Fright Night 2: New Blood is a 2013 horror comedy film directed by Eduardo Rodriguez. It is a direct-to-video sequel to the 2011 Fright Night serving as a rehashing of both the original Fright Night and its remake. In Romania, Charley Brewster (Will Payne) enlists the aid of Peter Vincent (Sean Power) to put a stake in the plans of a sultry vampire (Jaime Murray) who wants the blood of Charley’s ex-girlfriend.

Positives:

• Good performance by Murray and Parkinson
• Great premise
• Good use of practical and make-up effects

Negatives:

• Lackluster characters
• Lackluster performances
• Terrible script
• Poor cast
• Bad dialogue

Plot: The story is pretty interesting but the logic behind it is questionable.  The story is a retelling of the original Fright Night story except set in Romania with Charley, Amy, Ed, and Vincent visiting Gerri’s home.  The whole subplot about the backstory of the Elisabeth Bathory was a complete waste.  (3 out of 5)

Characters: Gerri (Murray) was a pretty interesting antagonist though there wasn’t really anything to her aside from the sex appeal (which is a lot) and seductive personality.  Charley (Payne), Peter (Power), and Evil Ed (Waller)…yes his name is Evil Ed… are some of the most dumb, unlikable characters ever conceived in film history.  All of them are so poorly written, poorly performed; a complete waste of space.  Charley literally spends most of the film whining about everything.  No chemistry between Charley and Amy, I honestly don’t understand why they would’ve ever been together outside of Charley bribing her over some sensitive information or him paying her. Amy is the only character among the protagonists with anything to her character that was likable. (2 out of 5)

Cast:  The casting was just a mess.  Jaime Murray was actually really good.  She’s sexy, she has presence, she actually fits the character.  Sacha Parkinson is a great cast.  Will Payne, Sean Power, and Chris Waller are just terrible.  They are not only poorly cast but also their performances suck. (2 out of 5)

Visuals: The effects are a bit of a mixed bag.  When it comes to the vampire make-up effects as well as transformations they are done rather well.  The Evil Ed vampire effects look stupid, specifically his fangs which look utterly ridiculous. (3 out of 5)

Score: The score is pretty decent but not really memorable. Luis Ascanio does good enough job with the musical composition.  (3 out of 5)

Writing: The script is poorly written and there are so many conveniences that it’s shameful.  How Charley finds out about Gerri is not only dumb but highly implausible. This is how bad the conveniences are written into the plot.  He literally witnesses everything she does not only through “coincidence” but also because he has no depth to his character.  He just happens to see Gerri do all these things at the right specific time while no one else did.  And the reason for her not killing him is just a poor excuse when she’s had several opportunities to kill him. (1 out of 5)

The Verdict: In the end, Fright Night 2: New Blood is a poor excuse for a film.  Although there is a good use of make-up effects, good performances by Jaime Murray and Sacha Parkinson, and a really good premise, but the film suffers from poor performances, a terrible script, characters who completely suck ass, and poor dialogue.  Fright Night 2: New Blood gets 2 out of 5.