October is upon us and Halloween looms on the mind of those wishing to shed their mortal vessels to don garments of demons, witches and sexy cats. Yes, It is a spooky time of year. Children come to your door and demand sugar. Those of us with a sweet tooth our pillaged of our candy coffers by these little costume clad tyrants. Thankfully, Netflix is on hand to provide much-needed noise to drown out their unrelenting, insatiable chant for chocolate that isn’t snack size. In the meantime, Practice makes perfect. Start early! Indulge yourself with one solid month of horror movies on Netflix. We’ll help you out with two of the most horrifying viewing prospects for any movie-goer — A reboot of a classic and a video game adaptation.
YESFLIX – FRIGHT NIGHT
Welcome to Fright Night! An illusion based spectacle of blood curdling proportions hosted by the enigmatic Peter Vincent (David Tennant) and his minions of the dark arts. A show that claims to scale the walls of reality, revealing the true secrets of vampire hunting, its popularity stemming from the paranoia of the public as it perpetuates the myth that bloodsuckers walk among us. At least, that’s how Charlie 
Brewster (Anton Yelchin) sees it.
Even for a horror enthusiast like Charlie, It was a hard pill to swallow that his neighbor might be an actual creature of the night. His best friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) from school is insistent that its true. Jerry Dandrige (Colin Farrell) is a vampire! How could that be?
An impossibility that is too intriguing to not investigate further. A thread that simply had to be explored. A rabbit hole that might lead them into the depths of terror and their own personal Fright Night.
As far as reboots go, Fright Night (2011) is the best possible outcome you could ask for. A stellar cast leading the fray into an engaging walk down a familiar lane. The elements that made the 1980’s classic memorable are still present in this modern-day take. A sense of suspense is difficult to pull off when a large chunk of the audience has seen the previous incarnation, yet somehow we get entangled once again in the back and forth between Jerry and Charlie.
Anton Yelchin is a strong talent that illustrates the emotion of doubt beautifully on-screen. Suitably, Colin Farrell is admittedly less over the top than the Chris Sarandan portrayal of Jerry Dandrige. The subtlety in his movements and actions make for a more mysterious character that is effectively projected as terrifying in certain scenes. In terms of David Tennant as Peter Vincent, a beat was missed in the process of what made Peter Vincent a likable character. His performance reeks of a Russel Brand knockoff that feels out-of-place with the otherwise dour tone of the film. Roddy McDowall was more of a bumbling grandfather type that endeared his audiences with his ability to tell an entertaining story. However, this is by no means a great detriment to the movie. Risks were taken that paid off in spades, this was just not one of them. Respect should be given to the changes made as brave moves towards progressing an old property. Scenes requiring makeup and special effects are done exceptionally – a noteworthy victory over its predecessor. Overall, Fright Night delivers thrills that stand on its merit, which is really the best possible compliment I can give to a reboot.
FANS OF THE ORIGINAL FRIGHT NIGHT AND NEAR DARK WILL LOVE THIS!
NOFLIX – SILENT HILL: REVELATION
Nightmares and visions have plagued Heather Mason (Adelaide Clemens) since she was a child. A dangerous secret from her past is kept under wraps by her father Harry Mason (Sean Bean). No matter how far they run the spectres of these visions haunt them. The intensity of the dreams growing with each passing year. Upon the eve of her 18th birthday, a sensation of suffocation comes across Heather as she discovers her father has disappeared. The only direction beckoning her is the way towards the town that she sees in her nightmares. A town called Silent Hill. A town that her friend Vincent (Kit Harrington) knows a little too much about for her liking. A town where demons call her by her true name.
Silent Hill: Revelation (2012) is a sequel to an unnecessary adaptation of a very successful video game franchise. It is an aesthetically perfect, waste of time. Previously, We stated that making 
changes to freshen up old properties is a brave move, given the nature of fans who have a tendency to over criticize. In this case, that does not apply. When you alter a known story to cater to an idea of what you want it to be – you need to be able to justify that by making it a better story than the original. Silent Hill: Revelation is a negligent misuse of a great license, because it flagrantly ignores its source material in favor of tossing parts of a coherent story at the wall and bumbling them together into a screenplay.
A requirement in making a horror game is to decide upon what type of emotions you want the player to feel. The often trodden paths of development are garnered to unsettle the player or to make the player jump out of their seat with fright. Collectively, these would not mesh well in a movie. A critical issue with Silent Hill: Revelation is its confusion as to what Silent Hill is. An eerie, unnerving and slow-paced suspense story. Peppering your film with a few moments of this, does not merit using the license. A prolonged walk through madness should not be accompanied by a fight scene between monsters with metal music. That’s not how horror works. That’s not how narrative works. Unless you’re Rob Zombie.
To speak about the performances of the cast is difficult as its equivalent to being asked what the color of the wind is. I don’t see anything.
Aside from appropriate appearances (Thanks to the costume department), Nobody bring anything to their role. Kit Harrington and Sean Bean are two halves of one entity that is determined to rival Steven Wrights voice as the most disinterested force in the galaxy. These are your main players for your cast and they saunter from each scene exclaiming “oh my!” at everything with little visual cues that they are perturbed in any way. Additionally, There is no point of reference from Adelaide Clemens on Heather as a happy person, so it is hard to get invested in her constant whining.
Silent Hill: Revelation is a butchered mess, cut together by Pyramid Head after a few pints at Fibbers. Credit for any modicum of success this film received should be showered upon the visual effects department and the cinematographer. Good job. It looks pretty.
FANS OF THE VIDEO GAME SILENT HILL 3 AND HORROR MOVIES WILL HATE THIS!
