Director: Tom Holland
Stars: William Ragsdale, Roddy McDowall, Chris Sarandon
Snack Report: Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies
Tonight’s Fright Night Challenge film is – appropriately enough – a film called Fright Night. I haven’t done a vampire film for a while, so it seemed like a good choice.
Fright Night is a lot of fun, combining some teen movie tropes with the vampire movie genre and some humor thrown into the mix. In my opinion, the outstanding performances by Chris Sarandon and Roddy McDowall as the vampire and his nemesis plus some cool monster effects elevate Fright Night beyond the other teen horror films of the 80s.
In fact, you can’t help but instantly recognize it as an 80s movie, thanks to the soundtrack music, awful hairstyles and wardrobe, antique electronics, and dated home décor. Styles that later were considered a lapse of good taste, but 30 years in the future they’ve become cool again. Go figure.
Our main character, Totally Average Teenage Boy Charley Brewster (Ragsdale), has three interests: Cars, horror movies, and trying to get laid. He often combines the last two activities; it seems like whenever he’s making out with his girlfriend Amy (Amanda Bearse), he’s also watching horror movies on TV. Specifically, he’s watching Fright Night, a show hosted by Peter Vincent (McDowall), former horror movie star and “vampire killer.”
The story begins during one of the abovementioned make-out sessions, when Charley is distracted by something outside his window – two men are carrying a fancy coffin into the basement of the empty house next door.
His curiosity piqued, Charley takes every opportunity to spy on the new neighbors. In fact, he seems to have a clear view from his room into any window of the neighboring house.
Like so many other horror film characters, Charley has stumbled upon a dark supernatural threat, but of course no one believes him. He reports his suspicions to the police, and a detective accompanies him to the house to investigate. The homeowner, Mr. Dandridge (Sarandon), is out of town, but his “roommate” puts the detective’s fears to rest, and the police are convinced Charley’s a nutjob.
Charley’s friend, Evil Ed (played with wild manic energy by Stephen Geoffreys), seems to be an expert on such matters, so Charley asks him for advice about how to protect oneself from vampires. Wouldn’t you think someone who’s a fan of horror films would already know that stuff?
Ed tells him all about the vampire rules that everyone knows… like how they can’t tolerate crosses, garlic, or holy water and can only be killed by sunlight, fire, or getting staked or decapitated. He reassures him that a vampire can only enter your home if they’re invited in.
Too late! Upon arriving home, he finds that his mother has already invited the new neighbor over for drinks. Even Charley’s mom is an 80s movie stereotype – Ditzy, single, oblivious, and almost always conveniently at work.
After fighting off the vampire in his bedroom that night, Charley remembers that horror movie host Peter Vincent is a famous vampire killer. He’ll know what to do! Charley asks for his help, but Vincent tells him to go pound sand. But Amy and Evil Ed are concerned about Charley’s mental health, so they bribe Vincent to accompany them to the neighbor’s house.
Dandridge passes Vincent’s vampire “tests” – he drinks the holy water and grasps the cross presented to him with no ill effects. They’re satisfied… until Vincent notices that Dandridge casts no reflection in his hand mirror!
Soon the crafty bloodsucker has turned Evil Ed into a vampire minion and sends him to take out the fake vampire killer. Fortunately, Vincent is able to fight off the baby vampire.
Meanwhile, Dandridge follows Charley and Amy to a very 80s nightclub, where he hypnotizes her and they do some dirty dancing. (Because in another clichéd and overused plot device, she looks exactly like the vampire’s lost love.) As he’s steering her out of the club, Charley catches up with them, and a fight breaks out. Dandridge escapes with Amy, telling Charley to meet him at his house – or the girl gets it!
Charley goes to Vincent’s apartment and convinces him to help him kill the monster once and for all. Meanwhile, Dandridge has already had a prolonged seduction scene with Amy and bitten her, and she’s transforming into a vampire. For some reason, her hair gets much longer, and she gets bigger boobs.
Apparently the cross and holy water thing only works if the bearer has faith that they will. So when cynical Vincent uses them, there’s no effect, but when Charley does, the vampire is repelled by them.
Vincent returns to Charley’s house, where he is met by Evil Ed, who transforms into a wolf and attacks him. Just as the wolf leaps for his throat, Vincent skewers him with a broken table leg (Mrs. Brewster is going to be REALLY pissed when she gets home from work).
As Vincent returns to the vampire’s lair to join Charley for the final confrontation, and as you might expect, all hell breaks loose. I don’t want to spoil the ending, but it’s packed with pretty cool special effects, and I think you’ll like it.
As I mentioned before, it’s Chris Sarandon’s and Roddy McDowall’s performances that make this movie so watchable. Sarandon (yes, the former husband of Susan) strikes a perfect balance of arrogance, sexiness, humor, and menace – he’s the perfect modern vampire! And Roddy McDowall is delightful as the hack actor/fake vampire killer whose arc of redemption leads him from unemployed horror show host to courageous vampire slayer.
Of course, I have to nitpick just a little…
I’m sorry, but Amanda Bearse doesn’t look like a teenager. She looks like she’s pushing 30 (actual age = 27). Maybe it’s the old lady hairstyle? Yet her cringeworthy wardrobe reminds me of something a 1980s American Girl doll would wear.
And though she looks her age, I was a little creeped out in principle by the erotic scenes between Amy and Dandridge – though he was still smokin’ hot in this movie, Chris Sarandon was clearly over 40. And though she certainly doesn’t look like one, Amy is supposed to be a teenager, so that bothered me. Of course, he’s a vampire and probably more like 400, so it shouldn’t matter.
And one last thing – why do the death scenes seem to go on forever? At some point, I’m like, “For the love of Lugosi, please just get this over with.” Though it was really well done, I thought the dying wolf transformation scene would never end.
You asked for more trivia – so here’s today’s selection!
- Horror Host Peter Vincent was named for two horror film legends: Peter Cushing and Vincent Price.
- The part of Peter Vincent was actually created with Vincent Price in mind, but by that time, Price was in failing health and had retired from horror films.
- Charley’s neighborhood was on the Disney backlot and was the same one used to film Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983).