Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Imogen Poots, David Tennant
Rating: R
106 minutes

Colin Farrell stars in “Fright Night.” (Courtesy photo)

For the past few years, I've been afraid of seeing vampire movies. Not because I find vampires terrifying, but because something happened in American pop culture that suddenly turned all the world's vampires into tortured romantics. Where's the fun in that?

Thankfully, "Fright Night" has come along during the split second that Edward Cullen has his back turned, and reminded us what stupid fun a vampire movie can be.

"Fright Night" follows Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin, "Star Trek"), a teenager living on the outskirts of Las Vegas who just wants to have his girlfriend and his cool friends and be happy. Unfortunately, his new neighbor Jerry (Colin Farrell, "In Bruges") is a bloodthirsty vampire, which Charley learns the hard way when his former best friend, a "total dweeb" who suspects Jerry's supernatural identity, gets bitten and disappears.

Eager to protect his mother and his girlfriend Amy (Imogen Poots, "V for Vendetta"), Charley begins doing his research on vampires. He enlists the help of a Vegas showman, Peter Vincent (David Tennant, TV's "Doctor Who"), who specializes in killing vampires. But like any good Vegas show, most of it is smoke and flashing lights, and Charley realizes the great Peter Vincent is just as incapable in a fight against vampires as he is. When Jerry begins to go after Charley and his girlfriend, though, they have no choice but to fight back.

While this falls under the "so-over-the-top-it's-funny" group of vampire movies, it doesn't shy away from the gruesome violence of full-blown horror movies. Complete with gallons of fake blood and impressively disgusting makeup jobs, "Fright Night" doesn't skimp out on anything. Nor does it turn its vampires into caricatures for comic relief, instead letting the comedy rise from the situations and the characters. This is thanks to Marti Noxon's ("I Am Number Four") script, based on the 1985 movie of the same name. Noxon's revamped (so to speak) script is sometimes layered and honest, and at other times inconsistent or even confusing (although that may just be because I haven't done my research on vampires). The pros outweigh the cons, though, and director Craig Gillespie ("Lars and the Real Girl") has found a good place between horror and comedy, leaning more towards the comedy side of things.

Luckily, that middle ground doesn't feel wishy-washy or boring. It's just energetic. And much of that is thanks to the actors, who all seem to be on the same page. Yelchin makes a convincing lead, even if his character is sometimes a teenage cliché. It's early in his career, but in time he could prove to be one of the better actors of the new generation, if and when he gets the chance.

Colin Farrell and relative newcomer Imogen Poots give decent, if straightforward, performances as the sadistic vampire and the loyal girlfriend, respectively. Meanwhile, David Tennant, a regular in the Shakespearean theater circuit, stops by to have a little fun as a vulgar, drunken vampire slayer. The balance between characters is well kept; Charley is our hero, Amy is his damsel in distress, Vincent is his odd accomplice, and Jerry is the menacingly steady-handed villain.

Perhaps most impressive about this movie is the absence of stock characters. For the first 20 minutes, it looks like it's going to be the "cool kids vs. nerds" cliché, mixed with the "teenager trying to fit in" cliché, mixed with a whole slew of vampire clichés, mixed with the "hero trying to convince everyone he isn't crazy" cliché, and so on.

As the movie progresses, the clichés peter out, and what we're left with is good, clean fun. Well, it might not be clean, but it's fun. Now, if only some of the other vampire movie makers would take note.

Danny Eisenberg is a 2010 graduate of the Bromfield School and is currently a student at the University of Pennsylvania.