Fright Night (1985) and Fright Night (2011) have the same basic plot and are both products of their time. Fright Night (1985) is just a fun 80s vampire movie that wants to tell a fun story. It’s got that over-the-top acting and line delivery that makes 80s movies so fun and quotable. They weren’t trying to setup a franchise or a sequel, they just did whatever they wanted. Meanwhile, Fright Night (2011) looked at Fright Night (1985) and said “how can we modernize/update every single aspect of this movie and make a quick buck?” I don’t think Fright Night (2011) is a bad movie, but I wouldn’t argue with anyone who said it was. It definitely doesn’t have the same charm or “fun” as the original, but that’s true of every movie that has tried remaking an 80s classic.

Both movies involve a teenager who thinks his new next-door neighbor is a vampire. Honestly, for both movies, I was expecting there to be a lot more doubt/suspicion/paranoia involved. But both movies answer the question pretty definitively early on that yes, he’s a vampire. So then the teenager has to decide what to do about it. Obviously no one in their school or the police will believe them.

For Fright Night (1985), the teen stays up late watching too many horror movie marathons (which is how he noticed the neighbor acting suspiciously in the first place). These horror movie marathons are hosted by a local washed-up actor who used to play a vampire hunter. So he decides to track down that actor to get some help. A totally logical decision for a teenager in 1985. Plus, the washed-up actor is named Peter Vincent, a combination of Peter Cushing and Vincent Price (two famous actors from old horror movies).

Meanwhile, in Fright Night (2011), the teen decides to get the help of a Criss Angel lookalike played by David Tennant. The character’s name is still Peter Vincent, except now that name doesn’t mean anything (other than nostalgia reasons). There’s not much reason why the teenager would go to this celebrity magician as a first choice. Also this magician seems to be at the peak of his career yet some random teenager is able to talk to him backstage pretty easily. By random coincidence, the celebrity magician happens to have an obsession with the occult and vampires and has an entire collection. So that’s helpful.

Since Fright Night (2011) is following the same formula as Fright Night (1985), the plot points are mostly the same. The major differences are in hiring many more (relatively) big-name actors for the 2011 version, even if their casting doesn’t really make sense. In Fright Night (1985), the main character has a punk friend named Ed, who they call “Evil Ed”. The guy is a bit of an ass so it makes sense. In Fright Night (2011), this role is played by… McLovin. Calling him “Evil Ed” doesn’t really work.

I know I seem to be complaining a lot about the 2011 version, but it’s really just inferior to the 1985 version. As a standalone movie, I don’t think it’s bad. It has some odd casting choices, but it’s still a fun vampire movie. I think both movies are worth watching, but the 2011 version is a very 2011 movie and there’s something about that 80s charm that just makes the original more enjoyable.

Here’s a trailer for the 1985 version and the 2011 version.