Thanks to "The Twilight Saga," vampires have enjoyed a remarkable resurgence in pop culture. From young adult novels to a bevy of television shows -- see: "True Blood" and "The Vampire Diaries" -- the undead have sunk their fangs into each one of our dominant mediums.
Their image, though, has become a bit transformed from the classic, Bella Lugosi menace of yore. Thanks in large part to Edward Cullen and his undying love for Bella Swan, we are often now shown vampires who lust after the emotions that beat through hearts, not the blood. The remake of cult horror classic "Fright Night," out this weekend, is looking to change that.
While Colin Farrell, as the vampire Jerry Dandrige, is quite attractive in the film, and uses that to his advantage, he's also a ruthless menace who does whatever is needed to get his victims. And while Anton Yelchin, who stars as Charley Brewster, is trying to defeat him on film, he told Movieline that he loves the portrayal.
"It’s the romantic vampire, but what happens in reality moves in next door and it’s not romantic, it’s just destructive," he said. "So in a way, I think if anything the film acknowledges the presence of a particular kind of romantic image of a vampire that’s now, because of 'Twilight,' the way we see that traditionally menacing horror figure. Now it’s a romantic figure and we bring it back and say, no - he moved in and he’s just going to f*cking f*ck you, or kill you, or both."
In a similar vein, the director, Craig Gillespie, spoke about rediscovering both the original "Fright Night" from 1986, as well as the original tradition of horror films.
"I just loved that mix and that energy and that roller coaster ride you get from the horror to the comedy and it’s a little old style in the sense that it doesn’t really exist anymore," he told Movie-Moron.com. "Even with 'Scream,' which is very self aware about what’s going on. But with ['Fright Night'] it goes back to that old school style of horror where it’s just this fun roller coaster and the characters are completely invested in the scene but they’re in these humorous moments sometimes."
For more, click over to Movieline and Movie-Moron.