Fright Night (1985)—Review and Retrospective
Raise your hand if you’ve ever lived next door to a shitty, unpleasant or just flat out weird neighbor. Wow, I see a lot of hands. Whether they were unnecessarily loud, had really bad body odor or even had their pets take a dump in your yard, bad neighbors are a dime a dozen. But hey, it could be worse. Much worse. What do I mean? Well, your next door neighbor could be a vampire. And what can you do if they were? Why, you can ask Charley Brewster for advice since he experienced that very issue in Tom Holland’s (not that Tom Holland) Fright Night.
High schooler Charley Brewster (played by William Ragsdale) notices someone moving into the vacant house next door. However, he notices this new neighbor exhibits some rather…odd behavior. Like never coming out in the daylight. Or carrying out trash bags full of human remains to his truck. Charley believes this new neighbor is a vampire, but his friends (Amy and Evil Ed) don’t believe him. Things only get more complicated when this new neighbor, Jerry Dandrige (played by Chris Sarandon), pays a visit to his home. Charley begs actor and “vampire killer” Peter Vincent (played by Roddy McDowall) to help him prove Jerry is a vampire. Vincent agrees and he, along with Charley, Amy and Evil Ed pay Jerry a visit. After drinking a bottle of holy water had no effect on Jerry, Vincent calls it a night. But when he looks into a small pocket mirror, he realizes that Jerry has no reflection.
Before we get to the review, let me share a story of how I found this movie. Back when I was around 11 years old, my mom told me a story of the very first horror movie she saw. She couldn’t remember the title, but she recalled the general plot. But what stuck out to her was how Charley fended off Jerry by stabbing his hand with a pencil. She told me that ever since she saw that scene, she carried a pen with her wherever she was out late. Fast forward a good ten years or so, and I hear Georgia senatorial hopeful Herschel Walker go on a bizarre ramble about vampires and werewolves on national TV. He mentioned the film Fright Night (or “Freak Night” as he referred to it). I wasn’t familiar with the film, but after finding it on HBO Max, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I finally found the film my mom described all those years ago.
Vampires have always been used as a metaphor for exploring the forbidden side of power and sexuality. By having our main characters be teens, Fright Night presents itself as a coming of age story. We see this with Charley and Amy development. They want to take their relationship to the next level, but are too scared to do so. It isn’t until they come into contact with Jerry Dandrige do they mature. Much like vampires in previous movies, Jerry Dandrige is very fashionably dressed to reflect the sexually provocative temptation that vampires represent. Complete with a posh blazer and red wool scarf to complement his charming, suave personality that is undercut by a deeply unsettling presence. This lends itself perfectly to his performance as the titular antagonist.
Fright Night’s usage of practical effects truly make it feel much more organic compared to many monster movies that succeeded it. We see just how visceral the vampire makeup for Jerry as well as Amy’s horrifying transformation from teenage girl to vampire. From her red eyes to the elongated smile full of fangs, I can understand why some people who watched it as kids were horrified. But perhaps my favorite use of practical effects was Evil Ed’s wolf transformation back to his human form. It’s blood-curdling and grotesque, highlighting the film’s embrace of the campier and gorier aspects of horror. However the film starts pushing its luck when it uses CGI towards the end. Not only do the effects appear rushed, but they do a horrible job dating the film. But fortunately, these uses are minimal so you’re not left watching a total eyesore.
Due to making $25 million at the box office on a budget of around $9 million, Fright Night garnered itself a sequel. But that’s not where things end. Because in 2011, a remake was made. Starring Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Imogen Poots and David Tennant, it retread on the same plot as the original. However, the film tries way too hard to “modernize” its source material. Dandrige goes from being a charming gentleman to being so obviously psychopathic you could smell the serial killer energy from three towns away. And even though I like David Tennant, his take on Peter Vincent reminded me too much of Criss Angel. If you don’t know who that is…good. But if you thought that was bad, trust me. It gets worse. Much worse. Because there was a sequel to the remake! I just have one question: why?!
Fright Night may not be as scary as say, more contemporary takes on the vampire genre. But that doesn’t mean it’s any less of an inferior film. In fact, I actually believe it’s one of the best vampire films. Still bringing the complex themes surrounding vampires while throwing an original twist, Fright Night remains a staple in the horror genre. Whether or not you like vampire movies, I strongly suggest you give this movie a go. And if you do decide to run for senate…maybe refrain from expressing your desire to be a werewolf instead of a vampire on TV.
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