November 2009 - Horrorphile

Horrorphile

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Horrorphile - November 2009

Fright Night

November 30th 2009 22:58

Back in the day of big hairdos and silly expressions, back in the day when vampires could turn into fake-looking bats and best friends into funny-looking werewolves, back in the day when a neighbour’s sexual orientation was decidedly camp, yet still masculine enough to confuse the hell out of you, back in the day when Roddy McDowell was still considered a bankable character actor, Chris Sarandon was a definite heartthrob, someone somewhere thought Williams Ragsdale would grow up to be a huge one.

Chris Sarandon as Jerry Dandridge ... with nameless victim

Tom Holland’s Fright Night (1985) was a very successful comedy horror that, like The Lost Boys (1986), has aged endearingly; yes it’s dated, yes it’s silly, yes it’s unashamedly 80s in look and feel, but more importantly its self-consciousness actually works in its favour, the pacing is terrific, there is an oddball element that shines through, and much of the special effects work is really pretty impressive.

Fright Night William Ragsdale and Roddy McDowell

William Ragsdale as Charlie and Roddy McDowell as Peter Vincent

Teenager Charlie Brewster (William Ragsdale) lives alone with his divorced mother Judy (Dorothy Fielding). He’s an eager horrorphile, but best buddy Evil Ed (Stephen Geoffreys). The new neighbour Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) and his companion Billy Cole (Jonathon Stark) are very odd, and Charlie immediately susses Jerry’s true identity: he’s a vampire!

Jerry shows his true colours

But no one believes him! Not his mother, not his girlfriend Amy (Amanda Bearse), not the police, not even Ed, and when he tries to get Peter Vincent, local celebrity host of TV’s late night Fright Night show, to help him, Vincent is none too impressed. That is until after Vincent (along with Amy and Ed) decides to humour Charlie and discovers Dandridge has no reflection. Now it’s up to Charlie and Vincent to destroy the vampire and his minion before the undead destroy them! Of course there’ll be tears before dawn!

Amanda Bearse as Amy

Stephen Geoffreys as Evil Ed

Fright Night is a hoot-and-a-half, great popcorn viewing, and leans a little on the guilty pleasure side of things. It’s not really scary, but it possessing an endearing spookiness. The prosthetic special effects makeup work is very impressive in certain scenes; most notably the extraordinary transformation of Evil Ed into a whimpering werewolf (little did you know that actor Stephen Geoffrey made the decision in the early 90s to abandon mainstream Hollywood and re-invent himself as a hardcore gay porn actor called Sam Ritter). Amanda Bearse (who two years later would enjoy a decade’s television work as a nosy neighbour on Married With Children) becomes the fixture of Dandridge’s affections (despite the curious homosexual undertones), and her hairdo suffers drastically.

Amy gets hungry

Meanwhile Roddy continues to act mostly with his large plaintive eyes, like he did for all those years in the Planet of the Apes movies and television series, and Chris Sarandon gets to curl his finger extensions, bat his eyelashes and look like he’s modeling hair gel and shoulder pads for GQ. Yes, as I keep mentioning, Fright Night is shamelessly stuck headfast in the decade that is so hot right now with the Y-Gen. But it’s good harmless fun, and best enjoyed with a bunch of mates, especially if you’re a little longer in the fang, er, tooth, and keen for a retro chortle or two.

Evil Ed finds his tail between his legs

Director Tom Holland handles everything with an assured hand. A lame sequel came out a couple of years later. Holland would go on to direct another 80s classic, of a darker hue: Child’s Play (1988). Both movies are part of the countless number of 70s and 80s cult faves and classics being remade; Child’s Play due out next year, and Fright Night due in 2011. Fright Night remake will be all CGI effects, up-and-coming stars and starlets, a couple of cameos, but won’t possess any of the original’s undead joie de vive.

Here's the trailer: