Filthy Review - 'Fright Night 2: New Blood'

Fright Night 2: New Blood (2013)

Review by Jude Felton

When it comes to sequels of remakes, there has not been a particularly good track record. For every The Fly 2, you’ll get a Halloween 2 or I Spit on Your Grave 2. The latter two mentioned being horrendous examples of how not to do it. Granted, there will be those, incredibly vocal, who would argue that remakes themselves are pointless. I don’t fall into that camp, but when it comes to sequels, it’s not looking good.

The latest to drop onto my desk, so to speak (as it didn’t drop from anywhere), is Fright Night 2: New Blood. Having still not seen the remake of the first flick, for whatever reason, I actually went into the sequel with an open mind. No discernible star power attached and the director, Eduardo Rodriquez, previously gave us the decent Curandero and El Gringo. I was hopeful that this sequel would break the chain, and to a certain degree it has.

Charlie, Evil Ed and Amy have all traveled to Romania to study and, wouldn’t you just know it, Gerri (not Jerry) Dandridge is one of their professors. There’s your movie folks. Sure, there’s a bit more to it, such as Dandridge riffing the whole Countess Bathory, bathing in virgins’ blood shebang, Ed getting turned and Peter Vincent popping up, and so forth. But that is really your movie.

My initial thoughts about Fright Night 2 were that in being set in Romania, I was just reminded of untold shitty horror flicks made on a shoestring because it’s cheap to film there. Sure, there’s the historical context, in terms of vampirism and Transylvania, but I couldn’t get it out of my head; kind of like watching a Full Moon flick with a budget.

Aside from that there’s a dodgy script, especially when Vincent comes to deliver one classic line and gets the entire delivery wrong. Evil Ed was fairly cool, and actor Chris Waller really did tap into the character that was once played by Stephen Geoffrey’s. Charlie and Amy are fairly forgettable, which is a shame, and Jaime Murray as Dandridge is fine to watch, although not spectacular.

You do get some decent blood and gore for your buck, and the film does look okay, but really, at the end of the day, Fright Night 2: New Blood was just a little too average. Nothing really stood out as memorable, aside from some nice lady flesh, and Waller’s performance.

Sure, it’s a sequel to a remake, so the odds were never too good, but I’d rather write about a terrible film than an average one; there’s only so much you can come up with. One thing is certain though, and that is I hope we’ll see the original Fright Night 2 get a new release on the strength of this film. You never know, stranger things have happen.

There are a few extras included on this combo pack, including an audio commentary, although I’m not so sure you’ll be rushing to watch it.

Fright Night is not a bad flick; don’t get me wrong, it’s just not especially good. It really falls into the category of hundreds of other generic vampire flicks which were soon forgotten. Only, this time around, there are characters that we all know and love, even if they are played with little conviction.

If you must watch a sequel to a remake, over this Halloween period, I suggest you avoid I Spit on Your Grave 2 (believe me, you’ll thank me) and check this one out instead. 

Fright Night 2: New Blood is available now on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital from 20th Century Fox.