Fright Night (1985)

Director:

Tom Holland

Writer:

Tom Holland (written by)

Release Date:

2 August 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

There are some very good reasons to be afraid...of the dark.

Plot:

When a teenager learns that his next door neighbour is a vampire, no one will believe him.

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Undead | Death | Actor | Teenager

Awards:

5 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Chris Sarandon	...	Jerry Dandrige
William Ragsdale	...	Charley Brewster
Amanda Bearse	...	Amy Peterson
Roddy McDowall	...	Peter Vincent
Stephen Geoffreys	...	'Evil' Ed Thompson
Jonathan Stark	...	Billy Cole
Dorothy Fielding	...	Judy Brewster
Art Evans	...	Detective Lennox (as Art J. Evans)
Stewart Stern	...	Cook
Nick Savage	...	Bouncer #1
Ernie Holmes	...	Bouncer #2
Heidi Sorenson	...	Hooker
Irina Irvine	...	Teenage Girl
Bob Corff	...	Jonathan (as Robert Corff)
Pamela Brown	...	Miss Nina

Also Known As:

A Hora do Espanto (Brazil) [pt]
A Noite do Espanto (Portugal) [pt]
Ammazzavampiri (Italy) [it]
Die rabenschwarze Nacht (West Germany) [de]
Fright Night - Die rabenschwarze Nacht (West Germany) [de]
Kauhun yö (Finland) [fi]
La noche del espanto (Venezuela) [es]
Noche de miedo (Spain) [es]
Nyhta tromou (Greece) [el]
Skräcknatten (Sweden) [sv]
Vampire, vous avez dit vampire? (France) [fr]

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (cut) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Norway:15 (DVD rating) | Netherlands:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Australia:M | France:-12 | Italy:VM14 | Norway:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Laid Studios, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

A puppet that was created for, but not used in, another Columbia Pictures production, Ghost Busters (1984), is visible in Fright Night (1985).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Amy shoves the sandwich into Charlie's face, the tomato slice falls off right away. In two subsequent shots, the tomato slice falls off again.

Quotes:

Charley Brewster: Look, Detective Lennox, Jerry Dandridge is vampire!
Detective Lennox: Yeah, sure, and I'm Dirty Harry!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Maybe Tomorrow (2008/I)

Soundtrack:

COME TO ME

offbeat, cool, sexy and very 80s vampire tale (my favourite yet)

Before I first watched Fright Night, I admit I was unsure about what to think about it. All I knew about it was from what I had been told from my Dad (though his likes/dislikes are generally on par with mine, they sometimes border on plain stupid). But when I saw it to the end, I was almost totally converted.

Although the beginning is a bit cheesy and reminiscent of stereotypical horror B-movies, it soon becomes clear that this is part of what makes Fright Night so original. All the typical horror film genres are there: horror, romance, comedy (well maybe comedy isn't a typical horror element); but what makes this horror flick stand out a mile-and-a-half from the rest is that it's a very offbeat tale. It's creepily cheesy but gets away with it because it's atmosphere is so good.

All this and I haven't mentioned the acting or special effects yet. Sarandon seems to give such an effortless performance as the vampire and as a result is almost perfect. I had thought of what a modern day vampire would be like before I saw Fright Night; but Jerry Dandridge just blew all these ideas away and has to be the coolest (and I don't often use that word) and sexiest vampire ever, and is one of my favourite movie villains. Roddy McDowall can't hold a candle to Sarandon but is still very good, and Stephen Geoffreys is one of the funniest and memorable movie characters ever to grace a film screen too.

The special effects are good for 1985 and unlike where in modern films the SFX are the main point in the movie, here they add to the already present chilling atmosphere. And although on the one hand, Fright Night is quite dated, it also captures the atmosphere and the essence of the 80s. The soundtrack is excellent for the film, but paradoxically not very memorable (apart from one or two good songs).

[I wish I'd been born before 1981 (maybe 1961) so that I could have lived in the late-70s and 80s, and would have memories of the best music from that time, and not the boybands/Beatles clones/dance ditties (not decent tunes mind) we have now.]

All in all an (almost) perfect film: watch it and you'll (most likely) enjoy it and watch it again and again.