Fright Night (1985)

After watching Coherence last night, I decided to kick back and watch something I had not seen in quite a while. In fact, I’m not sure if I have watched this one during the last 25 years. That movie is the original 1985 entry Fright Night.

Plot/ For young Charley Brewster, nothing could be better than an old horror movie late at night. Two men move in next door, and for Charley 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 Charley's favorite TV show, Fright Night.

As I mentioned, it had been some time since I watched the original version of Fright Night and I am glad that I decided to do that. This film is even better than I remembered it and is definitely light years ahead of the remake from a few years ago. Watching this was like taking a trip down memory lane for me. Having grown up in that era, I can relate to a lot of what is transpiring with the setting, soundscape, dialog, and even some of the thoughts that were discussed. When you couple that with some tremendous performances from an outstanding cast, awesome cinematography and direction, and a perfect mixture of dark atmosphere, creepiness, and special effects that were ahead of their time for 1985. Yes, some of the fashions seem dated and there is the typical cheese-factor that was prevalent in the 1980s, but other than that, this movie is one of the best vampire flicks of the decade. In the end, if you have not seen this one you are missing out. It is a perfect example of why classic horror films should not be remade, as there was no chance the reboot could live up to the bar set by this one. It’s on Shudder, so check it out!

Fright Night (2011)

The original Fright Night was one of my favorite 1980s flicks; I remember watching it many times on VHS.  When I first saw the advertisements for the remake, I was unsure what to expect. As many fans of horror already know, the recent trend of remakes have been far from impressive, in fact, many just suck! For the longest time I resisted the temptation to sit down and watch the remake, I did not want to be disappointed again by a subpar moneymaker. Finally, this past weekend I got it as a free rental, so what the Hell, Fright Night 2011 (at least we will not have sparkling vampires in this one).

Plot/ A remake of the 1985 original, teenager Charley Brewster guesses that his new neighbor Jerry Dandrige is a vampire responsible for a string of recent deaths. When no one he knows believes him, he enlists Peter Vincent, a self-proclaimed vampire killer and Las Vegas magician, to help him take down Jerry.

One thing about remakes or re-inventions of classic films is the director’s have some liberties in changing some of the small details from the original to something that works a tad bit better (awesome when used properly – but, unfortunately it is usually overlooked). That is exactly what is done in this edition and it does add something to the storyline. The idea to stay true to the original plot (and some campiness) while moving the setting to Las Vegas, and changing the Peter Vincent character really works. In all, most of the movie is fun and entertaining; complete with solid character development, good performances and the right mix of mood, tension and horror (the soundtrack was awesome). On the downside, some of the CGI effects took away from the overall feel. Of course, this is being overly critical as I am not a fan of CGI, and honestly, some were good.  At the end of the night, this flick may lack scares, but it is pure entertainment marrying a modern twist to a 1980s classic. I totally recommend this one for anyone; it definitely shows why a true vampire will never sparkle.