Tweet
Released by: Fox
Released on: October 1st, 2013.
Director: Eduardo Rodriguez
Cast: Will Payne, Sacha Parkinson, Chris Waller, Jaime Murray, Sean Power
Year: 2013
Purchase From Amazon
The Movie:
This straight to video sequel to the remake of the original Tom Holland movie was directed by Eduardo Rodriguez and begins with a scene where a woman stops for gas only to be attacked by some sort of monster that comes out of nowhere. From here we head to Romania where foreign exchange student Charley Brewster (Will Payne) is all set to get to work on his studies. Charlie's got a bit of drama in his life in that his lovely girlfriend, Amy Peterson (Sacha Parkinson), suspects him of infidelity. If that weren't bad enough, his travelling partner and lifelong pal, Ed Bates (Chris Waller), is going through a bit of an obnoxious phase.
One night Charlie randomly looks out the window and sees two hot lesbians going at it. Being a young man with a healthy libido he can't help but watch and is shocked to see their lust turn vampiric. He calls out to Ed but before he can make it from the bathroom to the window, the ladies have disappeared. The next day Charlie learns that one of the window lesbians is actually his teacher, Gerri Dandridge (Jaime Murray) and it doesn't take him long to figure out that she is in fact a vampire. He tries to tell the cops, his fellow students and anyone else who will listen about this, but it all falls on deaf ears. Thankfully for Charley, the infamous Peter Vincent (Sean Power) is in Romania at the exact same time as he. Given his research into all things supernatural, surely Peter will believe him? And he does. And they fight vampires together. Sort of.
Fright Night 2: New Blood isn't going to wow you but if you don't mind superficiality and don't require originality, it's entertaining enough. Shot on location in Romania the movie looks good, it does a fine job of capitalizing on the interesting scenery that the 'old Europe' can offer and as such, we get some decent atmosphere. This looks like the type of place where a story like this could take place. The camera work is slick, the production design perfectly fine and the sound work frequently very impressive.
The cast do alright with the script, but there isn't a load of character development here and most of the principals are dealing in some fairly serious clichés. Of course, Charley is the one who is right but who no one will listen to, not even his best friend or his understandably suspicious girlfriend. Paybe is fine in the role, he's likeable enough. Waller as Bates is irritating, but then again, he's supposed to be irritating while Sacha Parkinson's character, while certainly very pretty, is basically cardboard. Jamie Murray makes for a reasonably sexy lead antagonist but Sean Power is now Roddy McDowell, and we can't help but make the comparison even if it isn't necessarily fair to this incarnation of Vincent.
The movie delivers some sex and plenty of bloody violence. It offers up some loud jump scares, the kind that make you bounce out of your seat even when you know that they're coming, but it doesn't offer up much that lasts. Once the movie is over you probably won't hate yourself for watching it, but it's also not likely something you'll need to go back to time and time again.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Fox's AVC encoded 1080p high definition 1.78.1 widescreen transfer is as strong as you'd expect from such a recent movie. Detail is strong throughout, and generally the image is without fault - even in the darker scenes, of which there are many. Skin tones look appropriately lifelike when they're supposed to an equally appropriately sickly when the movie calls for it. There are no compression artifacts to note nor are there any problems with edge enhancement or aliasing. All in all, this is pretty much as perfect as it could be, a very slick and glossy looking presentation if ever there was one.
Just as impressive is the English language DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix. There's plenty of surround activity here, coming at you from every one of the speakers in your set up, with plenty of great low end rumble coming from the subwoofer as well. You'll notice this any time a vampire decides to attack or feed but you'll also notice it in the more action oriented scenes like the fight towards the end. Dialogue stays crystal clear and the levels are always well balanced and there are no problems with hiss or distortion. The score also sounds very good here, from the instrumental bits that pepper the film to the soundtrack selections used throughout the movie. Optional subtitles are provided in English, French and Spanish.
The main extra on the disc is an audio commentary track with with Eduardo Rodriguez and producers Alison Rosenzweig, and Michael Gaeta. It's a decent enough discussion that lets the trio talk about making the film, what they tried to accomplish with the project and their thoughts on the movie in addition to the usual stories of who did what when and why. It's well paced and they seem to be enjoying themselves. It never gets too heavy but is a nice mix of information and anecdotal storytelling.
Aside from that we get eleven minutes of four separate webisodes originally made to promote the movie and a six minute featurette entitled Dracula Revealed that offers up some background information on some of the historical figures that influenced the movie. Menus and chapter stops are included and as this is a combo pack release we also get a DVD version of the movie and a download code for a digital copy.
The Final Word:
Well, the movie is basically a retread of the original with a lot more gore and a lot less class but Fright Night 2: New Blood is entertaining enough in a completely superficial way. It's glossy and well-paced and it definitely offers up some impressive carnage in this unrated version. The movie itself is hardly original, however, and it's not a particularly memorable film. Fox's Blu-ray offers up some okay extras but it sure does look and sound great. Those with a serious love for all things vampire might get a kick out of this, for everyone else out there? Your mileage may vary.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
