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Fright Night

Fright Night

List Price: $14.94
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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: It's Only the Vampire Story Re-hashed AGAIN But I Liked It..
Review: Chris Sarandon is terrific as Jerry Dandridge, the charming neighborhood vampire. In watching his performance one evening after I bought this tape, I finally understood why it was that the vampire story will never die, no matter how many stakes get driven into its heart: the near-death ecstasy and the orgasmic ecstasy are biochemically identical. Whether it is the act of creating human life or the act of taking it away- the human physical response is the same. With the tale of the vampire, when the male vampire is in the act of ostensibly making love to his victim, we get both actions [ostensibly giving and taking] the same time. The raw power of the scene in the book, "Dracula," where the vampire baptizes Mina with his own blood, adds a third element to this powerful biochemical mix: a spiritual element, a religious esctasy. We don't have this in "Fright Night", but instead we have the setting of an entirely normal central character and his friends, in an average town in Anywhere, America. This "brings it home" in an unexpected way, as the spiritual aspect is replaced by a social one. Context is the difference, one which is exploited very well. And of course, the struggle of a fatherless boy trying to grow into manhood and the man finds himself fixating on [the vampire] adds another dimension. The vampire has been a man and moved beyond it; Charley wants to be a man and finds that he is both helpless and threatened by the vampire. And of course, the vampire is just as helpless under certain conditions and threatened by almost everything in the ordinary daylight world- Charley through the looking glass.

Roddy McDowell shines in his role as the washed-up B-movie star. The supporting cast is also very good. And the music isn't even bad-- very 80's, but this adds to its charm.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent movie and, oh yeah...vampires!
Review: What would you do if a vampire moved in next door? That's the question this movies asks as young Charlie Brewster gains a most unwelcome neighbor at the beginning of the movie. Charlie isn't the smartest guy in the world but he does figure out that a vampire has moved next door and immediately tries his best to tell others about him... a strategy that is obviously doomed to failure since no one will believe a hysterical teen yelling that a vampire next door is killing people. Without giving away any more of the plot, most of the rest of the movie involves Charlie and his friends trying to survive long enough to kill their new nemesis.

One of the great things about this movie is that it isn't trying to add some weird twist to the idea of vampire movies. It isn't a comedy (Love at First Bite), a grand drama (Interview with the Vampire), an action movie (John Carpenter's Vampires), etc. It's a suspenseful vampire movie. Period. That sounds like such a simple idea, yet I've rarely seen any other vampire film actually pull it off like this one. We meet a small group of fairly interesting people, they're put in danger, and we spend the rest of the film on the edge of our seats hoping they get out alive.

Finally, this movie is worth watching just to see Roddy McDowall's performance. The entire cast does a great job, but McDowall really stands out as he plays a washed up actor. A small and frightened man, he is forced to confront extreme terrors or die. McDowall is so expressive and believable that the movie gains a depth that another actor might well have failed to deliver.

If you're a vampire fan tired of seeing bad film after bad film then cheer up, this one will make your day for sure!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: "Welcome to Fright Night...........for real!"
Review: First of all, I LOVED this movie as a kid.........and I still do. I gave the DVD edition 3 stars because I felt that soo much more could have been done for this movie. There should have been commentaries, deleted scenes, bloopers........any extra footage to help boost this edition. This is such an awesome movie. I've seen DVDs for movies that were far worse...but had better DVD packages(like Vamp....and I love it just the same!) Other than that.........the transfer to DVD looks great.......even though it is dated!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Vampire movie you have got to see
Review: I am 19 years old. I first saw this movie when I was three years old and I loved it. I have owned this movie since 85. If you are like me there is nothing like a good Vampire movie. This one will certainly get your attention from begining to end. Sarrondon is excellent in the movie. It has pretty good effects for the 80's. The storyline- The Vampire goes after Charlies girlfriend Amy. Who looks just like a lover he had a long time ago. Charlie wanting to prove to his friends that his next door neighbor is a vampire gets "The Great Vampire Killer" Peter Vincent to prove that he is one. ok I have told you enough..now go buy the movie and see what happens!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great vampire tale
Review: "Fright Night" is a very fun, frightening tale about a boy, Charlie Brewster, played by William Ragsdale.
(Remember, Herman's Head on Fox?) His girlfriend, Amy, who he has been pressuring into having sex, is played by Amanda Bearse, who is probably best known as the annoying neighbor, Marcy, from Married with Children. Suddenly Charlie is more interested in learning who his new neighbor is and not so interested in Amy.
Stephen Geoffreys plays Evil Ed, with his annoying voice and his nerdy looks, he pretty much steals alot of the show with his antics.
My favorite in this movie has to be Chris Sarandon, who plays Jerry Dandridge. He is the vampire, and he is very sexy. A perfect choice for the role. I also thought Roddy MacDowell was very good as the fearless vampire killer, in movies, but when it comes to real life he doesn't seem to have much faith.
The story unravels as Charlie learns that Jerry is in fact and vampire. He is trying to convince his friends that there is a vampire living next door. and Roddy Macdowell enters when the friends are trying to convince Charlie that vampires don't exist.
This movie works for me..it's fun to watch, and the special effects are decent. The acting is by far much better than it is in most horror movies.
If you like vampire movies and a bit of comedy mixed in, this is a good choice.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Welcome to Fright Night!
Review: Among the most impressive vampre films to be made and considered somewhat of a cult classic, Fright Night offers horror and humor. The music and clothing are dated, and the teenagers offer the weakest performances. It IS a teenage horror flick, I was 15 when this movie came out...but I love it now as I did then and there are so many strong points. The script: excellent. The performances: McDowell and Sarandon...wonderful. The direction: again very good. The music: dated but good. Action: very good, especially the end. Loopholes? Yes, I can think of one but I'll leave the viewers to check it out...this movie is worth seeing!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: One of the Best of the Teen Horror Flicks
Review: Young Charley Brewster discovers that a murderous vampire has moved in next door, but his mom, his girlfriend Amy, and his kooky friend Evil Ed don't believe him. To convince Charley that he is in error, Amy and Evil Ed hire the late-night TV horror host, Peter Vincent, to subject the purported vampire to "the test." But once the motley troupe enter the vampire's lair, the FRIGHT NIGHT truly begins.

Despite a predominately youthful cast, this is definitely not the average cookie-cutter teen horror flick. Writer-Director Tom Holland's boy-who-cried-wolf script is both humorous and scary, and he has ingeniously employed all the typical conventions of the vampire sub-genre in fresh and interesting ways that sidestep the cliche. This, combined with outstanding special effects and top-notch performances, helps rank FRIGHT NIGHT among the cinematic vampire classics.

The acting is excellent. The three younger principals-William Ragsdale as Charley, Amanda Bearse as Amy, and Stephen Geoffreys as Evil Ed-all deliver their roles with an honesty few young actors can achieve, and they are therefore quite convincing as teenagers facing a horrific situation. But it is Chris Sarandon and Roddy McDowall that truly carry the film. As the vampire neighbor Jerry Dandrige, Sarandon is at times flippant and at other times downright terrifying. He knows just when to play it straight and when to be a ham, and he never misses a beat. And veteran thespian Roddy McDowall is perfectly cast as ersatz vampire hunter Peter Vincent. He handles his character's shift from Shakespearean bravado to whimpering cowardice (and back!) so deftly that his performance is nothing less than a sheer joy to watch.

The bulk of the special effects, and therefore the biggest shocks, come during the last third of the film. But that doesn't mean that the first part of the film isn't scary. Even in the lighter moments, Writer-Director Holland maintains a spooky atmosphere throughout, and he is helped in this by Sarandon's smarmy vampirish charm and by Ragsdale's convincing depiction of a young man spiraling into the pit of abject fear.

The DVD version of FRIGHT NIGHT doesn't have a lot of extras, but it's still well worth the cost. To quote the trailer: "If you love being scared, this could be the night of your life!"

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: an outstanding horror film
Review: fright night is a very good horror movie. lots of times i buy movies without ever seeing them like fright night. i was so sure fright night was going to be good because tom holland directed it, the man of child's play. and i was right it was very good. i want to see the sequal, they don't have it at blockbuster.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Classic Vampire Tale
Review: Even though it was released back in the 80's, Fright Night remains a classic and bone-chilling vampire movie with riveting action sequences that will leave you breathless.

While this movie does have a certain cheesiness factor to it, that's what makes it so appealing. If you read the pamphlet that comes along with the DVD, it mentions that the director's purpose for this movie was to mix the Boy That Cried Wolf formula with the classic vampire mythology.

The story itself is very simple. Charlie, played by William Ragsdale, notices that his new neighbor's aren't quit as normal as they seem. He begins to see very mysterious happenings involved with them, and when he reports them, nobody seems to believe him. Soon, the neighbors know that Charlie knows their secret, and Charlie finds himself running to save his own life as well as a few others.

Fright Night has a very talented cast, and it's inch above the the typical vampire movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Marshalltown, Iowa
Review: This movie is destined to become an all time classic. The soundtrack is also worth listening to with its rock/disco sound. To Three Rivers, Michigan: The songs you asked about are: "Good Man in a Bad Time" by Ian Hunter; "Give It Up" by Evelyn "Champagne" King; and "You Can't Hide From the Beast Inside" by Autograph. When will the soundtrack come out in a CD version? (It originally was issued as a record and cassette tape.)


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