I've always had a certain affinity for the Fright Night films. There is just something about how it takes a classic monster and transposes it to a contemporary setting that has always been appealing to me. Before you ask, I also very much enjoyed The Lost Boys. But while there has only been one Lost Boys film (yes, ONE!), there have been three different versions of Fright Night over the years, as well as one sequel to the 1985 original film. I decided to take a look at the original film, the sequel, the 2011 remake, and the 2013 remake masquerading as a sequel.
The 1985 original film burst onto the horror film scene like a breath of fresh air. The genre had been overrun by the slasher film craze when Fright Night came along, cleverly bringing the vampire out of Victorian Europe and into present day suburbia.
Charlie Brewster (played by William Ragsdale) is an average, if somewhat nerdy suburban teen who discovers one night that his new next door neighbor, Jerry Dandridge (played by Chris Sarandon) is a vampire. Naturally, no one believes him when he tries to get help.
Charlie first turns to his friend "Evil" Ed (played by Stephen Geoffreys) and his girlfriend Amy (played by Amanda Bearse). They recruit the local late night monster movie host, Peter Vincent (played by the great Roddy McDowall) to help convince Charlie his neighbor is not a vampire. The plan doesn't go quite as planned when by accident Peter discovers Jerry doesn't cast a reflection. Terrified, Peter retreats to his apartment.
Meanwhile, our three intrepid teens eventually split up, with Charlie and Amy heading for her house and Evil Ed heading off alone. Jerry catches up with Evil and seduces him into becoming a vampire. To make matters worse, Jerry has become quite enamored of Amy, who has a strong resemblance to a woman he used to know a long time ago. The film finishes in a confrontation between Charlie and Peter and Jerry, his ghoulish roommate, Billy Cole (played by Jonathan Stark), and Evil Ed.
While the film has not aged as well as I would like to think, it does retain a certain charm to it that still shines through. I also admire that there is a certain undeniable sexiness to the film, especially a strong homoeroticism to certain scenes, especially between Jerry and Billy and the aforementioned seduction of Evil Ed. It's certainly not something I found offensive, and I felt it was an interesting flourish, especially for a film made in 1985.
Following the original, Fright Night Part 2 was released in 1988. It was a solid sequel that has gained a similar cult following to the original film. Both Roddy McDowall and William Ragsdale returned for the sequel.
The film opens with a brief recap of the first film narrated by Charlie. He is finishing three years of therapy dealing with the events of the first film. He has convinced himself that Jerry was a serial killer who adopted the persona of a vampire and that there are no such things as vampires. He is quickly proven wrong as Peter has a new neighbor occupying the Penthouse of his apartment building, a mysterious woman named Regine, played by Julie Carmen. It is soon revealed she is Jerry Dandridge's sister and is plotting her revenge against both Charlie and Peter.
Also new to this outing is Charlie's new girlfriend, Alex (played by Traci Lin). She is a psychology major and believes Charlie's past was a hallucination as well until she's pulled into the current vampire mayhem as well. I really liked her character, she adapted well and wasn't a damsel in distress, fully willing to grab a stake or cross and play her part in saving the day.
The sequel is certainly campier than the original with a lot more humor, some parts working better than others. I appreciated the vampire was a female this time, adding an interesting twist on things. It was also a fun twist having, albeit briefly, Charlie be the skeptic and Peter knowing about the vampires. Overall, it's a strong follow-up that only doesn't quite match the original. Part of me still wishes we had gotten a Fright Night Part 3.
Note: This one is incredibly hard to find on DVD, but luckily is available to view in good quality on YouTube all in one part.
When they first announced they were remaking Fright Night, I was skeptical. So many of the remakes that had been churned out were mediocre rehashes at best. But as details trickled out, I found myself becoming more and more intrigued. Clearly, they would be going for something different than the original and for the most part they succeeded.
This one moves the proceedings to Las Vegas, which makes sense. If there was one city in the US that would attract vampires, it would be the 24/7 neon of Vegas.
The eternally adorable Anton Yelchin plays Charlie this time out. He lives with his mom, Jane, played by Toni Collette (who sticks out in a "wow, how'd they get her?!" sort of way not unlike Dianne Wiest in The Lost Boys). Living next door is new neighbor Jerry Dandridge, played with some genuine menace by Colin Farrell.
Imogen Poots gives a good turn as Charlie's girlfriend, Amy. This film thankfully drops the plot point of Amy looking like Jerry's lost love and actually shows more interest in Charlie's mom. She also gets her fair share of badass moments, including dousing Jerry with Holy Water and clocking Evil Ed with a rather heavy looking mace.
For my money though, it's David Tennant as Peter Vincent that really steals the show. Of course, part of it may be that I'm a hard core Doctor Who fan. He is clearly having a ball playing a Criss Angel type magician, replacing the late night monster movie host from the original films.
Aside from having the same general framework as the original, this is an entirely new film. It contains some genuinely tense moments, including a great chase scene along a desert highway with Jerry chasing down Charlie, Jane and Amy. I also appreciated that this film gives Charlie's mom more to do as opposed to being largely forgotten about in the original film. She even gets a good shot in, impaling Jerry with one of her real estate signs in one of the film's more surreally funny shots.
The script was written by longtime Buffy writer Marti Noxon, who infuses the film with a similar wit, including a nice nod to Buffy with Peter stating he didn't want to be part of Charlie's Scooby Gang, the nickname for Buffy's group of supernatural fighting buddies.
The one big detriment to the film is the sub-par CGI that is employed far too much throughout the film. It is far from convincing and can be a distraction at times.
That said, Fright Night is a rare remake that equals, if not surpasses, it's original with well developed characters, a fantastic cast and a witty script. If only the same could be said of the one that follows.
I am still a little baffled by Fright Night 2: New Blood. It presents itself as a sequel but is actually another remake, while incorporating the female vampire from Fright Night Part 2.
The plot plays out similarly to the previous films except this time around Charlie (played by Will Payne), Evil Ed (played by Chris Waller) and Amy (played by Sacha Parkinson) are studying abroad in Romania where they end up in an art history class taught by Gerri Danridge (played by Jaime Murray with a sexy menace that is probably the best thing about this movie). Soon enough Charlie discovers she's a vampire and, in an interesting twist, possibly Elizabeth Bathory.
Apparently, to be free of her vampiric curse, she needs to bathe in the blood of a virgin born on the night of a blood moon or some such nonsense. Of course, Amy is the desired virgin.
From here, it pretty much follows the plot of the previous film beat by beat. Charlie seeks the help of Peter Vincent (played by Sean Power), this time a monster hunter reality TV show host and the two team up to rescue Amy from the vampire Gerri.
The main problem with the film is that aside from it's more exotic locale, the film offers little that's new and, ultimately, that's where it suffers. By offering up the exact same movie we've seen twice now with a third rate cast, except for Jaime Murray who's the film's saving grace, the film has very few surprises. I'm at a loss as how it was decided to essentially remake Fright Night for the second time in two years and then attempt to pass it off as a sequel, but it all feels a little...pointless. Still, this one has it's moments and I can't completely hate a movie that has one character pressing a vampire's face against a large crucifix tattooed on their chest while exclaiming, "Kiss the cross, bitch!"
Overall, I'd say the 1985 original and the 2011 remake are both well worth seeking out. The 1988 Fright Night Part 2 is also a good time and a decent, campy follow-up. The 2013 Fright Night "2" is an occasionally entertaining mess that has it's moments but in the end is but a shadow of what came before.
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