Fright Night (1985) re-watched
The original Fright Night holds up. I am not sure if it is the best vampire movie of the 1980s but I think it would have to be in the top ten.
The story is simple, a teenage boy discovers his new neighbor is a vampire, and the vampire tries to kill him. Some of his friends and an old horror film star get involved. This is after Charlie goes to the police but that did not turn out well.
Chris Sarandon is Jerry Dangeridge, the vampire. He is mysterious and sexy. He also has a sense of humor and sometimes hides threats behind jokes. Jerry is not a complete monster, for one thing he did offer Charlie a chance to forget.
Roddy McDowell is Peter Vincent, the horror film star. He is great. He gets scared and at one point doesn’t want to be involved. The scene with Charlie and him in his apartment is really good and McDowell really plays well off William Ragsdale.
William Ragsdale was Charlie. He is really good, especially in the scene where he knows Dangeidge is threading him while apparently joking. If Ragsdale was not good, the film wouldn’t be the classic that it is.
Amanda Bearse was good as Amy, Charlie’s girlfriend. She also looks nearly identical to a woman from Dangeride’s past. (This is an old movie, I am not worried about spoilers.) At one point she becomes a vampire and I thought she was good as a vampire.
Stephen Geoffrey played Evil Ed. Ed was a bit over the top but not too over the top. I think this is his most famous role.
This movie was written and directed by Tom Holland. (He is not the current actor playing Spider-man.)He also directed and co-wrote the first Child’s Play movie.
I think the movie is funny without being a spoof and there are a few scenes that are more touching than I remembered. I like the 2011 remake but this film is better. Maybe some of the specials effects don’t hold up and would be done better today but the film is maybe 34 years old.
If you haven’t seen this, you might want to consider seeing it.
The story is simple, a teenage boy discovers his new neighbor is a vampire, and the vampire tries to kill him. Some of his friends and an old horror film star get involved. This is after Charlie goes to the police but that did not turn out well.
Chris Sarandon is Jerry Dangeridge, the vampire. He is mysterious and sexy. He also has a sense of humor and sometimes hides threats behind jokes. Jerry is not a complete monster, for one thing he did offer Charlie a chance to forget.
Roddy McDowell is Peter Vincent, the horror film star. He is great. He gets scared and at one point doesn’t want to be involved. The scene with Charlie and him in his apartment is really good and McDowell really plays well off William Ragsdale.
William Ragsdale was Charlie. He is really good, especially in the scene where he knows Dangeidge is threading him while apparently joking. If Ragsdale was not good, the film wouldn’t be the classic that it is.
Amanda Bearse was good as Amy, Charlie’s girlfriend. She also looks nearly identical to a woman from Dangeride’s past. (This is an old movie, I am not worried about spoilers.) At one point she becomes a vampire and I thought she was good as a vampire.
Stephen Geoffrey played Evil Ed. Ed was a bit over the top but not too over the top. I think this is his most famous role.
This movie was written and directed by Tom Holland. (He is not the current actor playing Spider-man.)He also directed and co-wrote the first Child’s Play movie.
I think the movie is funny without being a spoof and there are a few scenes that are more touching than I remembered. I like the 2011 remake but this film is better. Maybe some of the specials effects don’t hold up and would be done better today but the film is maybe 34 years old.
If you haven’t seen this, you might want to consider seeing it.
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