Fright Night
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- For the album by power metal band Stratovarius, see Fright Night (album).
| Fright Night | |
|---|---|
 Film poster of Fright Night |
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| Directed by | Tom Holland |
| Produced by | Herb Jaffe |
| Written by | Tom Holland |
| Starring | Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Roddy McDowall, Amanda Bearse |
| Music by | Brad Fiedel |
| Cinematography | Jan Kiesser |
| Editing by | Kent Beyda |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1985 |
| Running time | 106 min |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Followed by | Fright Night II |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Fright Night is a 1985 film starring Roddy McDowall, William Ragsdale, Chris Sarandon, and Stephen Geoffreys. It was followed by a 1988 sequel, Fright Night II, and was adapted into a comic-book series by Now Comics.
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[edit] Plot synopsis
Charley Brewster (Ragsdale) is a teenage fan of horror movies. He discovers that his next-door neighbor, Jerry Dandridge (Sarandon), is a vampire, but nobody will believe him. He turns to his hero, Peter Vincent (McDowall), the host of a late-night horror show on TV. Vincent pretends to go along with Charley's scheme, confident that the boy is delusional, and gets the shock of his life when he inadvertently realizes that Charley is telling the truth. When Charley's girlfriend, Amy Peterson (Bearse), and friend, "Evil Ed" (Geoffreys), become involved, the situation turns critical.
[edit] Trivia
- The visual effects are the work of Richard Edlund, who also provided the effects for Ghostbusters a year earlier. The film contains a puppet that was cut from Ghostbusters. The puppet is the rejected "Ghost Librarian" character.
- The name of Roddy McDowall's character, Peter Vincent, is loosely based on veteran horror film figures English actor Peter Cushing and American actor Vincent Price.
- The novelization, Fright Night by Craig Spector and John Skipp, was published in 1985 by TOR Books. The novelization continues the film's tradition of paying homage to classic horror actors; Charlie's school, "Christopher L. Cushing High School," takes its name from frequent Hammer Films co-stars Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.
- The musical score is by Brad Fiedel, who also scored The Terminator series.
- Director Tom Holland accidentally broke the bat puppet duing filming. The puppet was later fixed and reused.
- William Ragsdale accidentally broke his foot during a Christmas Eve shoot. Filming was halted until Ragsdale could make a recovery so filming could continue.
- "Evil Ed" player Stephen Geoffreys later become an underground cult figure in part because of his appearance in pornographic movies.
- An Arcade-style computer game was released in 1988 for Amiga computers. In the game, players assume the role of Jerry as he must turn his victims into vampires before 6 AM.
[edit] Cast
- Charley Brewster
- William Ragsdale
- Jerry Dandridge
- Chris Sarandon
- Peter Vincent
- Roddy McDowall
- Amy Peterson
- Amanda Bearse
- "Evil Ed" Thompson
- Stephen Geoffreys
- Billy Cole
- Jonathan Stark
[edit] Awards
The film was well-received, winning several Saturn Awards; it also won an award and a nomination at Fantasporto. It spawned a 1988 sequel which also gained a Fantasporto nomination.
[edit] Saturn Award
- Best Writing (Tom Holland) in 1985
- Best Supporting Actor (Roddy McDowall) in 1985
- Best Horror Film in 1986
[edit] Fantasporto
- Critics' Award - Special Mention
- International Fantasy Film Award (both films nominated)
[edit] Remake
As of the end of 2006, a remake of Fright Night is in the works. Shia LaBeouf is in talks to star as Charlie Brewster, and several actors, including Matthew McConaughey and George Clooney, have been rumoured for the part of Jerry Dandridge. Little else is known as of yet.[citation needed]
