When Humor and Horror Don’t Mix
Monday, October 5th, 2009
Sorry, Regine. You can't possibly suck more than this movie.
You might think it odd that I would write a review for the sequel of a movie before the original. That’s like wiping your ass before you take a…well, take a Fright Night 2, actually.
Okay, it’s not as bad as all that. What I can’t understand, though, is why the movie looks so bad! I suppose this sequel was never really meant to be made. Kind of like the Hollywood equivalent of Casper, the Friendly Ghost. Sure, he’s a scrappy young man…but he’s dead and lurking about, which, like Fright Night 2, is simply unnatural. The special effects in Fright Night were cutting edge then, and still look great today. Fright Night 2 looks like a bowl of hot shit in comparison.
Not all the news is bad. Fright Night 2 manages to be genuinely funny in parts. Roddy McDowall delivers one of his best lines in this film “Are you hard of hearing friend? I…KILL…VAMPIRES!” Brian Thompson, as a bug eating chaffeur is hilarious! And, Julie Carmen. Where do I begin. She’s just so damn sexy! The scene where’s she dancing with Charlie, and taking the lead, is one of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen…until the shitty special effects ruin it. And, there’s the rub. What made Fright Night such a good movie was that it found the perfect balance of humor and horror. Fright Night 2, much like me in freshman algebra, doesn’t even try.
But wait! There’s plenty of bad news! Traci Lind, who I usually like, seems embrarassed to be here. She should be, her part reducing her to a pre-marriage nag. Ernie Sabella (Consequently, the voice of Puumba from The Lion King…and yes, you can hear it) had far too much fun as a vampire psychiatrist, more so than the part would seem to allow. Louie the Werewolf is clearly a fucking werewolf, though all his dialogue and other’s around him would suggest that he’s just a very hairy vampire. He’s even killed by a vampire method!
Normally, I try not to spoil movies, but save yourself the time and trouble, unless you’re simply a completist die hard fan of the original. In which case, “I told you so” in advance. Maybe watch it to see your old friends Charlie Brewster and Peter Vincent. Then forget about it and go watch the original again, just to get the bad taste out of your mouth.
The vampires go BOWLING for fuck’s sake! One of them wears ROLLERSKATES for the whole fucking movie!!!
I’m too heartbroken to go on. Later.
Posted on October 9th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Yeah, as far as degredation in quality between sequels go, this one is right up there with Exorcist: The Heretic and… well, any of the other Exorcist sequels.