Review of Fright Night (1985) by Danny R — 08 Dec 2011

A entertaining old-fashioned horror film with some wicked humor, skillfully directed by Tom Holland. About a frantic horror movie-obsessed teenager named Charley Brewster, played superbly by William Ragsdale who discovers that his suave new neighbor Jerry Dandridge, played superbly and with a chilling charm by Chris Sarandon who is a real vampire complete with a ghoulish human servant, no one believes him not his girlfriend Amy or his manic best friend Evil Ed and especially not the police, in desperation Charlie turns to Peter Vincent a has been horror actor who was famous for playing a great vampire killer in motion pictures, but is now a low-rent host for a third rate television horror show, he is brilliantly played by the late Roddy McDowell who delivers a wonderful portrayal of the cowardly Vincent, his character's name is a homage to the two great horror actors Peter Cushing and Vincent Price he is now forced to become a real hero and help Charley defeat the evil vampire Dandride.

Excellent supporting performances by Amanda Bearse, Stephen Geoffreys, Dorothy Feilding, Jonathan Stark and Art Evans, marvelous pre-CGI visual effects by Robert Edlund and some truly scary makeup effects by Ken Diaz, Brad Fedel's score is perfectly spooky.

A delightful 80s gem, that is a hell of a lot of fun! Note: "Fright Night" is being reworked into a darker version for a 2011 release, it will star Colin Farrell as the vampire Jerry Dandridge and Anton Yelchin as Charley Brewster with David Tennant as Peter Vincent.

Highly Recommended.