Here are a few thoughts on a pair of vampire movies: the original Fright Night (1985) and Fright Night II (1988). I don’t feel nostalgic about the 2011 remake and didn’t see Fright Night 2: New Blood from 2013 because it looked like a cheap cash grab, but I have considerable affection for the old movies. I was in my teens when I first watched Part II on tv. Maybe it is just nostalgia, but the 80s had a certain feel to it, horror movies in particular. The movies were edgy, but not too edgy. Eerie but oddly comforting. Watching these movies feel like coming home to tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches on a rainy Friday after school.
Both Fright Nights are special for being part of a collective time capsule of the 80s and served as a defining update of the vampire myth for their time, transporting the original gothic aesthetics that had been curated by Hammer Films, dropped into suburban U.S.A., and given a fresh coat of paint.
The first movie begins with young Charlie Brewster (William Ragsdale), an average high school student and horror movie fan, especially for films starring Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowell). He’s in love with his sweetheart Amy (Amanda Bearse). He becomes pre-occupied when he sees his new neighbor Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) move into the creepy old house next door. First, he notices the coffin that was taken into the basement. Second, the hooker that he saw walking into Jerry’s house ends up on the news as a murder victim. Charlie is eventually led to find out that Jerry is a real vampire and is desperate to expose him and convince others to believe him, but now it’s too late because Jerry has set his sights on Amy and is messing with Charlie like a cat playing with it's prey. It is up to Jerry to enlist Peter’s help in rescuing her.
This film respects the traditional vampire lore that we normally see in movies but with a modern suburban setting. The decaying castle is now a fixer-upper (at one point, we see fog emanating from it). The modern day Renfield is a live-in carpenter who serves as Jerry’s familiar. The aging vampire hunter is a down-on-his luck movie star (note that Peter is in reference to Peter Cushing and Vincent refers to Vincent Price) that ends up becoming a real hero, despite his initial cowardice. Jonathan Harker, originally the hapless solicitor's clerk, is now Charlie, an impulsive, dopey, hormonal teenager and Mina is Amy, another teenager, frustrated with Charlie’s erratic and flighty behavior, but still in love with him. Jerry is a modern-day Dracula, a suave and sexy guy who looks great in a trench coat. Chris Sarandon really dominates as the villain and shows plenty of promise in this early entry in his career, while Roddy McDowell made a comeback with his role.
Overall, this movie lives and breathes as a memorable and delightful gothic horror movie and hasn’t aged too badly thanks to Tom Holland’s solid direction and script. The creature prosthetics are top-notch even by today’s standards and everything flows with its moody cinematography. Everything holds together very well except for the music, which has aged like milk. If the franchise had just ended there, I would have been satisfied, but we also have Fright Night II.
Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, Part II takes place three years later. Charlie is in college and has come to believe after years of extensive therapy that Jerry Dandridge was a serial killer and that all the vampiric elements were delusions. Despite his efforts for a normal life, such as going out with his girlfriend Alex (Traci Lind), a new vampire is on the scene. Regina (Julie Carmen) and her entourage have arrived to take their revenge for Jerry’s death and to take Charlie’s humanity.
Like I mentioned before, I saw this one first (and it’s all the more frustrating now because it is hard to find a region 1 copy of this movie). It helped fuel my initial interest in vampirism before I had even finished reading Dracula for the first time. This one is a bit more comical than the first, and the eroticism is poured on more thickly as we see Charlie falling under Regina’s sway. This movie doesn’t surpass its predecessor but it’s a good sequel that tries out a few different things and manages to avoid being just a repeat of the first and has a plot that moves with ease. The story has a good build-up, although the ending is something of a letdown. Don’t fret about not being able to find a physical copy of this one. The copyright holder might hate us but not fellow horror fans who posted this movie online for all to enjoy.
I like to revisit these movies every now and then. A lot of modern stuff is great, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing to revisit the past and remember why I fell in love with horror movies in the first place, vampires, fake blood, and all.
Written by Nick Montelongo
Both Fright Nights are special for being part of a collective time capsule of the 80s and served as a defining update of the vampire myth for their time, transporting the original gothic aesthetics that had been curated by Hammer Films, dropped into suburban U.S.A., and given a fresh coat of paint.
The first movie begins with young Charlie Brewster (William Ragsdale), an average high school student and horror movie fan, especially for films starring Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowell). He’s in love with his sweetheart Amy (Amanda Bearse). He becomes pre-occupied when he sees his new neighbor Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) move into the creepy old house next door. First, he notices the coffin that was taken into the basement. Second, the hooker that he saw walking into Jerry’s house ends up on the news as a murder victim. Charlie is eventually led to find out that Jerry is a real vampire and is desperate to expose him and convince others to believe him, but now it’s too late because Jerry has set his sights on Amy and is messing with Charlie like a cat playing with it's prey. It is up to Jerry to enlist Peter’s help in rescuing her.
This film respects the traditional vampire lore that we normally see in movies but with a modern suburban setting. The decaying castle is now a fixer-upper (at one point, we see fog emanating from it). The modern day Renfield is a live-in carpenter who serves as Jerry’s familiar. The aging vampire hunter is a down-on-his luck movie star (note that Peter is in reference to Peter Cushing and Vincent refers to Vincent Price) that ends up becoming a real hero, despite his initial cowardice. Jonathan Harker, originally the hapless solicitor's clerk, is now Charlie, an impulsive, dopey, hormonal teenager and Mina is Amy, another teenager, frustrated with Charlie’s erratic and flighty behavior, but still in love with him. Jerry is a modern-day Dracula, a suave and sexy guy who looks great in a trench coat. Chris Sarandon really dominates as the villain and shows plenty of promise in this early entry in his career, while Roddy McDowell made a comeback with his role.
Overall, this movie lives and breathes as a memorable and delightful gothic horror movie and hasn’t aged too badly thanks to Tom Holland’s solid direction and script. The creature prosthetics are top-notch even by today’s standards and everything flows with its moody cinematography. Everything holds together very well except for the music, which has aged like milk. If the franchise had just ended there, I would have been satisfied, but we also have Fright Night II.
Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, Part II takes place three years later. Charlie is in college and has come to believe after years of extensive therapy that Jerry Dandridge was a serial killer and that all the vampiric elements were delusions. Despite his efforts for a normal life, such as going out with his girlfriend Alex (Traci Lind), a new vampire is on the scene. Regina (Julie Carmen) and her entourage have arrived to take their revenge for Jerry’s death and to take Charlie’s humanity.
Like I mentioned before, I saw this one first (and it’s all the more frustrating now because it is hard to find a region 1 copy of this movie). It helped fuel my initial interest in vampirism before I had even finished reading Dracula for the first time. This one is a bit more comical than the first, and the eroticism is poured on more thickly as we see Charlie falling under Regina’s sway. This movie doesn’t surpass its predecessor but it’s a good sequel that tries out a few different things and manages to avoid being just a repeat of the first and has a plot that moves with ease. The story has a good build-up, although the ending is something of a letdown. Don’t fret about not being able to find a physical copy of this one. The copyright holder might hate us but not fellow horror fans who posted this movie online for all to enjoy.
I like to revisit these movies every now and then. A lot of modern stuff is great, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing to revisit the past and remember why I fell in love with horror movies in the first place, vampires, fake blood, and all.
Written by Nick Montelongo
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