Peter Vincent a reality TV show host who investigates legendary haunts was a stroke of brilliance, but unfortunately he’s all but completely wasted in the film. And he isn’t particularly charismatic, either. Sean Power could never hold a candle to Roddy McDowell – nobody can, btw – but the film still could have made him more useful. He appears as a weary drunkard, more interested in strippers and booze than his reality show. A reality show that he hosts despite the fact he doesn’t believe in anything he preaches. Vincent makes a half-assed deal with the boys, one we assume he’s going to simply renege on, so when he does show up for the climax it feels unearned and hardly heroic. But the concept for the character is strong enough that there’s hope for future instalments to correct his personality. There’s a lot of awesome practical effects work, too! If you, like me, are tired of seeing every potentially decent low-budget horror movie get ruined by sub-par CGI work, then this will be a minor treat. There’s still some computer work to be found here (and there always will be), but nothing offensively bad crops up. And the practical stuff looks killer, with a great design for Gerri’s final form during the climax. “Fright Night 2: New Blood” had everything going against it, yet it still managed to find its own footing and deliver a sequel/remake/whatever that is far above the numerous DTV horror films unleashed upon fans every year. The producers almost screwed this series up once with the 2011 film, but this latest entry goes a long way in proving lessons can be learned and unneeded entries to a beloved series can still offer something worthwhile to fans.
Video
There’s also very little to fault regarding the 1.78:1 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded image, which is practically flawless. The film looks to have been shot digitally – likely with a top of the line camera – which allows for an impressive kaleidoscope of color to exist within the shadowy streets of Romania. Much of the film takes place under the cloak of night, still there’s very little to fear from the dark thanks to superb shadow detailing and black levels, which allow even the finest details to be explored in crystal clarity. There is virtually no grain present in the picture. Detail is as sharp as Gerri’s fangs, with crisp, defined lines and close-ups that exhibit wonderful little nuances. A sequence later in the film retells Gerri’s story through the use of motion comics, a sidetrack that is done tastefully and looks absolutely stellar in high definition.
Audio
The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound track (48kHz/24-bit) opens with a thunderous explosion that is not necessarily indicative of action to come, but it does remind viewers that this soundtrack can pack a wallop. A really bad rock song during the opening scene had me worried, but soon composer Luis Ascanio’s score kicks in and the tone gets much moodier, more foreboding. Rears are used nicely to fill out the sound field and deliver additional mood to immerse viewers. A strip club scene where the two boys meet Peter Vincent booms with thick bass that will reverberate through your house something wicked. There are no particularly outstanding moments here; it’s just a perfectly solid lossless audio experience. Subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired, French, and Spanish.
Extras
This disc has more trailers than supplements, and the few we do get aren’t all that great. Still, can’t complain since we’re at least getting something. That “something” includes an audio commentary, webisodes, a featurette, and lots of bonus trailers. DISC ONE: BLU-RAY The audio commentary is with director Eduardo Rodriguez and producers Alison Rosenzweig and Michael Gaeta. Other than some opening comments talking about the new approach this film takes, it’s all fairly standard. Rodriguez does the lion’s share of the talking with Gaeta getting in a few anecdotes here and there. Rosenzweig mostly remains quiet. A series of "Fright Night" webisodes (1080i) have been included. These are episodes of Peter Vincent’s “Fright Night” reality series, though I wish they had just cut them back together rather than presenting each in halves. They include: - “Poenari Castle, Part 1” runs for 3 minutes and 4 seconds. - “Poenari Castle, Part 2” runs for 2 minutes and 24 seconds. - “Cachtice Castle, Part 1” runs for 3 minutes and 9 seconds. - “Cachtice Castle, Part 2” runs for 2 minutes and 51 seconds. A featurette (1080p) taking a look at the history of both Elisabeth Bathory and Vlad the Impaler, titled “Dracula Revealed”, runs for 6 minutes and 15 seconds. Finally, a lot of bonus trailers (1080p): - “Blu-ray promo” (still? why?) runs for 1 minute and 13 seconds. - “Carrie (2013)” runs for 2 minutes and 19 seconds. - “Twixt” runs for 1 minute and 34 seconds. - “Vikings” runs for 1 minute and 11 seconds. - “12 Rounds 2: Reloaded” runs for 1 minute and 2 seconds. - “Stoker” runs for 2 minutes and 24 seconds. - “The East” runs for 1 minute and 8 seconds. - “American Horror Story: Asylum” runs for 1 minute and 3 seconds. DISC TWO: DVD This is a DVD copy of the feature film, and also included is a code for an UltraViolet digital copy of the film.
Packaging
The two-disc set comes with each disc housed on a hub opposite the other.
Overall
Better than expected, or than it had any right to be, “Fright Night 2: New Blood” takes the franchise is a new direction, and while it was completely unnecessary in every way at least they made a picture that’s enjoyable enough on a B-movie level that fans might not feel the sting of seeing this series continue on so harshly.
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