FRIGHT NIGHT - Still Fun After All These Years

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AndyDursin
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FRIGHT NIGHT - Still Fun After All These Years

#1 Post by AndyDursin »

I've always been a huge fan of this movie and a friend of mine just completed a double feature of it along with CLASS OF 1984 (kind of an unintended Tom Holland-Roddy McDowall twin-bill as it turns out).

I am unsurprised to report that FRIGHT NIGHT just holds up beautifully...well constructed, old fashioned in its monster love, amusingly written and splendidly cast. I know Amanda Bearse may have gone onto become a lesbian activist but she's perfectly convincing as a hetero teen in this film, but more over -- Chris Sarandon is sensual and overpowering as the vamp, and Roddy McDowall puts in unquestionably one of his finest performances ever as Peter Vincent, the TV vampire hunter who has to take on the undead for real at the behest of a teen (the amiable William Ragsdale) who watches haplessly as Sarandon's Jerry Dandridge moves in next door.

Holland pushes all the right buttons in this film, whether it's a Hitchcock "Rear Window" homage, or a truly sexual seduction sequence where Sarandon gets to Bearse -- or in the grade-A (for its time) Richard Edlund FX that close out the film. The movie manages to be "R" with fairly light gore and adult elements which aren't gratuitous -- about the only thing that heavily dates the movie is Brad Fiedel's music, which works in its love theme, but fails otherwise with its sledgehammer approach to dramatic underscoring.

Thankfully there's the memorably bouncy J. Geils Band theme song which finishes the movie out...one which is due for a remake shortly (with Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin and the "Dr.Who" guy). I have no doubts it'll be inferior, but either way, hopefully it will give Sony a reason for offering the original on Blu-Ray!


John Johnson
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Re: FRIGHT NIGHT - Still Fun After All These Years

#2 Post by John Johnson »

AndyDursin wrote:one which is due for a remake shortly (with Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin and the "Dr.Who" guy). I have no doubts it'll be inferior, but either way, hopefully it will give Sony a reason for offering the original on Blu-Ray!

David Tennant.
Here's the sad regeneration scene from Doctor Who.

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mkaroly
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Re: FRIGHT NIGHT - Still Fun After All These Years

#3 Post by mkaroly »

I always had a soft spot in my heart for Fright Night...very entertaining film.

romanD
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Re: FRIGHT NIGHT - Still Fun After All These Years

#4 Post by romanD »

one of my all time favorite films!
I love Brad Fiedels love Theme... the score is very simple and 80ies, but at least avoids cheap synths trying to emulate an orchestra. Surely no great compositions, but somehow eerily effective.

The cast is outstanding and as much the new cast impresses, Im very sad to see that apparently the duo of a young boy and an old man is not "sellable" to the kids anymore. That was a very nice ingredient of the first film. I guess it is hard to connect to a silly horrorfilm host nowadays for them, so the way to take a bad Las Vegas sorcerer might be a nice idea...

I hope they keep the big monsters and effects and dont do a cheapie version of this. It could be good and many things sound promising so far, but with Dreamworks I see Jablonsky scoring it which would be a big bummer already... (on the other hand his NIGHTMARE score was decent as long as it didnt go into shock and shrill music).

time will tell... it can be a good film, but it surely will not be this good. So many charming little things and stylistical ideas... like the gun that creates so much smoke at the end... hahaha...

btw, has anyone seen the trailer for the original? It spoils the WHOLE film down to the ending! who came up with that????!!!!

John Johnson
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Re: FRIGHT NIGHT - Still Fun After All These Years

#5 Post by John Johnson »

Fright Night is the remake of the 1985 film, made by Dreamwatch and directed by Craig Gillespie. In this film Tennant plays Peter Vincent, a former illusionist cum vampire hunter who comes to the aid of Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) to take down neighbour/vampire Jerry Dandrige (Colin Farrell).

The company has now released a promotional photo of Tennant in character:

Image

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2011/05/dw ... tales.html
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AndyDursin
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Re: FRIGHT NIGHT - Still Fun After All These Years

#6 Post by AndyDursin »

Here's the trailer....my god it's terrible, even worse than I expected.

BTW David Tenant appears in this 2-minute trailer for all of 2 seconds and has no dialogue. They certainly aren't selling it on his presence!

http://www.deadline.com/2011/05/hot-tra ... ght-night/

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