Review of Fright Night (1985) by Michael C — 10 Sep 2012

This film is an excellent example of a truth in horror that is often avoided; if the story offers up enough fun and engagement, the level of gore does not have to be very high. Not that I don't love a good gorefest like any other horror aficionado; I'll take a campy Herschell Gordon Lewis or a "gore"geous Dario Argento film any day.

But Tom Holland's 80's vampire classic is a fresh take on the classic horror character, and a movie that has been an inspiration for several horror comedies since then. I still maintain that this film does for vampire films what "An American Werewolf in London" did for werewolf films.

The movie totally has fun with the conventions of the creature, and once again its a film where the characters are aware of the mythology around vampires through pop culture. Some of the performances are a little over the top, but oddly enough as is true for most 80's films, the quirky setting and style of 80's cinema actually makes it work.

Evil Ed is a blast in this film, which is great because he would likely be a weak character if put in film in any other decade. And Roddy McDowell as Peter Vincent? An amusingly cowardly take on Van Helsing.

There are several better vampire movies, but outside of "The Lost Boys" there aren't many vampire comedies I find as relentlessly entertaining as this one.