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IMDbPro

Fright Night

  • 19851985
  • RR
  • 1h 46m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
73K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,351
543
Amanda Bearse, Roddy McDowall, Chris Sarandon, Stephen Geoffreys, William Ragsdale, and Jonathan Stark in Fright Night (1985)
Trailer for Fright Night
Play trailer1:42
2 Videos
99+ Photos
FantasyHorror
A teenager discovers that the newcomer in his neighborhood is a vampire, so he turns to an actor in a television horror show for help dealing with the undead.A teenager discovers that the newcomer in his neighborhood is a vampire, so he turns to an actor in a television horror show for help dealing with the undead.A teenager discovers that the newcomer in his neighborhood is a vampire, so he turns to an actor in a television horror show for help dealing with the undead.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
73K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,351
543
    • Tom Holland
    • Tom Holland
  • Stars
    • Chris Sarandon
    • William Ragsdale
    • Amanda Bearse
    • Tom Holland
    • Tom Holland
  • Stars
    • Chris Sarandon
    • William Ragsdale
    • Amanda Bearse
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 365User reviews
    • 153Critic reviews
    • 62Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos2

    Fright Night
    Trailer 1:42
    Watch Fright Night
    FRIGHT NIGHT (New and Exclusive) Trailer
    Trailer 1:41
    Watch FRIGHT NIGHT (New and Exclusive) Trailer

    Photos274

    Chris Sarandon in Fright Night (1985)
    Roddy McDowall and Stephen Geoffreys in Fright Night (1985)
    Roddy McDowall in Fright Night (1985)
    Amanda Bearse and Chris Sarandon in Fright Night (1985)
    William Ragsdale in Fright Night (1985)
    William Ragsdale in Fright Night (1985)
    Roddy McDowall and Chris Sarandon in Fright Night (1985)
    Stephen Geoffreys in Fright Night (1985)
    Roddy McDowall in Fright Night (1985)
    William Ragsdale in Fright Night (1985)
    Amanda Bearse, Roddy McDowall, and William Ragsdale in Fright Night (1985)
    Chris Sarandon and Ernie Holmes in Fright Night (1985)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Chris Sarandon
    Chris Sarandon
    • Jerry Dandrige
    William Ragsdale
    William Ragsdale
    • Charley Brewster
    Amanda Bearse
    Amanda Bearse
    • Amy Peterson
    Roddy McDowall
    Roddy McDowall
    • Peter Vincent
    Stephen Geoffreys
    Stephen Geoffreys
    • Evil Ed
    Jonathan Stark
    • Billy Cole
    Dorothy Fielding
    Dorothy Fielding
    • Judy Brewster
    Art Evans
    Art Evans
    • Detective Lennox
    • (as Art J. Evans)
    Stewart Stern
    Stewart Stern
    • Cook
    Nick Savage
    • Bouncer #1
    Ernie Holmes
    • Bouncer #2
    Heidi Sorenson
    Heidi Sorenson
    • Hooker
    Irina Irvine
    • Teenage Girl
    Bob Corff
    Bob Corff
    • Jonathan
    • (as Robert Corff)
    Pamela Brown
    Pamela Brown
    • Miss Nina
    Chris Hendrie
    Chris Hendrie
    • Newscaster
    Prince Hughes
    • Bouncer #3
    • (as Prince A. Hughes)
    Christopher Lee
    Christopher Lee
    • Dracula
    • (archive footage)
      • Tom Holland
      • Tom Holland
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      At the time this was being filmed, the studio was sinking all its efforts into making a hit out of Perfect (1985), and they also gave high priority to The Slugger's Wife (1985). "Nobody paid any attention to Fright Night," commented writer/director Tom Holland. "It was wonderful!"
    • Goofs
      In the attack scene in Charley's bedroom, Jerry Dandrige has his hand around Charley's neck and Charley drives a pencil into the top of his hand. In the next scene, Jerry pulls his hand away and looks at the pencil, and it is sticking more than halfway through his hand. If the pencil has been shoved that far down, it would have pierced Charley halfway through his neck.
    • Quotes

      [Jerry welcomes Charley and Peter Vincent to his home]

      Jerry Dandrige: Welcome to... Fright... Night! For real.

    • Crazy credits
      Just as the screen cuts to black at the end, Evil Ed can be heard saying, "You're so cool, Brewster!"
    • Alternate versions
      The Swedish version (cinema and video) misses the following: The transformation scene with Ed was removed (1m 50sec), and the scene where Dandrige's assistant melts was shortened by 16 sec.
    • Connections
      Edited into Fright Night Part 2 (1988)
    • Soundtracks
      Fright Night
      Written by Joe Lamont

      Produced by Seth Justman

      Performed by The J. Geils Band

      Courtesy of EMI America Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc.

    User reviews365

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    There's something about FRIGHT NIGHT that everybody seems to love.
    Is it the 80's cheesiness (fashion, clichés, music)? It's impressive F/X? The story? Who knows. Time made justice to "Fright Night", one of the best vampire movies ever and probably the best of the 80's. When it came out in 1985 the Slasher genre was on it's highest peak and as Peter Vincent said to Charlie, "his generation prefers movies where a masked looney kills virgin innocents" (or something like that). When nobody cared about Vampires "Fright Night" came out with a tremendous potential on it's story, actors, and make up; the basic elements that a Slasher movie needs. The result is an entertaining, chilling, and very well done horror movie better than expected.

    *SPOILERS* Charlie Brewster an average boy finds out that his neighbor is a vampire. He has doubts until Jerry Dandridge his vampire neighbor appears on his bedroom and threatens him to death. Nobody believes Charlie and after a series of events not only his life is in danger but also his girlfriend's. Charlie finds in Peter Vincent, t.v.'s popular "Vampire Killer" character his only hope to save his girlfriend. In order to accomplish what he wants, Charlie and Peter Vincent will face the deadly Jerry Dandridge, his guardian Billy Cole, and their attacks.

    ACTING. You can't go wrong when a great actor like Mr. Chris Sarandon carries the entire movie on his back with his performance. His character, Jerry Dandridge completely steals the show. Sarandon made the character. Roddy McDowall as Peter Vincent is a pleasure to watch. His character has an admirable quick evolution in the movie. First he's the vampire killer t.v. character that after meeting a REAL vampire knows what fear is like. Then after dealing with fear, he recovers faith and that makes him stronger in every aspect. William Ragsdale is good as Charlie Brewster, the teen main character in the movie. The boy that discovers that his neighbor is a real vampire but nobody believes him. Good character. Special mention to Stephen Geoffreys as Evil Ed for being one of the weirdest but likable characters ever to appear in a horror movie. His performance is truly evil and humorist. A nice touch. Amanda Bearse (from Married with Children fame) is also a good addition to the cast, she delivers an o.k. performance. Jonathan Stark as Billie Cole, Jerry's guardian, delivers a solid performance. This is one of the best casts that you can get from an 80's horror movie.

    DIRECTION. The 80's craziness was never this creepy. Tom Holland makes a terrific job this time. This man is behind key horror movies from the 80's like "Child's Play" and the surprisingly good "Psycho II" among others. His camera work in "Fright Night" is great. He knew how to combine perfectly the 80's feeling (something that nobody has ever described for it's madness) with the Vampire movies basic rules.

    The idea of watching a Vampire movie from the 80's could make you think the worst but luckily it's a great idea. Excellent job Mr. Holland.

    F/X/SCORE/CINEMATOGRAPHY. The f/x and make-up are very ahead of it's time. You can't get better gore effects! The scene of Evil Ed's death (when he's a werewolf) is amazing. On it's time I'm sure that it shocked more than once. Also, Billy Cole's death and the ending are great scenes that will please the horror audience's eyes. Great use of gore and f/x. Enough said. The score is great. The 80's pop metal and club music fits perfect with the feeling of the movie. The club scene is something you haven't seen. In the tense and thrilling scenes the music works perfect. The cinematography is pretty good. The use of lightning on dark settings is very good. Watch the DVD version for a different experience. I love the lines from the movie. I can assure that "Fright Night" is something you haven't seen. Don't get fooled by the 80's big hair, laughable fashion, and clichés. The movie stands alone. Be prepared for a real FRIGHT NIGHT!
    helpful•81
    20
    • insomniac_rod
    • Aug 23, 2004

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    FAQ8

    • What is 'Fright Night' about?
    • Is 'Fright Night' based on a book?
    • Does Evil Ed turn into a werewolf after being bitten by Jerry Dandridge?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 2, 1985 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Laird International Studio - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Columbia Pictures
      • Vistar Films
      • Columbia Pictures Industries
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 46 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Stereo
      • Dolby Atmos

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    Amanda Bearse, Roddy McDowall, Chris Sarandon, Stephen Geoffreys, William Ragsdale, and Jonathan Stark in Fright Night (1985)
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