Movie Review: Fright Night (1985)

Fright Night (1985) written and directed by Tom Holland

Teenager Charlie Brewster (William Ragsdale) develops a big problem when someone moves into the house next door. He sees two guys carrying a fancy coffin into the basement. Later, he sees a scantily-clad young lady go for a visit. Charlie sees her and the new home owner, Jerry Dandrige (Chris Sarandon), making out. He sees a bit too much because he sees Dandrige bare his fangs--Dandrige is a vampire! Dandrige sees Charlie watching through the window. Obviously he doesn't want his secret coming out so he threatens Charlie. Charlie enlists the aid of a bullied, nerdy friend who is nicknamed Evil Ed (Stephen Geoffries). Ed doesn't really believe him but knows plenty of vampire lore. Charlie's girlfriend Amy (Amanda Bearse) also doesn't believe him. Charlie goes to the local TV station to ask former horror star Peter Vincent (Rodney McDowell), who starred in a lot of cheesy 1960s and 1970s horror films, for help. Vincent blows him off initially. When Amy and Evil come to Vincent to ask him to pretend to test Dandrige for vampirism so Charlie will back off, Vincent agrees when they offer him five hundred dollars. Dandrige is willing to go along and drink fake holy water to remove suspicion. The act almost works except that Vincent accidentally sees that Dandrige casts no reflection--solid proof that he is a vampire. Vincent rushes the teens out of the house but the conflict is not over.

The movie has a lot going for it. The script is witty in both senses of the term--it's smart and it's funny. The characters are interesting and have their own personalities and foibles. The actors all give good performances, especially Sarandon as the sexy but also menacing vampire and McDowell as the has-been actor who needs to (but doesn't always) rise to the occasion. The terror isn't all from goop and guts, though there is a lot of that stuff at the end. Dandrige toys a lot with Charlie before he moves in for the kill. I personally like how they honor both the "sexy vampire" tradition from Frank Langella's Dracula and also the "ugly vampire" tradition from Nosferatu. The final battle is over the top but not too much over. The very end is a solid finale to the show. This is a very entertaining film.

Recommended--highly for horror or vampire fans.