Fright Night 2: New Blood

 

Director - Eduardo Rodriguez (Fear Itself)
Starring - Will Payne (Elfie Hopkins: Cannibal Hunter), Jaime Murray (Warehouse 13, Children's Hospital) and Sean Power (360)
Release Date - 2013
Genre - Horror
Format - DVD (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

      Growing up I was a fan of all genres but I had a a huge appreciation, obviously, for horror.  My childhood favorites were The Lost Boys, Return of the Living Dead, Evil Dead II, Romero's "Dead" trilogy, and the original Fright Night.  I watched all those films hundreds of times over the years but for some reason I never got around to watching Fright Night II that was released in 1988 until recent years.  I was in college when I came across a VHS that was deteriorating from age and neglect.  I grabbed it because it was cheap and watched it.  I really enjoyed it from what I remember.  Anyway, I really love the original Fright Night and when I heard it was being remade in 2011 I was open minded about it and ended up really enjoying myself.  A few months back I discovered that the remake had a sequel coming out soon.  So I waited...
     The film follows Charley Brewster (Payne), "Evil" Ed Bates, and Amy Lee as they travel abroad in an exchange program to Romania. Charley and Amy were once a couple but have parted ways once Amy accused him of cheating.  He still loves her and tries to win her back but his friend Evil Ed tries to convince him otherwise.  One night Charley is in his room and witnesses a beautiful young woman biting another equally beautiful young woman on the neck across the stree.  He soon discovers that the woman biting the hottie is Professor Gerri Dandridge (Murray).  Later Charley catches Gerri hooking up with another student who becomes missing soon after.  Charley immediately comes to the conclusion that she is a vampire, and in fact, the real Countess Bathory.  The two know they are in over their heads and seek out the help of reality television host Peter Vincent (Power).  However, after one close encounter with Gerri, Peter backs out and Evil Ed is bitten.  Not long after Amy is abducted because Gerri needs her for a Pagan ceremony.  Charley balls up and goes to Countess Bathory's castle to rescue her when things go south.  Peter Vincent, after growing a set, follows and they fight it out in a pool of blood but can Charley and Peter save Amy?
     Before I started watching this I tried to figure out what this film exactly was.  Was it a remake of Fright Night II or was it a sequel to the 2011 remake? However after watching it I was certain it was actually a remake of Fright Night II and a remake, of sorts, of the original.  In the original Fright Night II, Charley and Peter Vincent are the only returning characters.  Charley destroys Jerry Dandridge in Fright Night and his sister, Regine Dandridge, tries to seduce Charley so she can turn him into a vampire to endure pain and torment forever.  However, this version is the exact same story plot as the original film with the exception that this Jerry, or Gerri, is a female and is now an immortal Countess Bathory making this one yet another remake with more story added to it to try to sucker fans in.  The acting is great in the film but  those familiar with Fright Night will not be paying attention to that at all because they will be trying to figure out what they fuck they are watching.  The story is like I said earlier.  The film is a mashing of the original Fright Night and it's 1988 sequel with the Countess Bathory story added to it to pull in a wider audience.  I would have liked this one a little more if it was a straight remake of FN II instead of a mash up of both films.  Finally, the film does offer some great practical effects but not enough on screen kills.  The practical effects in this one looks great but they ruined it by adding crappy CGI to the film as well.  This film needed more practical and less CGI.  Overall, this is a remake/sequel that had no idea what they wanted to do with the story other than cash in on the fan's love of the original Fright Night.  I do not recommend this one.