Fright Night (1985)

Fright Night

So this was Fright Night? The classic horror movie that all my friends told me about growing up?  I know I was coming a bit late to the party, but was happy to finally sit down and watch this movie.

Taking a cue from Rear Window, Charlie (William Ragsdale) thinks his next door neighbor Mr. Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) is a vampire. No one believes him - not even his girlfriend Amy (Amanda Bearse). Oh no! Can Charlie save the day?

I can't say I'm really impressed. If I were a teenager, I would have loved this movie. And maybe if I had seen it and loved it as a teen, I would still dig it now (see my Clash of the Titans review for an example of that!). But coming to it now for the first time, I can't help but notice the bad script, cheesy acting, and the horrible 80s synth music. And a special mention needs to go to Stephen Geoffreys as Evil Ed, whose obnoxious, giggling, snickering performance almost ruins every scene he is.

But you know what is weird? As the movie started, I thought, "wow, this isn't very good," but I kept watching. There is some sort of goofy charm that works its way into you. A huge part of this lies in the steady support of Roddy McDowell, who appears in the second half of the movie as a hammy, over-the-hill actor and "vampire hunter," Peter Vincent. His performance perfectly mirrors all great 1950s Hammer films with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Whenever McDowell is on camera, the fun factor picks up considerably.

Chris Sarandon is also pretty entertaining - his Mr. Dandridge doesn't really act menacing or evil. He's more of a smug, over-confidant jerk. Which honestly, is probably what a real vampire would act like. Unfortunately, he is also involved in the most uncomfortable scene in the movie - when Mr. Dandridge tries to seduce Amy. I don't care if the actress was in her 20s, she is playing a teenager, and I was a bit creeped out by a middle-aged man busting the moves on her. Maybe it was supposed to be creepy...but it belongs in a different movie.

So overall, is Fright Night good? No, not really. But its an entertaining little horror flick, not particularly scary, but with a few fun performances that makes it all worth watching.  ** (two stars)

MVP: Clearly Roddy McDowell! His Peter Vincent is really fun, and he makes some interesting decisions throughout the movie. Case in point (minor spoiler here), when he kills one vampire, we get this long transformation sequence as the dying monster reverts back to its human form. It is supposed to be a showcase for the special effects with a few reaction shots from McDowell. But instead of looking on stoically or in amazement, the two reactions you would expect, McDowell actually starts to weep. This vampire at one point was a human being and that person is now dying, and Peter Vincent can't help but grieve.  That pathos from one of our heroes was completely unexpected, and a good example of why McDowell deserves this MVP.

BEST LINE: Charlie about Ed: "No vampire's gonna want him anyway. He's probably die of blood poisoning."

TRIVIA: A monster puppet made for Ghostbusters ended up not appearing in that movie, so they put it in Fright Night instead. I want to know which one!