Director – Tom Holland (Child’s Play, Tales from the Crypt)
Starring – Chris Sarandon (The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Resurrected), William Ragsdale (Fright Night Part 2, Screams of a Winter Night), and Amanda Bearse (Married… with Children, Here Come the Munsters)
Release Date – 1985
Rating – 4/5
UHD Release – 4.5/5
When I first found myself becoming horror oriented at the tail end of elementary school I became obsessed with the book series Goosebumps and Shivers. This soon spilled over to the television adaptation of the Goosebumps series along with Are You Afraid of the Dark? Soon I was discovering Stephen King, serial killers, and classic horror. It was around this time that I watched Fright Night for the first time. It was on cable but I can’t remember the channel or the circumstances around it but I do remember becoming obsessed with it.
A few days later it was playing again and I made damn sure that I recorded it on tape when it aired again. Since then I’ve upgraded to DVD but I never was able to snag the blu due to it going out of print so quickly. Lucky for me, I was able to secure a review copy of the UHD steelbook release of the film a few days ago. This was a perfect addition to my October horror binge.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows teenager Charlie Brewster (Ragsdale) who suspects that his new neighbor is a vampire. His girlfriend and friend believe he is having a break down and confusing the real world with the horror films he is a fan of. He tries to enlist the help of horror host Peter Vincent but he declines. However, his girlfriend and friend is able to convince Vincent to go along with it and help convince Charley that his neighbor is not a vampire. This doesn’t go according to plan and they quickly realize that vampires are real and one just moved into their neighborhood. **Spoiler alert**
Fright Night, and it’s underrated and not that well known sequel, are films that I fucking loved in my younger years. I watched them constantly with The Lost Boys, Return of the Living Dead, and Children of the Night to name a few. Fright Night is what shaped my love of 80 vampire flicks a few years before I discovered The Lost Boys and I’ve quoted this movie for most of my life. It’s a fucking classic and a movie that I truly believe is essential viewing for horror fans.
The acting in this is great and it’s the cast that makes this movie as memorable as it is. Ragsdale and Sarandon’s chemistry is fantastic. Sarandon’s arrogant vampire and Ragsdale high strung teenage horror fan finally finding a creature that goes bump in the night is so much fun to watch. Seeing them interact is one of the best parts of the film. Roddy McDowall and Stephen Geoffreys’ performance in this is fucking iconic. McDowall channels his inner Peter Cushing and fucking destroys it. I always found it strange that Amanda Bearse was in the film. Sometime before I found Fright Night I was already a Married…With Children fan. I was familiar with her from the show and seeing her as a different character always caught me off guard regardless of how many times I’ve seen it.
The story for this one is horror first and foremost but there is a hint of romance which is common in vampire flicks of the 80s. We have characters that are very well written, a story that is predictable but entertaining, and some seriously impressive death scenes. It doesn’t bring something knew to the sub-genre but it still finds a way to leave a lasting impression on the viewer.
Finally, the film has several amazing death scenes with some of the best effects to come out of the 80s. The bat form near the end of the film and the death of the familiar are both fucking iconic. Overall, Fright Night is a fucking must own for genre fans. With Halloween just around the corner this is the perfect movie to get you in the holiday spirit. Check it out and be sure to snag the new UHD steelbook!
Special Features:
4K ULTRA HD DISC
Feature scanned from the original camera negative and presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision
All-new Dolby Atmos audio + 5.1 + original Dolby Stereo
BLU-RAY™ FEATURE DISC
Feature presented in High Definition, sourced from the 4K master
5.1 + original Dolby Stereo
Special Features:
NEW: Deleted Scene Storyboards – Tom Holland guides us through the film’s only deleted scene, using his personal pre-production storyboards
NEW: Holland/Beyda Spec Trailer with an Introduction by Tom Holland – the never-before-seen alternate trailer cut by Fright Night editor Kent Beyda with the guidance—and narration—of Tom Holland
Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Tom Holland, Actors Chris Sarandon & Jonathan Stark, Moderated by Filmmaker Tim Sullivan
Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Tom Holland, Actors William Ragsdale & Stephen Geoffreys, FX Artist Randall Cook, Moderated by Journalist Jeremy Smith and Filmmaker Tim Sullivan
You’re So Cool, Brewster! The Story of Fright Night
What is Fright Night
Tom Holland: Writing Horror
Theatrical Trailers
Tom Holland‘s horror classic Fright Night is coming to 4K Ultra HD with a brand new Steelbook release, we’ve learned this morning, and it’s LOADED UP with brand new bonus features!
The Fright Night 4K Ultra HD Steelbook will be available on October 4, 2022!
Special Features for the Sony release include…
4K ULTRA HD DISC
Feature scanned from the original camera negative and presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision
All-new Dolby Atmos audio + 5.1 + original Dolby Stereo
BLU-RAY™ FEATURE DISC
Feature presented in High Definition, sourced from the 4K master
5.1 + original Dolby Stereo
Special Features:
NEW: Deleted Scene Storyboards – Tom Holland guides us through the film’s only deleted scene, using his personal pre-production storyboards
NEW: Holland/Beyda Spec Trailer with an Introduction by Tom Holland – the never-before-seen alternate trailer cut by Fright Night editor Kent Beyda with the guidance—and narration—of Tom Holland
Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Tom Holland, Actors Chris Sarandon & Jonathan Stark, Moderated by Filmmaker Tim Sullivan
Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Tom Holland, Actors William Ragsdale & Stephen Geoffreys, FX Artist Randall Cook, Moderated by Journalist Jeremy Smith and Filmmaker Tim Sullivan
You’re So Cool, Brewster! The Story of Fright Night
What is Fright Night
Tom Holland: Writing Horror
Theatrical Trailers
BLU-RAY™ SPECIAL FEATURES DISC
Special Features:
NEW: Fright Night 35th Anniversary Script Read – an anniversary cast reunion and script reading featuring writer/director Tom Holland and special guests including Rosario Dawson, Jason Patric, and many more!
NEW: The Queer Lens: Bryan Fuller in Conversation with Amanda Bearse – a candid discussion between Fright Night aficionado Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Queer for Fear: The History of Queer Horror) and Fright Night star Amanda Bearse about the Gothic’s queer roots, the film’s queer subtext, and its metaphorical power
NEW: A Novel Approach: The Splatterpunk Story of the Fright Night Novelization – Tom Holland, Fright Night novelization authors John Skipp and Craig Spector, and publisher Mark Alan Miller discuss how the progenitors of the splatterpunk genre came to work on the book, their writing process, and the novel’s enduring legacy
NEW: SFX Storyboard Comparisons – a selection of original storyboards from key effects sequences, compared with their final filmed versions
Roddy McDowall: From Apes to Bats
Tom Holland and Amanda Bearse Talk Fright Night
Round Table with Tom, Stephen and William
Shock Till You Drop Presents Choice Cuts with Tom Holland and Ryan Turek
First Ever Fright Night Reunion Panel – Fear Fest 2 (2008)
Weekend of Hell Panel with Amanda and Stephen
Vintage EPK with Behind-the-Scenes Raw Footage
