20 Surprisingly Great Horror Movie Remakes

16. Fright Night

Expectations were immensely low when a remake of 1985's cult classic horror Fright Night was announced, because the original has such a distinct tone and the performances from Chris Sarandon and Roddy McDowall are basically note-perfect.

It was tough to imagine what director Craig Gillespie - best known for helming quirky indie comedy Lars and the Real Girl - could possibly bring to a vampire movie, but his new take on Fright Night managed to succeed against the odds as scary, hilarious, and brilliantly acted.

It turned out to be a well-crafted modern update that didn't try to outdo or replace the original but merely sit alongside it, and that it did, in large part thanks to Colin Farrell's superb turn as vamp Jerry and David Tennant's riotous against-type performance as magician-slash-vampire expert Peter Vincent.

Though it flopped at the box office upon release in 2011, the Fright Night remake has become something of a cult fave in its own right.