I saw this movie way back when it was released in August and now seems like a good time to finish this review considering it was just released on Blu-ray/DVD recently (I say that just to cover my ass because I was too lazy to write this back in August LOL). I was a big fan of the previous Laika stop motion animated film, Coraline, so I had fairly high expectations for ParaNorman. Overall, I loved it! Such an enjoyable film that clearly pays loving homage to movies that came before it.

The stop motion animation is stunningly gorgeous. There were times when I actually forgot that it was a stop motion film and I was just completely swept into the world. There’s one scene in particular at the end that almost made my eyes burst from how awesome it was haha. Let’s not forget that Jon freakin’ Brion did the score for this film (does the title Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ring a bell for anyone?). Excellent work as usual from Mr. Brion.

This movie feels like it was made with a lot of reverence for previous children and horror movies that came before. This is understood right from the opening where we witness Norman watching a cheesy horror movie and we see the way the rest of the movie plays out. 

I particularly connected with the story of the movie with Norman feeling like an outcast for being a different. That’s not an uncommon theme in kid’s movies, but it was handled well in ParaNorman. I dig the fact that what is ostensibly a “children’s movie” can go into some deeper themes and places that most kids movies these days don’t dare to go. Paranorman didn’t fall into the same final act trap that Coraline did when that movie essentially became a video game at the end. The conclusion feels earned and it deeply moved me.

ParaNorman is a great stop motion animated film for all ages. It provides an appropriate mix of scares, laughs, and heart in this tale of accepting yourself and learning to forgive. I for one cannot wait to own this movie on Blu-ray and experience it again. Give it a watch!

9/10

I had a much longer review that I kind of felt was going nowhere fast, so I decided to do a much briefer review.

I haven’t seen the original Fright Night, so I can’t compare and contrast, but I can give you my take on the film with no previous bias. To do a quick one line synopsis, Fright Night is about a teenager who finds out that his next door neighbor is a vampire.

I was a big fan of Craig Gillespie after seeing his 2007 film, Lars and the Real Girl, and after Fright Night, I can say that I am very interested to see where his career is headed. Gillespie gets great usage out of the 3D in the film as well. You can tell that a lot of planning went into the film. Unfortunately, most of the movie takes place at night and it can get quite dim at times, but at about the halfway point I honestly forgot I was watching a 3D movie. When 3D can immerse you in that way, you know you’re doing something right.

While some of the CGI is shoddy at times, I did appreciate the implementation of practical effects for most of the monster work in this film. The reason I dig the practical make up effects for the vampires is that the difference between an actual person in makeup and a CGI monster is huge to me. Think of I Am Legend, where the creature effects were completely CGI, it just totally takes you out of the movie and is so noticeable. There is a ‘Children of Men-esque’ sequence in a car that is truly filmmaking at it’s best, it must have been a nightmare to film that sequence because the 3D camera rigs are so much bigger/heavier than regular cameras. Fantastic work from the effects department.

I absolutely love everyone in this cast. Anton Yelchin is certainly an up and coming star in Hollywood, he’s basically the new Shia LaBeouf, which is funny because Fright Night reminds me a lot of Disturbia except with vampires. David Tennant steals the show as a Chris Angel type character. I’m really glad that Imogen Poots has decided to start doing more movies because I think she’s very talented. Christopher Mintz-Plasse also puts in his best and most different role since Superbad. This entire cast is filled with underrated and underappreciated Hollywood talents, glad to see them all come together to make a great film.

The Marti Noxon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) screenplay is one of the highlights in my opinion. The dialogue is sharp and witty; it feels very reverent to vampire mythology and the pop culture references are used well. There are also just some really cool inventive action scenes that I don’t think I’ve ever seen done before. I love the way the narrative unfolds because it feels so unconventional. After one scene I thought to myself, “wow we’re at the end already?” and the movies goes on for another 30 minutes!

I have to give props to whoever edited the trailer because most of the best moments are left out. I really appreciate that because it seems like you get the entire narrative arc of most movies in trailers nowadays, it was nice to see a lot of scenes that were NOT given away in the trailer.

This seems odd to praise, but thank God the creators decided to make this an R-rated film. I could easily see this movie being some crappy PG-13 potboiler remake that the studios used to try to make a ton of money. Instead, they make it a hard R film, keep all the cursing, blood, and gore, and give us a remake worth watching. Granted, they probably won’t make their budget back at the box office (30 million budget, 8 million opening weekend, ouch…), but it’s nice to see artistic integrity win out at least a few times.

I could definitely see Fright Night becoming one of those movies that I pop in every once in a while just to have some fun. Craig Gillespie is a filmmaker to watch in the future, the cast gives fantastic performances, and it’s just a ton of fun. If you go see this movie, I would recommend opting for the 3D showing because it is used phenomenally well. If you want some damn good entertainment at the movies, you can’t go wrong with Fright Night.

8.5/10

Just a few spoilers after the “read more” break for some moments that I really enjoyed. If you haven’t seen Fright Night yet, don’t click “read more”!