Fright Night (2004)

Fright Night is a 2004 American vampire horror film directed Guillermo Del Toro and written by Matthew Robbins and Del Toro himself based on a treatment written by Tom Holland, who created the original 1985 film.

This film is an updated remake of the 1985 film of the same name.

The film has a similar plot to the original with Charley Brewster discovering that his new next door neighbors are a band of blood sucking vampires. When no one believes him, he turns to his friends and a washed up horror show host to stop their their killing spree.

The film stars Trevor Morgan, Alexa Vega, Matt O'Leary, Charlize Theron, Josh Brolin, Drew Barrymore, Lee Evans, Angela Basset, Chris Lowell, D.B. Sweeney, Nick Zano, Rider Strong and Sophia Bush.

The film was released on August 13th, 2004 to a very favorable reaction from critics and fans of the original film, praising the remake for it's callbacks to the first two films, it's sizable fan service and the performances.

The film was distributed by Columbia Pictures and was a huge box office success, grossing $195 million worldwide.

Plot
The film opens with Charley Brewster and Amy Peterson watching a fright night marathon while making out but break up while fighting about their failing relationship. After Amy storms out, Charley witnesses strange characters dressed in black moving into the house next door to his house which was revealed by Charley's mother Judy

Cast

 * Trevor Morgan as Charley Brewster
 * Alexa Vega as Amy Peterson
 * Matt O'Leary as Eddie "Evil Ed" Thompson
 * Drew Barrymore as Judy Brewster
 * Rider Strong as Billy Cole
 * Josh Brolin as Jerry Dandrige
 * Charlize Theron as Regine Dandrige
 * Lee Evans as Peter Vincent
 * Sophia Bush as Alex Young
 * Chris Lowell as Richie Green
 * Angela Basset as Belle
 * D.B Sweeney as Louie
 * Nick Zano as Bozworth
 * Charles S. Dutton as Detective Leroy Lennox

Trivia

 * The sex scene between Judy and Jerry plays like a homage to the sex scene from the original film between him and Amy.
 * Lindsay Lohan was offered the role of Amy Peterson but due to other commitments she refused the role.
 * After post-production on Hellboy ended, Guillermo Del Toro was approached by Tom Holland to remake Fright Night after writing a treatment of the film which combined elements of the first and second films. After reviewing the treatment, Del Toro accepted Holland's proposal and teamed up with frequent collaborator Matthew Robbins to develop the script.
 * Ewan McGregor, Ben Affleck, Gerald Butler, Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix were considered for the role of Jerry Dandrige.
 * Michelle Trachtenberg, Monica Keena, Hillary Duff and Katharine Isabelle were considered for the role of Amy Peterson
 * Tilda Swinton was a strong contender for the role of Regine Dandrige.
 * Mischa Barton was originally cast as Amy Peterson but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with the teen drama The O.C.
 * This film marks the second time that Josh Brolin and Guillermo Del Toro had worked together. The first film they did together was the 1997 monster film, Mimic.
 * Lacey Chabert was considered for the role of Alex Young
 * Jon Foster, Jason Ritter, Noah Segan and Jesse McCartney were considered for the role of Charley Brewster.
 * Fright Night received very positive reviews from critics and audiences for it's fan service and Josh Brolin's performace as Jerry Dandrige received praise from critics. The film holds 92% on Rotten Tomatoes with the website's consensus reads, "Greater, funnier and more scarier than it's chilling 1985 counterpart, Fright Night is a remake being really capable of being faithful and respectful of it's source material".
 * Fright Night (2004) is rated R for strong bloody horror violence, language, some sexuality/nudity and disturbing images.
 * A test screening for the film was held at The Hollywood Cemetery with the original cast members of the film in attendance. William Ragsdale who played Charley in the original film praised the fan service for the film and Trevor Morgan for his performance as Charley. Chris Sarandon stated that the film will entertain a new generation of horror fans.