Anton Yelchin on Fright Night and Twilight, Honoring the Original, and Odd Thomas

Devotees of Tom Holland's 1985 vampire pic Fright Night, Anton Yelchin would like to allay your fears about Craig Gillespie's remake of the horror cult classic. The new Fright Night, in theaters today, pays loving homage to the original even as it updates the setting to suburban Las Vegas, turns teen hero Charley Brewster (Yelchin) into a savvy, sneaker-freak cool kid with a hot girlfriend (Imogen Poots), and makes new changes to Fright Night's cast of characters, from the dangerously sexy vampire next door (Colin Farrell) to the angry geek "Evil" Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) to the drastically re-imagined Peter Vincent (David Tennant), now a Criss Angel-like Vegas magician with a penthouse suit on the Strip.

But don't let those updates, courtesy of screenwriter Marti Noxon, get in the way of what the R-rated Fright Night remake is really about: Twilight. The thoughtful Yelchin explained to Movieline last month during Comic-Con. "[Fright Night] acknowledges the presence of a particular kind of romantic image of a vampire that's now, because of Twilight, the way we see that traditionally menacing horror figure," he said. "Now it's a romantic figure and we bring it back and say, no -- he moved in and he's just going to fucking fuck you, or kill you, or both."

Rather than echoing the original film's comment on the obsolescence of classic horror in the MTV generation, Gillespie's Fright Night takes a stand in the Twilight era. It reminds us that some vampires still play by the old rules; you'll get none of that sparkling, emo business here. Farrell's Jerry is just a good, old-fashioned bloodsucker ripping and seducing his way through the population, who finds an iPhone-equipped kid standing in his way.

Movieline spoke with Yelchin about appeasing fans of the original Fright Night and finding new ground to explore in the remake, why his Charley hasn't lost his nerd cred after all, his work on the supernatural Dean Koontz adaptation Odd Thomas, and when J.J. Abrams's Star Trek 2 will finally begin filming.

This Fright Night remake puts you in an interesting position, because you've got fans of the '80s original who want to see certain things, and you've got a whole new audience that maybe doesn't even know what Fright Night is. How did you all balance paying homage to the past and appealing to a new generation?

Well, I think a lot of that, Marti Noxon's script took care of. It was respectful to the original Fright Night and retained certain elements of it -- the humor, some of the gore. And at the same time, sort of re-envisioned the situation, as Marti's said, of teenagers that are already well-versed in the genre. The characters themselves are aware. That was a key element of the original as well, for me at least. It was really about the change in the horror genre. So the script was already that way, but I think we all worked to find that balance, to make sure there were elements that were similar and respectful and yet re-envision it, re-imagine it, and make it more accessible to a new audience.

When did you first watch the original Fright Night, and what did you think of it?

I saw the original after I read the script. I thought it was great. I love it, I think it's a great film because it's not just a horror film; I really believe it's about the changes [in the genre] -- the Peter Vincent character is a relic, and the fact that this actually happens... he himself doesn't even believe anymore. I think that's an acute look at what was happening, the transition from classic horror to '80s horror, which is gory and different. It was a different world. He even says, there's a line in the original where Peter Vincent goes, 'Kids aren't interested in this anymore...' So I love it. I think it's a great film and a very smart film.

You're right, Peter Vincent is a Bela Lugosi figure in many ways.

Yes, of course! Exactly.

How do you think that your Fright Night might in turn reflect how horror has changed since the '80s?

Well, I don't think this is the object of this Fright Night. Someone else asked if we felt this Fright Night reflected the dangers of suburbia, that in suburbia there's a kind of ambiguity in terms of your neighbors and your surroundings, it's so generic. I don't think that's the goal of the film. If someone in the audience sees that, feels that, then maybe it's there, but I think this one really captures and in a way reflects the landscape because it shows you kids that are very well versed in a new kind of horror -- in the new vampire world, which is the Twilight world, really, as Marti's said. It's the romantic vampire, but what happens in reality moves in next door and it's not romantic, it's just destructive. So in a way, I think if anything the film acknowledges the presence of a particular kind of romantic image of a vampire that's now, because of Twilight, the way we see that traditionally menacing horror figure. Now it's a romantic figure and we bring it back and say, no - he moved in and he's just going to fucking fuck you, or kill you, or both.

That's one of the distinctive things about both Fright Night films -- they're very clear about the fact that these vampires should be feared.

Yeah! He's a monster, and he's going to kill you. [Laughs] You'd better try and stop him or you'll die, you know?

Which scene did you enjoy shooting the most?

You know, Marti wrote a great script because there's a lot of fun action to shoot, and we shot the last four or five weeks of the film were certain action sequences. But then there were a lot of really very well-written character-driven scenes that were really just about the emotions of that, and I enjoyed both. To be able to create an interesting character and relationships that are believable and feel real -- and also to then go and kick some ass and blow some shit up and set some shit on fire... so I enjoyed both.

When the trailer for Fright Night first came out, some fans of the original were disappointed that Charley wasn't a nerd anymore, as he is throughout the original. But you folks address that, and in a way that's more meaningful than it might seem at first glance.

Yeah, of course. And that's the thing -- he is [a nerd], and his whole desire is to get away from that and to avoid that part of his life. To re-imagine himself as someone, and in doing that he kind of loses all the values that were important to him. I think that's a very big point that the film makes. It's not a film about a kid where in the original he's a nerd and suddenly you change that. The whole point is that he's tried to get away from that and lost what's important to him.

That should bring some comfort for fans of the original, once they see the film.

Absolutely! And I can totally see where there would be a certain level of discomfort if suddenly you were like, 'Wait a minute, they just rejected that [part of Charley's character]?' But not at all, that's not the case in the slightest.

Between Terminator Salvation and Star Trek and the other films you've been in with fandoms, which movies of yours do people approach you on the street for the most?

I don't know! I'm really lucky. A lot of people like Star Trek, people like Terminator. People like other work that I've done. It's interesting to see what people appreciate, and I'm always grateful for whatever people say. People come up to you and say they liked Curb Your Enthusiasm, which I did when I was 13, you know?

Are you surprised that they'd remember something like that?

What I'm most surprised about is that people come up to me and say they really like Hearts in Atlantis, which I did when I was 11. I'm just surprised, because... I was driving my car one day in L.A. and this kid looked and me and went, 'Hey, you're the guy from Hearts in Atlantis!' In Hearts in Atlantis I was 11, and now I'm 22. The fact that he connected that... he said, 'I love that movie!' and drove away, and it was so nice! [Laughs] I can't believe you saw it and realized it was me in the other car. So it's always a very nice, kind of pleasant feeling.

You're filming Odd Thomas right now?

Yes, I'm still shooting that. I flew in this morning from Santa Fe. I've shot in New Mexico before, but I've never shot in Santa Fe.

What drew you in about that project to begin with?

I think it's a great character. There's a lot going on there, because he's given this spiritual ability that makes his world so complex. I mean, face to face with death every day, and the universe he lives in, the moral universe, is so intense. You just see him try to live a very quiet material existence, but the moral struggle of this character, of trying to constructively deal with death every day and still bring something to the world, was very interesting to me. He's a great character. He's of both realms; he's a human being but he's also within the spiritual realm at all times. So it gives you the room to sort of put him... I mean, he's Odd Thomas. His name is 'Odd,' so he's weird. It allows you to experiment with that, and at the same time, kick some ass. It's a fun combination of a lot of things.

What kind of action scenes do you get to do in Odd Thomas?

There's not a huge deal, but basically what happens is the movie opens with Odd beating the shit out of this guy who's taken advantage of this little girl, so right away you know he's not just this weird guy. Then what happens is it culminates in this huge, brutal massacre at this mall. But it's great, Willem Dafoe's in it...

What's he like to work with?

Oh, he's a pleasure. A wonderful man. The nicest man. I think he's extraordinary; I was mesmerized by him and so pleased to find what a great man he is.

Do you have any guesses as to when Star Trek 2 will happen?

Well, we're definitely doing another film, I just don't know when exactly. I know everyone's on board, we're all looking forward to it. It just depends on when they find the right time to do it.

Have you given them any input as to where you'd like to see Chekov go in the sequel?

[Laughs] No!

Do you feel like you can?

No! I think they'll figure it out and I'll just be happy to do whatever it is.

Fright Night is in theaters today. Read Michelle Orange's review here.