With many of the major bases covered (Freddy, Michael, Jason), there’s not a lot of great and/or successful horror movies from the 1970’s and 1980’s left to be remade. Oh, there are still tons of films from that era of genre, but it seems that name recognition is a greater driving factor than the films themselves. So it’s no surprise they got around to remaking 1985’s Fright Night, a film that did for vampires what Scream did for slasher films by gently playing with the conventions while reinventing it for a new generation (albeit much more subtly).

And with True Blood, etc. there’s a lot of vampirism in modern culture, so on that level it’s a fitting time for the remake. Craig Gillespie directs the 2011 version, which takes the premise of the original in some interesting and not so interesting directions. Anton Yelchin stars as the boy next door who sees his neighbor (Colin Ferrell) as something of a threat, only for him to be a real life vampire. Imogene Poots, Toni Collette, David Tenant and Christopher Mintz-Plasse co-star. Our review of the 3-D Blu-ray follows after the jump.

After two weeks on top, Rise of the Planet of the Apes swapped places with last week’s number two The Help on top of the weekend box office.  That left places 3-5 for the major new releases, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, Conan the Barbarian, and Fright Night.  Even One Day managed only a middling per-screen average in its smaller release.  Details after the jump.

Every once in a while, I like to remind readers that our weekly “Top 5″ is a perpetual “work in progress.” That in mind, if you ever find yourself thinking, “Man, I wish Jason wasn’t such an idiot and would do this or that with the ‘Top 5′,” then I’m inviting you to either leave your suggestion in the comments section and/or e-mail me (colliderjason@gmail.com). The goal is to make the weekly feature as beneficial and entertaining to you, the reader, as possible. So, by all means, let us know if there is something missing that you would like to see. Now, with that out of the way…

In this week’s installment, you’ll find all of our video interviews with the cast of Conan the Barbarian, Matt’s editorial documenting what he views as the rise and fall of cult status, the first trailer and 34 hi-res images from Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, news confirming all of our worst fears regarding a Blade Runner follow-up, and our visit to the Alamo Drafthouse to check out the new Fright Night with stars Anton Yelchin and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Hit the jump for links and brief recaps for each.

None of this week’s new offerings were able to seize the top box office slots from a pair of overperforming holdovers on Friday.  The Help came in on top with $5.8 million, a mere 24% decline from last Friday.  The impressive hold bumped Rise of the Apes, champion of the last two Fridays, down to second with $4.7 million.  We finally get to the new movies in third place: Spy Kids: All the Time in the World opened to just $4.0 million from 3,295 locations; Conan the Barbarian dipped under the $4 million threshold for $3.7 million from 3,015 locations.  Fright Night rounds out the top five, earning $3.1 million from 3,114 locations.  Check back tomorrow for the weekend totals.

There’s plenty to like about the original 1985 version of Fright Night: the performances from Chris Sarandon and Roddy McDowall, the great practical horror effects, and the thoughtful subtext about teens coming to grips with their burgeoning sexuality and the familiar inadequacies that come with it.  The remake of Fright Night ditches almost all of these aspects but still manages to be an entertaining creature feature filled with excellent performances, plenty of humor, and some nice surprises as it tries update the film for a new audience.

In the re-imagining of Fright Night, teenager Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) learns that his new next door neighbor, Jerry Dandrige (Colin Farrell), is really a vicious vampire, slaughtering people for their blood. Only problem is that no one, including his mother (Toni Collette) and girlfriend Amy (Imogen Poots), believe him. Unable to convince anyone of the imminent danger, Charley looks to popular Las Vegas illusionist and self-proclaimed vampire expert Peter Vincent (David Tennant) for help, before finally taking matters into his own hands.

At the film’s press day, co-stars Anton Yelchin, Christopher Mintz-Plasse (who plays Evil Ed) and Imogen Poots talked about updating the Fright Night story and characters for a Twilight world, the appeal of making a scary vampire film, hanging out with each other and bonding while shooting in Albuquerque, and the freedom that director Craig Gillespie embraces in the performances from his actors. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

I have to admit, when I heard that a remake was being done of the 1985 horror classic Fright Night, I was skeptical. But then, I saw the film and not only really enjoyed the performances and new twists, but also the nods to the original and the roller coaster ride of scares and humor. What stood out most of all for me was David Tennant’s absolutely brilliant, layered performance of popular Las Vegas illusionist and self-proclaimed vampire expert, Peter Vincent. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to speak with the intriguing actor for this exclusive phone interview with Collider.

During our chat, David Tennant (much-loved for his turn as the 10^th Doctor in the popular Doctor Who television series) talked about how delighted and thrilled he was to take on such a juicy character, how he felt it was time again for a vampire story where the vampire is an unquestionable monster, that he did each scene a variety of ways to find the right tone of horror and humor, what fun he had with co-star Anton Yelchin, and how much he enjoyed the film himself, even though he’s in it. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Last night, the Alamo Drafthouse held another one of its typically-awesome, film-geektastic events, this one in support of Craig Gillespie’s forthcoming Fright Night redux.  Starring Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, David Tennant, and the ridiculously hot Imogen Poots, the 2011 model of Fright Night bears many similarities to Tom Holland’s 1985 Fright Night…and a few drastic differences.  As it turns out, I managed to catch a screening of Fright Night ’85 just a few weeks ago, so the original was fresh on my mind.  Was Gillespie’s film a worthy successor, or is Fright Night 2011 another useless remake?  Find out after the jump, folks…

Given our current cultural fascination with vampires, and the huge popularity of the Twilight Saga films, the timing seems appropriate for a re-imagining of the beloved 1985 horror classic Fright Night, marking a return of the vicious, murdering vampire. When intriguing stranger Jerry Dandrige (Colin Farrell) moves in next door to Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin), he seems like a great guy, but something is clearly not quite right. At first, only Charley’s estranged best friend, Evil Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), is convinced of the nefarious goings-on. As a result, Charley must take action to protect his mother (Toni Collette) and girlfriend Amy (Imogen Poots), and get rid of the monster himself, with a little advice and help from popular Las Vegas illusionist and self-proclaimed vampire expert Peter Vincent (David Tennant).

At the film’s press day, actor Colin Farrell and director Craig Gillespie talked about the hesitation of taking on what could have been an unoriginal remake, but instead is so much more fun, being a fan of the vampire genre, the complications of developing a backstory for a character that’s lived 400 years, working with Chris Sarandon (who played the original Jerry Dandrige), and playing with the vampire voice. Farrell also talked about his desire to maintain an eclectic career to keep himself guessing, and Gillespie talked about the appeal of his next project, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

I hope you’ll pardon the “Top 5′s” lack of punctuality this week. I just returned from a set visit in Louisiana and WiFi was at a premium throughout most of my travels. Although I can say almost nothing about the visit as of now, just know that I arrived there just a touch on the cynical douche side and left really looking forward to the next entry in an iconic horror franchise.

With that out of the way, let’s get to the reason we’re all here: the stories. In this week’s installment, you’ll find fifteen things to know about Summit Entertainment’s upcoming alien invasion pic The Darkest Hour, a dinner/interview with Paul‘s Simon Pegg and Greg Mottola, a recap of the Alamo Drafthouse’s screening of the original Fright Night featuring a Q&A with director Tom Holland, Bryan Cranston talking Breaking Bad, Drive, his near appearance in X-Men: First Class among other things, and the latest iteration of our video/audio podcast For Your Consideration. You’ll find brief recaps and links to all of the above after the jump.

Last week, director Tom Holland (Child’s Play, Fright Night, Cloak and Dagger) and Alvaro Rodriguez (Machete) took the stage inside the Alamo Drafthouse’s Ritz location.  Their purpose?  To present Holland’s cult-classic, Fright Night, just weeks before the Fright Night remake arrives in theaters.  Now, admitting this will probably get my film-geek credentials revoked, but…until one night earlier this week, I’d never seen Holland’s infamous vampire flick.  Aborted attempts were made to watch the film just a few months ago, but something always seemed to get in the way.  And so, when the opportunity arose to see the film on the Drafthouse’s best screen–with the director conducting a post-show Q&A– I knew I needed to be there.  So.  Did the film live up its reputation?  Did Holland have anything interesting to say about the making of the film?  And just how does he feel about Fright Night being remade?  Find out after the jump, folks….

Fright Night is a film with a cult following and it doesn’t automatically lend itself to a remake.  You’re in a tricky place where the original probably doesn’t have the widespread awareness a studio would like and then the cult is wary of any attempt to remake a movie they love.  But director Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl) is attempting to show he’s up to the task and he’s got a great cast leading the film: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Imogen Poots, Toni Collette, and David Tennant.  But it’s still a movie that could go either way and Comic-Con is a great opportunity to for the film to prove itself to both the cult and the uninitiated.

Hit the jump for my thoughts on the Comic-Con presentation for Fright Night.

If you’ve been looking forward to Fright Night, or just want to ask Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, Christopher Mintz-Plasse & director Craig Gillespie a question, you’re in the right place.  That’s because at noon today (PST), we’re hosting a live web chat with all of them from Comic-Con!  And if you have a web cam, they’ll be able to see you when you ask a question!  [Update: As you might expect when trying to organize this many people, the chat time has been pushed back to about 12:45pm PST.  Could be a few minutes later or even a few minutes earlier.  But check back then.  We will make this happen!]

[Update 2: The chat has ended.  Thank you for participating.]

Hit the jump for more:

With Comic-Con set to begin in San Diego tomorrow night, tens of thousands of geeks (myself included) are about to travel to “Nerdapalooza” to watch footage from some of the biggest upcoming movies and TV shows and to interact with some of the best actors and directors on the planet.  If you’re a fan of pop culture, comic books, TV shows, movies, Cosplay, or spending too much money on convention food, Comic-Con is an event you have to attend at least once in your life.

However, I know most of you reading this are not going to be able to attend.  Luckily, I have a solution…at least for the movie Fright Night. On Friday, at noon pacific time, we’re going to be hosting a live video chat from Comic-Con with Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, Christopher Mintz-Plasse & director Craig Gillespie.  No matter where you live, you will have the chance to ask them questions and if you have a web cam, you can ask it on camera!  More info after the jump:

If you thought Thursday was crazy at Comic-Con, then the schedule for Friday will make your brain break apart. There were some high profile panels on Thursday, but Friday it’s non-stop. Sony is looking to own the day with their 90-minute panel for Total Recall, 30 Minutes or Less, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, and The Amazing Spider-Man. Hall H will also be hosting presentations for The Adventures of Tintin, Raven, Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire, Underworld 4, Batman: Year One, Pacific Rim, Seventh Son, Paradise Lost, Mass Effect, and Fright Night.

The TV side is also on overdrive with a pilot screening of Locke & Key, and panels for The Walking Dead, The Big Bang Theory, Children’s Hospital, Bones, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, The River, Black Dynamite, Eureka, Bob’s Burgers, Falling Skies, ThunderCats, Robot Chicken, Ugly Americans, Warehouse 13, and True Blood. Hit the jump for a list of schedule highlights for movies and TV.