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When a teenager learns that his next door neighbour is a vampire, no one will believe him. This is Rumor Control, here are the facts and welcome back to the 31 Days of Halloween. Looking back through the past few years it’s occurred to me that I’ve never reviewed a Tom Holland film. Sure I once reviewed a film that had Tom Holland in it but nothing that he wrote or directed. In fact I’m surprised at myself that it wasn’t until today that I finally decided to tackle his horror classic Fright Night, a film so good and beloved in the genre that it spawned an obscure sequel, an excellent remake which in turn spawned a sequel/remake/thing but we do not speak of that! So what else can I say that hasn’t already been said about Fright Night? Not much probably but God willing I can try.
The story for Fright Night is creative, humorous but unfortunately at times can be annoying. The story follows Charlie Brewster, a teenager who loves old horror films especially those starring his icon Peter Cushing… I mean Vincent Price… Dammit, I mean Peter Vincent, yeah that’s the one! However, upon seeing his new neighbors acting peculiar, as well as witnessing women go into his neighbor’s house only to turn up dead on the news the following day, Charlie suspects his neighbor of being a vampire. But shock of all shocks Charlie’s friends, family and the authorities don’t believe him and thus Charlie must contend with the vampire scourge alone. Throughout the running time the film has a wonderful tongue in cheek feel by constantly referring to vampire lore as well as numerous throwbacks to the Hammer Dracula series through the character of Peter Vincent. This quickly and easily sets the comedic tone of the film which is always memorable and downright funny. Not only that but Fright Night manages to blend a darker tone with the humor, perfectly meshing horror with comedy as it has some genuinely creepy moments, the final scene itself tends to give me chills from time to time. The pacing is done very well as there’s just enough build up to the revelation of Charlie’s neighbor, Jerry, being a vampire but not dragging it’s feet in the process. The film is pretty good up until the revelation but after it becomes immensely entertaining and never stops being until the credits roll. It all leads up to a fantastic finale filled with scares, laughs and sheer excitement. Unfortunately it all can’t be perfect. Fright Night has one Achilles heel and that comes in the form of its main character. Charlie’s initial attempts at proving Jerry is a vampire are very obnoxious and tend to be the only things that truly drag the film down a bit. Other then the antics of Brewster the story is overall very well done having a humorous tone as well as a creepy atmosphere, well done references and has numerous entertaining elements and scenes.
The characters for Fright Night are mostly good, save for our so called hero.
As stated before I’m not fond of Charlie. He can be summed up in three simple words: He’s a schmuck. His cry wolf stories early on are obnoxious since it’s obvious that on sane human being would believe him. There were numerous things he could have done that may have worked but instead he goes for a foolish, juvenile route. What’s worse is that he drags his friends into this whole mess, dooming one of them in the process. I just don’t like Charlie, he’s a self centered, childish, whiny twit and that’s putting it lightly.
On the flip side of the coin we have Jerry Dandrige, Charlie’s neighbor and vampire. Jerry is a very good and likeable villain, incorporating all the best elements of what a vampire should be: suave, charming, polite, merciless, cruel, he’s a foul, evil vampire that’s done right.
By far the most interesting character in Fright Night is Peter Vincent. Vincent is a constant enjoyment, being an uproariously funny character. What makes him work so well is his erratic character development. One scene I love in particular is when he’s developed into his old vampire hunter persona, ready to fight the forces of darkness whatever may come. But the instant he goes off to fight he immediately wants to retreat, to me it’s a very humorous moment and a good one for such a fantastic character.
Charlie’s best friend Evil Ed is a likeable character but one that’s severely flawed. He’s written well for the most part, being an immensely more likeable character then Charlie, but it’s when he’s turned into a vampire by Jerry where his character faulters. You see Jerry convinces Ed to become a vampire because he’s constantly being bullied and tormented and if turned no one will bother him again. OK, that’s a great idea to get him to turn. Only one problem: We never see Ed being bullied. Ever. This was one great thing about the remake, it showed Ed’s torment at the hands of his tormenters as well as his conflicts with Charlie. Here he seems very happy throughout, constantly laughing and possibly even being a good student. So it’s bothersome to me that Ed’s selling point to becoming truly evil is that he’s been bullied except he hasn’t.
Lastly we have Amy, Charlie’s girlfriend. When I first saw Fright Night Amy used to annoy me to no end. I don’t even know why anymore. Amy is a good character and like Ed makes for a much better character then Charlie. She’s very kind and caring despite all the crap Charlie gives her early on and does whatever it takes to help him.
Acting for Fright Night is great.
Like Charlie William Ragsdale is the weakest link in this picture. But unlike Charlie, Ragsdale is pretty likeable, managing to give a pretty good performance. Of course most of it involves whining but when you actually try with what little you’re given than you’ll always manage a good performance and overall Ragsdale does.
Chris Sarandon does a great job as Jerry. Sarandon is very charming throughout the course of the film and at times has some good moments of humor. However, what really sells his performance is how well Sarandon can combine charming with being downright scary. Throughout the film Sarandon is always charming and suave but at the same time he’s very unsettling. It only gets scarier when he goes all out and comes off as a terrifying force. Especially at the end when he’s very much put out!
Roddy McDowall gives an excellent performance as Peter Vincent. His performance is so cheesy and intentionally tongue in cheek, pulling it off perfectly to give an all around entertaining and humorous performance. It’s a role that he falls into so well, managing to become his character in one of his most memorable roles.
Stephen Geoffreys does a great job as Evil Ed. He’s very energetic and constantly makes his presence known even in his most unimportant of moments. He’s also very much like Sarandon since when he becomes a vampire he does a great job of blending humor and horror so well.
Amanda Bearse gives a good performance as Amy. Before I ever saw Fright Night I had been watching Married With Children for years… can you believe it took me so long to realize that she was Marcy? I guess it’s because her performance is so likeable and splendid as well as not being the least bit annoying that she managed to not appear as Marcy to me. Her performance is so well done that I honestly would like to see other things with her, just to see her wide range of acting.
Lastly the effects and makeup for Fright Night are spectacular. The makeup is well made and at times can come off as truly frightening, one example of spectacular makeup in particular scared the crap out of star William Ragsdale. The effects are spectacular to behold, having that marvelous 80’s horror effect to them that rivals with the likes of Evil Dead and Re-Animator. The effects and makeup alone were worth watching this film due to how great they are.
Final Thoughts: Despite a bad main character Fright Night is an overall great movie. It serves a fun tongue in cheek throwback film, it can be creative at times and funny throughout, most of the characters are good, acting is excellent and the effects are a sight to behold. This is without a doubt a necessity for any fan of the horror genre or films in general.
Verdict: Full Price
That was Rumor Control and those were the facts!
The story for Fright Night is creative, humorous but unfortunately at times can be annoying. The story follows Charlie Brewster, a teenager who loves old horror films especially those starring his icon Peter Cushing… I mean Vincent Price… Dammit, I mean Peter Vincent, yeah that’s the one! However, upon seeing his new neighbors acting peculiar, as well as witnessing women go into his neighbor’s house only to turn up dead on the news the following day, Charlie suspects his neighbor of being a vampire. But shock of all shocks Charlie’s friends, family and the authorities don’t believe him and thus Charlie must contend with the vampire scourge alone. Throughout the running time the film has a wonderful tongue in cheek feel by constantly referring to vampire lore as well as numerous throwbacks to the Hammer Dracula series through the character of Peter Vincent. This quickly and easily sets the comedic tone of the film which is always memorable and downright funny. Not only that but Fright Night manages to blend a darker tone with the humor, perfectly meshing horror with comedy as it has some genuinely creepy moments, the final scene itself tends to give me chills from time to time. The pacing is done very well as there’s just enough build up to the revelation of Charlie’s neighbor, Jerry, being a vampire but not dragging it’s feet in the process. The film is pretty good up until the revelation but after it becomes immensely entertaining and never stops being until the credits roll. It all leads up to a fantastic finale filled with scares, laughs and sheer excitement. Unfortunately it all can’t be perfect. Fright Night has one Achilles heel and that comes in the form of its main character. Charlie’s initial attempts at proving Jerry is a vampire are very obnoxious and tend to be the only things that truly drag the film down a bit. Other then the antics of Brewster the story is overall very well done having a humorous tone as well as a creepy atmosphere, well done references and has numerous entertaining elements and scenes.
The characters for Fright Night are mostly good, save for our so called hero.
As stated before I’m not fond of Charlie. He can be summed up in three simple words: He’s a schmuck. His cry wolf stories early on are obnoxious since it’s obvious that on sane human being would believe him. There were numerous things he could have done that may have worked but instead he goes for a foolish, juvenile route. What’s worse is that he drags his friends into this whole mess, dooming one of them in the process. I just don’t like Charlie, he’s a self centered, childish, whiny twit and that’s putting it lightly.
On the flip side of the coin we have Jerry Dandrige, Charlie’s neighbor and vampire. Jerry is a very good and likeable villain, incorporating all the best elements of what a vampire should be: suave, charming, polite, merciless, cruel, he’s a foul, evil vampire that’s done right.
By far the most interesting character in Fright Night is Peter Vincent. Vincent is a constant enjoyment, being an uproariously funny character. What makes him work so well is his erratic character development. One scene I love in particular is when he’s developed into his old vampire hunter persona, ready to fight the forces of darkness whatever may come. But the instant he goes off to fight he immediately wants to retreat, to me it’s a very humorous moment and a good one for such a fantastic character.
Charlie’s best friend Evil Ed is a likeable character but one that’s severely flawed. He’s written well for the most part, being an immensely more likeable character then Charlie, but it’s when he’s turned into a vampire by Jerry where his character faulters. You see Jerry convinces Ed to become a vampire because he’s constantly being bullied and tormented and if turned no one will bother him again. OK, that’s a great idea to get him to turn. Only one problem: We never see Ed being bullied. Ever. This was one great thing about the remake, it showed Ed’s torment at the hands of his tormenters as well as his conflicts with Charlie. Here he seems very happy throughout, constantly laughing and possibly even being a good student. So it’s bothersome to me that Ed’s selling point to becoming truly evil is that he’s been bullied except he hasn’t.
Lastly we have Amy, Charlie’s girlfriend. When I first saw Fright Night Amy used to annoy me to no end. I don’t even know why anymore. Amy is a good character and like Ed makes for a much better character then Charlie. She’s very kind and caring despite all the crap Charlie gives her early on and does whatever it takes to help him.
Acting for Fright Night is great.
Like Charlie William Ragsdale is the weakest link in this picture. But unlike Charlie, Ragsdale is pretty likeable, managing to give a pretty good performance. Of course most of it involves whining but when you actually try with what little you’re given than you’ll always manage a good performance and overall Ragsdale does.
Chris Sarandon does a great job as Jerry. Sarandon is very charming throughout the course of the film and at times has some good moments of humor. However, what really sells his performance is how well Sarandon can combine charming with being downright scary. Throughout the film Sarandon is always charming and suave but at the same time he’s very unsettling. It only gets scarier when he goes all out and comes off as a terrifying force. Especially at the end when he’s very much put out!
Roddy McDowall gives an excellent performance as Peter Vincent. His performance is so cheesy and intentionally tongue in cheek, pulling it off perfectly to give an all around entertaining and humorous performance. It’s a role that he falls into so well, managing to become his character in one of his most memorable roles.
Stephen Geoffreys does a great job as Evil Ed. He’s very energetic and constantly makes his presence known even in his most unimportant of moments. He’s also very much like Sarandon since when he becomes a vampire he does a great job of blending humor and horror so well.
Amanda Bearse gives a good performance as Amy. Before I ever saw Fright Night I had been watching Married With Children for years… can you believe it took me so long to realize that she was Marcy? I guess it’s because her performance is so likeable and splendid as well as not being the least bit annoying that she managed to not appear as Marcy to me. Her performance is so well done that I honestly would like to see other things with her, just to see her wide range of acting.
Lastly the effects and makeup for Fright Night are spectacular. The makeup is well made and at times can come off as truly frightening, one example of spectacular makeup in particular scared the crap out of star William Ragsdale. The effects are spectacular to behold, having that marvelous 80’s horror effect to them that rivals with the likes of Evil Dead and Re-Animator. The effects and makeup alone were worth watching this film due to how great they are.
Final Thoughts: Despite a bad main character Fright Night is an overall great movie. It serves a fun tongue in cheek throwback film, it can be creative at times and funny throughout, most of the characters are good, acting is excellent and the effects are a sight to behold. This is without a doubt a necessity for any fan of the horror genre or films in general.
Verdict: Full Price
That was Rumor Control and those were the facts!
Comments2
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I strongly disagree about Charlie he was likable