Behind the Scenes of Fright Night

Excerpt from Empire Magazine (June 2011)

“When he shows up it takes the film in a whole other direction, so to get to play like that and to get to dress up and be this fantastic Gothic magician is so much fun,” says Tennant, when Empire catches up with him on the film’s Albuquerque set. Still dressed for the part in his “vampire killing ensemble”, Tennant shows off his deadly accessories, including a decidedly hi-tech stake with built-in holy water, some daggers he insists he got from the Prince of Persia set, some wooden bullets, and a grapple hook.

“Roddy McDowall created quite the masterful character,” says Tennant, “and I suppose my Peter Vincent kind of fills the same hole in the film, but everything else about him is fairly radically different. I’m very honoured to be stepping into his shoes, but thankfully they’re rather differently upholstered shoes. He’s struggling with several demands, some of which are supernatural and some of which are decidedly man-made.”

One of which is, as fans of the original will know, a lack of faith in the very supernatural elements he peddles on a nightly basis. The other is a struggle with another kind of demon: booze.

“He’s a broken man in a lot of ways, which is where the humour comes from,” says Gillespie [Craig Gillespie - director]. “There’s this real pathos to him. He’s actually very successful, which almost rubs more salt in the wound. And he’s looking for ways to escape.”