FRIGHT NIGHT is a 1985 film starring William Ragsdale and Roddy McDowall, written and directed by Tom Holland. The film follows the tried and tested tale of a boy with a nightly neighbour as he tries to uncover his neighbour's secret while simultaneously no one believes him. Is he really a vampire? You should be able to guess that from the title.
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Fright Night is another overlooked cult horror gem from the '80s with its campy tone, reinvigoration of old and tired clichés to craft something new and exciting, all done with a coating of satire. What more could you want from a vampire movie?
The cast works to this films charm, some of the acting being bizarrely hit and miss albeit mostly from supporting characters (like the rather peculiar Evil Ed.) William Ragsdale, Chris Sarandon and especially Roddy McDowall all do their jobs good however, the unsuspecting and naive boy, the menacing vampire and the TV horror show host who is roped in to save the day at the last minute. Roddy McDowall, whenever he is on-screen he simply just steals the show. In his introduction, you see him hosting the titular TV show, Fright Night, with all of the little tributes and homage to Universal and Hammer horror films that you would expect. He is just great.
Written by Tom Holland, who clearly has a love for classic horror, he litters Fright Night with all of the little aforementioned tributes to what inspired it whilst also taking what burned out those movies and satirising them or putting them into a new perspective that can only be described as endearing. The whole initial scenario of the late night horror movie marathon on TV oozes a nostalgic feel and even when the film builds into the third act's visceral and very well done special effects bonanza, it still manages to retain a sense of innocence about it that other comedy-horror films can lack. The dialogue is obviously hammy but you get the sense that it wasn't aiming to be special, just an enjoyable romp to take you back to the days of mindless and campy horror, replicating Peter Cushing into Peter Vincent.
Direction again by Tom Holland is done well enough, the film is very much competently made. There is nothing astounding about it, it's again what it looks back to and looks forward to that makes it. There are some slight stylised scenes that again pay tribute to the history of horror and a very peculiar scene involving vampires on roller skates does have a tendency to stick with you, not in a matter of horror but as a reminder as to how bizarre this film can get.
The score by Brad Fiedel, who is most likely more well-known for his work on the Terminator franchise is well done, primarily the theme which accentuates the menacing yet child-like tone that is carried onto the films entirety. The theme also serves for Peter Vincent’s “Fright Night” marathon, proving that the score is stuck within its era, never to leave the ‘80s.
Special effects as previously mentioned deserve another mention, the final act of the film builds into a special effects massacre revolving around decaying vampires in the sunlight. The team behind this deserves applause as it is among the best I've seen for the time period, with the majority of the special effects team going sadly uncredited by the film.
Overall, Fright Night is another must see for fans of campy ‘80s horror and is still worth seeing for those who aren't as it relies as heavily on comedy as it does horror, the fountain of references peppered through the film’s runtime is to be behold. Fans of the Universal horror films from the ‘30s and ‘40s as well as the Hammer horror of the ‘50s and ‘60s will surely be pleased by what is in store for them, a goody bag of horror, a trick or treat minus the trick as there’s nothing to deceive here.
The cast works to this films charm, some of the acting being bizarrely hit and miss albeit mostly from supporting characters (like the rather peculiar Evil Ed.) William Ragsdale, Chris Sarandon and especially Roddy McDowall all do their jobs good however, the unsuspecting and naive boy, the menacing vampire and the TV horror show host who is roped in to save the day at the last minute. Roddy McDowall, whenever he is on-screen he simply just steals the show. In his introduction, you see him hosting the titular TV show, Fright Night, with all of the little tributes and homage to Universal and Hammer horror films that you would expect. He is just great.
Written by Tom Holland, who clearly has a love for classic horror, he litters Fright Night with all of the little aforementioned tributes to what inspired it whilst also taking what burned out those movies and satirising them or putting them into a new perspective that can only be described as endearing. The whole initial scenario of the late night horror movie marathon on TV oozes a nostalgic feel and even when the film builds into the third act's visceral and very well done special effects bonanza, it still manages to retain a sense of innocence about it that other comedy-horror films can lack. The dialogue is obviously hammy but you get the sense that it wasn't aiming to be special, just an enjoyable romp to take you back to the days of mindless and campy horror, replicating Peter Cushing into Peter Vincent.
Direction again by Tom Holland is done well enough, the film is very much competently made. There is nothing astounding about it, it's again what it looks back to and looks forward to that makes it. There are some slight stylised scenes that again pay tribute to the history of horror and a very peculiar scene involving vampires on roller skates does have a tendency to stick with you, not in a matter of horror but as a reminder as to how bizarre this film can get.
The score by Brad Fiedel, who is most likely more well-known for his work on the Terminator franchise is well done, primarily the theme which accentuates the menacing yet child-like tone that is carried onto the films entirety. The theme also serves for Peter Vincent’s “Fright Night” marathon, proving that the score is stuck within its era, never to leave the ‘80s.
Special effects as previously mentioned deserve another mention, the final act of the film builds into a special effects massacre revolving around decaying vampires in the sunlight. The team behind this deserves applause as it is among the best I've seen for the time period, with the majority of the special effects team going sadly uncredited by the film.
Overall, Fright Night is another must see for fans of campy ‘80s horror and is still worth seeing for those who aren't as it relies as heavily on comedy as it does horror, the fountain of references peppered through the film’s runtime is to be behold. Fans of the Universal horror films from the ‘30s and ‘40s as well as the Hammer horror of the ‘50s and ‘60s will surely be pleased by what is in store for them, a goody bag of horror, a trick or treat minus the trick as there’s nothing to deceive here.
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