BEFORE: It's that weird time of year, where it's getting cooler but it's not really cold, but if you wear a heavy jacket you'll be too hot on the subway. Daylight Saving Time hasn't ended yet, but any mechanical device that was programmed before they stupidly extended DST a couple years ago has already made the switch, so walking around, nobody really knows what time is. (Does anybody really know what time it is?) And weirder days are ahead - Hanukkah is going to be super early this year and Thanksgiving will be late in the month, creating the first Thanksgivukkah holiday mash-up since 1888. Hope you like your latkes with marshmallows on top. It's too bad that Hanukkah couldn't come even earlier, allowing for Hannukka-ween. (Halloweenukkah? Challah-ween?)
Linking from "Dark Shadows", Chloe Grace Moretz was definitely in "Kick-Ass" with Christopher Mintz-Plasse.
THE PLOT: A teenager suspects that his new neighbor is a vampire.
AFTER: Well, at least this is a film that respects the rules of vampirism - mostly, anyway. Like how a vampire can't come into your house, unless he is invited. Or how he can't be in contact with direct sunlight. Or garlic, or crosses, wooden stakes or holy water. Geez, why not poison ivy or bee stings? These creatures are sensitive to so many things, it's a wonder they consider themselves immortal. But since they live so long, the smarter ones have plenty of time to figure out ways around the rules. The lead vampire here makes himself looks like Colin Farrell, so why wouldn't women invite him into their houses? Probably some men, too...
It also makes perfect sense to set the film in Las Vegas. Plenty of people work nights in the casinos, so they sleep during the day with the shades drawn, and that seems perfectly normal. And from watching "CSI", I know that there are plenty of dark crime scenes in town, and nobody ever turns on the lights. On top of that there's an endless supply of drifters, and people leaving town on short notice when their cash runs out, so who's going to miss a few strippers here and there?
This also provides a perfect foil character, a stage magician with a vampire-themed act, who turns out to be knowledgable about "real" vampires and how to kill them. (In the original 1980's "Fright Night", this was a TV horror-movie host who similarly turned out to be a vampire expert.) This is a pretty cool update, from a low-rent TV host to a top-billed Vegas act.
Hmm, this sort of reminds me that I've never watched "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", or even "The Lost Boys" for that matter. I suppose if I'm still doing this next Halloween I'll have to at least consider those. For now, though, just one more film stands between me and the next topic.
Also starring Anton Yelchin (last seen in "Star Trek Into Darkness"), Colin Farrell (last seen in "Total Recall"), Toni Collette (last seen in "Changing Lanes"), David Tennant (last heard in "How to Train Your Dragon"), Imogen Poots, Dave Franco (last seen in "21 Jump Street"), with cameos from Chris Sarandon, Lisa Loeb.
RATING: 5 out of 10 cloves of garlic
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