Modern Cult Classics: Fright Night

Directed by Tom Holland, 1985, 106 minutes, Rated R
“You have to have faith for this to work on me!”

 

If you ask me, the best kind of horror-comedies are the love letters.

I don’t mean the overly self-conscious ones, the ones that take place on a studio lot or on location during the filming of a movie. I mean the ones that know its particular subgenre so well that they can thoroughly skewer them and still work as good, scary entries into that subgenre. Scream comes to mind, as does The Cabin in the Woods and the Greatest Film of the 21^st Century (So Far), Shaun of the Dead.

But it’s not as if the idea of a horror-comedy didn’t exist before Scream. Exhibit A: Fright Night.

We open with a teenage couple, Charley and Amy (Married… with Children’s Amanda Bearse) making out in Charley’s room. They’re about to go all the way for the first time when Charley catches a glimpse of two men carrying a coffin into the empty house next door. A timely news broadcast gets Charley’s imagination running, and for a time, the film plays out a bit like Rear Window. Charley even begins to think that there’s something not quite human about his new neighbor, which would all be harmless paranoia if Charley wasn’t right. And if the vampiric Jerry (Chris Sarandon, The Princess Bride) wasn’t onto him.

Naïve and well-meaning Charley goes to the cops, but all that does is piss off the police and confirm to Jerry and his guardian, Billy, that Charley is indeed onto them. This leads to some great cat-n-mouse between Charley and Jerry, and Fright Night has some fun displaying the full power, charm and monstrousness of its vampire. Fright Night also really begins to display its sense of humor, such as during a priceless moment when Charley and the vamped out Jerry share the same expression when they realize Charley’s mom is about to catch them fighting.

Charley tries to get help from his incredibly annoying friend, Evil, and I guess it’s helpful – I kind of blanked out cuz Evil is so damn annoying. Then, out of desperation, Charley seeks out late-night movie host “Peter Vincent, Vampire Killer” (the awesome Roddy McDowall). Vincent isn’t in the mood on account of being let go because “nobody wants to see vampire killers anymore… or vampires either. Apparently all they want are demented madmen running around in ski masks hacking up young virgins.”

Amy and Evil do convince (and by that, I mean “pay”) Peter Vincent to take Charley over to Jerry’s and perform “a vampire test” to convince Charley that Jerry is not a vampire. It’s all a ruse, so of course the test comes out negative… but Peter Vincent is one the one who comes out convinced. That causes Jerry to go on the offensive, and the action takes off from there.

As do the effects, with loads of gore, green goo and a quality transformation sequence. Even Jerry’s house oozes with mist by the end as the teenager and the washed-up actor – both in over their heads – set out to take on the vampire.

Not to say that Fright Night is flawless. I can’t tell if Evil is supposed to be funny or annoying – I really hope it’s the latter, because damn is he annoying. The extended seduction scene between Jerry and Amy in the night club hasn’t aged well, and their scene back at Jerry’s place plays so much like a Harlequin book cover it borders on ridiculous. And the sequence in the basement seems like one step too far past the natural climax of the film.

But those are minor sins in the scheme of things. With a great blend of scares and silliness, Fright Night is full of fun.

 

****