There are plenty of movies Hollywood wants to remake, reboot, or re-imagine. Those that have already been remade are, quite frankly, hit or miss. In 2011, Craig Gillespie decided to take on the task of remaking 1985’s brilliant movie Fright Night. Although the attempt was valiant (and was decent enough to watch), we, the fans of the original, were still upset.
1985’s Fright Night, which was Tom Holland’s directorial debut, marked an end to a ‘vampire’ era. No longer were the vampires ghastly and hideous. They were alluring, attractive, and captivating. By bringing vampires next door, Holland opened up room for movies like The Lost Boys and, for today’s teenage generation, Twilight. It completely reinvented the idea of what a vampire could look like and what characteristics they displayed. And it didn’t hurt to have Chris Sarandon as the vampire our protagonist Charlie Brewster (William Ragsdale) had to square off with in the end. Yes, this MovieBuzzer had a BIG crush on our vampire…and still does (even though he’s 71 years old).
For those who haven’t seen this amazing film, let me set this up for you. Charlie is our stereotypical teenage boy. He’s in high school, loves horror shows, and just wants to get laid by his girlfriend Amy (Amanda Bearse). When she’s finally ready to, well, do the deed, Charlie becomes distracted by something moving in the empty house next door. Charlie soon learns that his new neighbor is the alluring Jerry Dandrige (Sarandon) and Billy (Jonathan Stark), who is Jerry’s servant of sorts. Oh, and side note: Jerry is also a blood-sucking, apple eating, vampire. Nice hint to the fruit bat Mr. Holland.
I can tell you for a fact that this film is one not to be missed. I remember going to the local movie store with my best friend and tricking her mom to rent us Fright Night. That night, we both watched it, with our mouths wide open, wondering what the hell we were watching (I was 12 yrs old, she was 10). Chris Sarandon’s performance is so phenomenal in this film, it’s no wonder why Holland decided to cast him in his next big directing hit 1988’s Child’s Play. Everything with this movie was perfect and it makes me wonder what happened to great, original horror films. This was the first big film for William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse and, portraying Evil Ed (Charlie’s best friend), Stephen Geoffreys.
Besides Sarandon’s captivating performance, we also get to see one of cinema’s greatest ac
ting legends: Mr. Roddy McDowall. Stemming off of a brilliant career that began in 1938, McDowall brings the essence of Vincent Price onto the screen. And it’s no coincidence that his name is Peter Vincent. Holland thought it would be quite funny to name this character after acclaimed vampire killer Peter Cushing and after Mr. Vincent Price himself. As a side note, Holland wrote the character of Peter Vincent for Vincent Price. But, due to his ailing health, Price declined.
After watching this film (twice), it still holds up as one of the best horror films ever. This film was made for 9.5 million dollars and was the first film to spend a million in special effects for a horror film alone. And the special effects were (and still are) fantastic. Nowadays, we hear so much about CGI being used and, I believe, it’s really starting to make moviegoers feel numb. Being a film from 1985, they had to use actual makeup techniques to emote the fear and horror on the screen. It took 8 hours to apply Chris Sarandon’s makeup and he has since said that, if it wasn’t for meditation and hypnosis, he would have went mad sitting in the chair for that long. Stephen Geoffreys didn’t have it any easier. For his transition from werewolf to human, it took a grueling 12-18 hours for the intrinsic makeup effects to be applied. Not to mention that, while buried underneath the werewolf mask, the FX team poured a saliva mixture into his mouth, only to realize that it was dental adhesive and was gluing the actor’s mouth shut. And you thought your day at work was rough.
Rating: While the remake with Colin Farrell is decent, the original brings the scares, laughs, and goose bumps every single viewing time. (8/10)
Recent Comments