Blu-ray

This remake of Tom Holland’s ‘80s horror-comedy doesn’t quite live up to our memories of the original, but is still a fun genre outing coated with liberal splashes of blood (all-too rare a sight in today’s tween-friendly vampire flicks).

Anton Yelchin stars as teenager Charley, who becomes convinced that his new neighbour Jerry (Colin Farrell) is a vampire. Running out of options, Charley turns to occult specialist and stage magician Peter Vincent (David Tennant) for help. But even if Peter believes him, do a teenage boy and an alcoholic stage performer stand a chance against a 400-year old vampire?

Picture: This remake of Fright Night looks pretty good on Blu-ray, at least in its 2D incarnation. The ‘flat’ AVC 1.85:1 1080p encode is sharp and detailed, with excellent colour reproduction (during the handful of daylight scenes) and stable black levels (in the many, many night sequences).

The MVC 1.85:1 1080 3D offering is another story altogether. Thanks to a drop in brightness caused by the 3D glasses it sometimes looks like a flatter image than the 2D presentation. There are a handful of decent stereoscopic effects when things get a little brighter, but they hardly make for a disc you’ll use to show off your new 3D TV.
Picture rating: 3/5

Audio: The disc’s DTS-HD MA 7.1 mix provides a convincing, if not hugely dramatic surround sound experience. The vast majority of the action is confined to the front speakers, with the surrounds only really being employed for atmospheric effects. However, more dynamic material such as Chapter 11’s explosions and Chapter 12’s car chase are accompanied by equally dynamic audio making full use of the entire seven-channel soundstage.
Audio rating: 4/5

Extras: In place of a genuine Making of... Disney’s release offers The Official ‘How to Make a Funny Vampire Movie’ Guide, an eight-minute featurette that skims over the surface of the production as it tries (and fails) to provide an amusing look at the ‘rules’ behind the film. Accompanying this are an in-character interview with Peter Vincent, a reel of extended scenes, the full version of the Squid Man home video (clips from which appear in the film), a blooper and a Kid Cudi music video.

Completing the rather lacklustre feel of the package are the Blu-ray menus. Not only are they rather basic in design, but the disc doesn’t even offer pop-up menus while watching the film. Instead it forces you to drop out of the movie to the main menu to do something as simple as navigate Scene Selection or Set-Up.
Extras rating: 1/5

We say: A reasonable remake of the cult '80s favourite, but the Blu-ray itself lacks any real bite

Walt Disney Home Entertainment, All-region BD, £27 Approx, On sale now
HCC VERDICT: 3/5