Fright Night (1985)

When a teenager learns that his next door neighbour is a vampire, no one will believe him.

Director:

Tom Holland

Writer:

Tom Holland

Stars:

Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse

5 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chris Sarandon	...	Jerry Dandrige
William Ragsdale	...	Charley Brewster
Amanda Bearse	...	Amy Peterson
Roddy McDowall	...	Peter Vincent
Stephen Geoffreys	...	Evil Ed
Jonathan Stark	...	Billy Cole
Dorothy Fielding	...	Judy Brewster
Art Evans	...	Detective Lennox (as Art J. Evans)
Stewart Stern	...	Cook
Nick Savage	...	Bouncer #1
Ernie Holmes	...	Bouncer #2
Heidi Sorenson	...	Hooker
Irina Irvine	...	Teenage Girl
Bob Corff	...	Jonathan (as Robert Corff)
Pamela Brown	...	Miss Nina

Storyline

For young Charlie Brewster, nothing could be better than an old horror movie late at night. Two men move in next door, and for Charlie with his horror movie experience, there can be no doubt that their strange behavior is explained by the fact that they are a vampire and his undead day guardian. The only one who can help him hunt them down is a washed-up actor, Peter Vincent, who hosts Charlie's favorite TV show, Fright Night. Vincent doesn't really believe that vampires exist, but does it for the money...

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Plot Keywords:

vampire | teenager | neighbor | undead | house | 

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Taglines:

There are good reasons to be afraid of the dark.

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 August 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

La hora del espanto

Filming Locations:

Laird International Studio - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Delphi IV Productions, Vistar Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pays numerous tributes to 1979's Salem's Lot such as the house with the large staircase and window backdrop, the basement finale at dawn, the older man and the younger boy as vampire hunters, the human guardian and his demise on the stairs and the head vampire in Fright Night is similar to the Barlow character in the novel by Stephen King that was changed in the teleplay.

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Goofs

Shadow from camera operator visible in the window of Charlie's house during credits.

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Quotes

Peter Vincent: I am Peter Vincent, vampire killer!

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Crazy Credits

During the opening credits, the F and T in Fright Night elongate into a pair of fangs.

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Connections

References House of Dracula (1945)

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Soundtracks

"COME TO ME"
Sung by Brad Fiedel
(uncredited)

User Reviews

One of My Favorite Vampire Movies Ever

While with his girlfriend Amy Peterson (Amanda Bearse) in his bedroom, the teenager Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) sees a coffin being transported to the house on the next door. A couple of days later, he concludes that his neighbor Jerry Dandrige (Chris Sarandon) is a vampire, who is committing some recent unsolved murders. Charley decides to look for help first his friend Evil Ed Thompson (Stephen Geoffreys), since the policemen do not believe on his accusation. Jerry is upset and promises to kill Charley. Later, he meets Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), a middle aged man, who is a vampire killer in a television show but does not believe on vampires in the real life. Amy and Ed seek out Peter Vincent, and the group tries to prove to Charley that Jerry is not a vampire.

'Fright Night' is one of my favorite vampire movies, indeed a cult-movie in Brazil. I do not know how many times I have seen this film in my life, but yesterday I saw it on DVD for the first time and I was not disappointed, since the Brazilian DVD offers two choices (widescreen and fullscreen). There is just a trailer in the extras, but it suffices. Chris Sarandon is incredibly funny and sexy in this role; the movie has a perfect combination and timing of the genres of horror and comedy; the 'Van Helsing' of the story, Peter Vincent, is a fantastic joke with the names of the great Peter Cushing and Vincent Price; the special effects were state of art in 1985. My vote is nine.

Title ('Brazil'): ' A Hora do Espanto' ('The Fright Hour')

Note: on 14 January 2012, I saw this wonderful film again.