Thoughts on Fright Night

via IMDB

"Peter, it's just us. We're going to have to save Amy."

"I can't. I was paid to be there today."

"I know."

"And you still want me to help you?"

"Yes. You're Peter Vincent, the Great Vampire Killer."

"That's just a character I played in a movie! Peter Vincent's not even my real name!"

Once in a while, I get nostalgic for life before Wikipedia. It was especially fun to be a movie buff. In those days, you could easily tell the casual fans apart from the passionate ones. We bought the books of varying quality, could recite special lines all the way up to entire scenes and made it a point of never missing certain films when they'd air. We were all a bit like Charley Brewster, hero of Fright Night.

Charley (William Ragsdale) has a new neighbor, Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon). Jerry's a lady killer in both senses of the word. Not only that, he's a vampire. One of the best parts about Fright Night is that all this is played straight. Charley knows the truth about Jerry and Jerry knows that Charley's onto him. There's no ambiguity, so writer-director Tom Holland can focus on what's important. How's Charley going to protect himself and girlfriend Amy (Amanda Bearse) from the danger next door?

Enter, albeit unwillingly, Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall). He provided heart, Holland said. On the one hand, Vincent is neither the movies' first nor last washed up entertainer to prove himself worthy of his resume. But on the other hand, the character is written with obvious admiration and respect. He also benefits from an excellent performance by McDowall. The ending of Peter's confrontation with Evil Ed (Stephen Geoffreys) alone, when there's more sadness than relief or victory, is enough to back me up.

"Welcome to Fright Night. For real."

Sarandon's fantastic as Jerry, equally believable as a terrifying figure and as a seducer. Again, though, it helps that the movie's all-in on the supernatural stuff. Similar to a crucifix against a vampire, the depiction only works if there's absolute faith. Watching Fright Night, I realized I'd seen sexy Draculas before, but never a sexy Renfield. For that alone, I need to salute the character of Billy Cole (Jonathan Stark). Jerry and Billy don't have as many scenes as I expected. Still, they make the most of them.

My biggest complaint with Fright Night is a minor one. The ending, where Charley and Peter use sunlight to defeat Jerry, whose body is then thoroughly destroyed, is awfully similar to the ending in Gremlins. But then again, vampires were around first. While we're on the subject, though, how did Amy survive? Was it it because she wasn't yet fully a vampire? Ah, well, the point is that the heroes won.

I wonder how soon after its release did Fright Night air as some TV station's late movie. In hindsight, that seems like the ultimate way to see it. As it is, the movie is one of the better salutes to all of us who stayed up past bedtime. 

"Oh, you're so cool, Brewster!"

Recommended.

Thoughts:

-- "I had a nightmare too. I dreamed I was stark naked at a white sale."

-- Box Office: Grossing nearly $25 million on a budget between $7-$9.25 million, this opened at No. 3 and came in at No. 35 for 1985. According to Holland, the executives at Columbia Pictures considered Fright Night a throwaway picture, devoting more attention to Perfect (#67) and The Slugger's Wife (#143).

-- Critic's Corner: "Not a distinguished movie, but it has a lot of fun being undistinguished," Roger Ebert wrote. Janet Maslin: "Has a lot more personality than the usual horror film, which is a distinctly mixed blessing." People: "This is a harmless film (if far too gory for young children)." Mike Vanderbilt, in a 2015 interview with Holland for The A.V. Club, shared his theory about the correlation between '80s vampire movies and music. "... The Hunger is New Wave. And Fright Night is like The Beatles, very classic pop, very baroque, but with a modern edge."

-- Awards Watch: This scored Saturn Awards for Best Horror Film, Best Supporting Actor (McDowall) and Best Writing. The film was also nominated for Best Actor (Sarandon lost to Michael J. Fox), Director (Holland lost to Ron Howard) and Special Effects (losing to Back to the Future).

-- I know the role of Peter Vincent was written for Vincent Price, who reluctantly turned it down. McDowall, 56 during production, was playing a role 5-10 years older. Price, 73 during production, would have been playing a role a decade younger. I bring this up because I'm glad Holland didn't resort to anything like having Peter die, either at Jerry's hands or with the pride of an old man who's done his last job well done.

-- Memorable Music: The score is 34-23, still favoring songs written for movies. Fright Night had two selections I didn't much like, the title song by The J. Geils Band and "Good Man in a Bad Time" by Ian Hunter, and one I very much did, "Give It Up" by Evelyn "Champagne" King.

-- Fanservice Junction: Sarandon had a pretty good body. And for everyone else, Jerry's two doomed dates.

-- "... he'll be able to suck his way through this entire town. Not that it would be much of a loss."

-- Next: Weird Science. On deck: Pee-wee's Big Adventure and Real Genius. Coming Soon: Volunteers and Summer Rental (Mega-Post) and Year of the Dragon.