Another Classic Horror To Be Remade And this time it's, sob, Fright Night Source: Shocktillyoudrop.com
Evidently, Hollywood has Empire bugged and is using us as the source of all their good ideas.
For just a couple of weeks ago, readers, a small group of Empireites gathered at an undisclosed location (ok, it was Nick De Semlyen’s flat) for a horror double bill, at which one of our troupe introduced everyone to the joys of Tom Holland’s goofy but still darned effective 1985 vampire horror comedy, Fright Night.
And after it was over, and we’d finished enjoying such elements as Chris Sarandon’s silk-smooth performance as handsome vamp Jerry Dandridge, a ruthless vampire who moves in next door to a teenager named Charley (William Ragsdale); Roddy McDowall’s OTT turn as ‘fearless’ vampire killer and washed-up TV star, Peter Vincent (whose grey hair is possibly the most amateurish flour job you’ve ever seen); some effective scares and an astonishing supporting performance from Stephen Geoffreys (now a hardcore gay porn star, fact fans) as Charley’s alienated best friend, ‘Evil’ Ed, we talked about how surprisingly good it was, how it still held up, and then someone said the fateful words:
“I’m surprised they haven’t tried to remake it yet.”
And giant donkey balls, but look what’s happened. Shocktillyoudrop.com is reporting that Screen Gems, and producer Scott Strauss, have picked up rights to the property and are currently sifting through ‘Hollywood’s supply of writers’ with a view to remaking one of the best horror movies of the 1980s.
But as Jimmy Cricket said, ‘there’s more’. In fact, it seems that this property may be Fright Night in name only, with Strauss apparently keen to take the property into another direction entire – a direction that may involve an amusement park. Which prompts the question: why not just call it something else? Why call it Fright Night if it’s not, essentially, a remake?
But, before we dump ten tons of holy water on this project, let’s wait for official word before we sharpen our stakes. Besides, as Dawn of the Dead and, to a lesser degree, The Omen showed, not all horror remakes are necessarily a bad idea. So we’ll keep the faith for a while – after all, as Jerry Dandridge reminds us, you have to have faith. (So did George Michael, but that’s a different news story altogether).
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NEAR DARK IS UP FOR A REMAKE!!!!
i've been trying to type this comment for the past 10 minutes trying to get the tone right, but fuck it. Dark Horzons just posted that Near Dark is up for a remake. NEAR DARK. Lance Henrikson. Bill fucking Paxton. remake. Kathryn Bigelow's best movie (and I LOVE Strange Days). Tangerine Dream soundtrack. One of the most iconic vampire movies ever made. Oh, I could rant for days... ... Read More
Okay, not a classic in The Exorcist/Wicker Man mould, but one the most unapologetically entertaining vamp romps ever and truly a product of its time. Amanda 'Married With Children' Bearse is cute as a button (a button with amazing breasts, that is), Sarandon is the sexiest bloodsucker since Chris Lee's Dracula and Roddy McDowell gives his best performance outside a rubber monkey-mask. A remake will laddle on the irony and inject ropey GC, thereby destroying the original's camp charm. (Sigh) Forg... Read More
As the last scary vampire film where the vamps aren't sexy teenagers and don't inexplicably know every martial art under the fucking sun, uhm, moon I'm really sad to hear this is going to be remade. BADLY. Disturbia meets Dracula. There's a fucking pitch. Vampires at a funfair? Call it 'The Lost Boys'. ... Read More
