In this post I will look at Fright Night This is a movie about a kid named Charlie Brewster who discovers his new neighbor Jerry is a vampire. He goes to the resident vampire expert Peter Vincent and together with the help of his friend "Evil" Ed and his girlfriend they fight the vampire.
Best Charlie
Original
In the original Charlie is played by William Ragsdale, if you don't know who that is don't worry, he isn't in much. He is portrayed as as horror film buff who in the beginning of the movie stops making out with his girlfriend because his favorite show is on, way to be a winner dude. Unlike the remake he seems a little whiny and seems to go searching for evidence that it is OK to kill his neighbor. His friends at one point take him Peter Vincent to prove that vampires aren't real.Remake
In the remake Charlie is played by Anton Yelchin who's credits include Chekov in the new Star Trek franchise, Kyle Reese in Terminator Salvation and an incredible guest spot on the television series Criminal Minds. Needles to say they probably had a bigger budget. In this version Charlie is a high school student who grew out of his nerd phase and is now one of the "cool kids", needless to say this Charlie won't give up making out with his girlfriend for TV, just when he thinks his neighbor is killing someone. This version has to be convinced by his friends his neighbor is a vampire, and is far more skeptical.Edge
Both of these characters are good for different reasons, the original has a mindless determination to his quest and nothing is gonna stop him from accomplishing them. On the other hand the remake makes him more of a reluctant hero, only getting involved when he believes he witnessed a murder. Personally I find Yelchin's portrayal to be more believable, and if there's one thing I like in my horror movies, it's believability. Because of this I enjoyed Yelchin's Charlie far more than the original.Round goes to the Remake.
Best Jerry
Original
In the original Jerry is played by Chris Sarandon, who I'll admit I'm not as familiar with as I should be, but he played Jack Skelington. In the original Jerry moved into the house next door to Charlie and his mother, this version seems to be content with screwing with our hero more than anything. His cover is that he has a "roommate" and works nights. In reality his roommate is his daytime protector, who dedicated his life to keeping him safe. As far as movie monsters go he isn't really all that special by comparison to say Jason, or Dracula. But in this setting it works.Remake
In 2011 Colin Farrell played Jerry. In this version Jerry works night construction on the Vegas strip, so it is normal that he blacked out his windows so he sleep, no daytime guardian. He also comes off as a womanizer and is seen taking women home...who are never seen again. This version of Jerry is more memorable because rather than simply kill his victims, he locks them in a secret holding cell in his house and feeds on them slowly, eventually turning his victims rather than killing them.Edge
This one was easy, both actors gave great performances, however in the end it is the remake that makes Jerry a memorable monster, plus Colin Farrell just seems to have much more fun with the role and his enjoyment is is what makes his character better.Round goes to the remake.
Best Peter Vincent
Original
In the original Peter Vincent is the host of a horror movie show called Fright Night, he is played by the late Roddy McDowall and is my person favorite character in the movie. He is portrayed more as a sidekick in this version however and mostly seen helping Charlie by providing information he already knows. However he does also have the arsenal needed to fight vampires, or pretty much any other creature of the night for that matter. He fills the role of the wise old man that is seen a lot in movies.Remake
This version is played by David Tennant, need I say more? In this version Vincent is a Las Vegas stage magician who as a child witnessed his parents being murdered by a vampire. Again this is my favorite character in the movie. This Vincent swears, drinks, makes lewd comments, and makes jokes a child would call immature.Edge
This one was hard, I loved both version for different reasons, However the remake actually gives a back story that explains his obsession with the occult.Therefore this round goes to the remake.
Best "Evil"
Original
The original "Evil" Ed was played by Stephen Geoffreys, he is Charlie's best friend. Why I don't know, he's constantly insulting Charlie and is just all around annoying. In fact my favorite part of the movie is when he gets killed, but the moment is ruined when you find out he survived at the end.Remake
In the remake "Evil" is played by McLovin, that's right, McLovin is in this movie. This version is Charlie's childhood friend who tries to warn Charlie about Jerry, but Charlie plays it off as a crazy nerd trying to restart a dead friendship. Unfortunately this version isn't in the movie a whole lot, in fact his disappearance is what makes Charlie suspicious of Jerry. Even more sad is because of how horribly typecast he has been in the past, he just isn't as terrifying as he is trying to be. However I love him in anything he does and this is no exception.Edge
This one is easy, one of these performances pisses me off, the other I liked.Round goes to the remake.
Best supporting cast
Original
This movie's supporting characters include Jerry's daytime protector, Charlies mother, and his girlfriend. None of these characters get the development needed to actually judge them. Charlie's mom has a thing for Jerry, the protector is hard to kill, and the girlfriend is the damsel in distress in the end. Honestly I don't think there is enough to warrant further discussion.Remake
The remake has far more characters, no daytime protector, but you do get Vincent's girlfriend and Charlie's new friends. In this version Charlie's girlfriend and mother are both capable of protecting themselves for most of the movie. His friends are stereotypes of "cool kids", and Vincent's girlfriend contributes to some of the funniest scenes in the movie. Other than that you really get that invested in these characters, and you know how they are gonna end up when the credits roll.Edge
Due to lack of character development this one is also rather easy.Round goes to the remake.
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