For a long time, vampires were on the verge of becoming extinct. Though there were several miniseries adaptations of Stephen King’s “Salem’s Lot” in the early 1980s, vampire films were few following the Hammer horror pictures of the 1960s and 1970s. “Fright Night,” debuted in 1985, was released at the perfect time for a vampire horror film, bringing vampires to the genre in the same manner that “Scream” reintroduced slashers.
This Tom Holland picture was a huge hit, becoming the second highest-grossing horror film of 1985, generating a sequel in 1988, a reboot in 2011, and yet another inspired remake in 2013 under the guise of a remake of the 1988 sequel.
The original “Fright Night” is a cult favourite, complete with horrors and practical effects from the 1980s. “What if someone finds out that their neighbour is a blood-sucking creature?” the debutant filmmaker asked, putting a fresh perspective on the vampire myth.
The plot centres around Charlie Brewster, played by William Ragsdale (pronounce: -Rags-Dale), who discovers that his next-door friend Jerry, played by Chris Sarandon, is a vampire. Chris enlisted the aid of Peter Vincent, a vampire hunter played by Roddy McDowall, to stop Jerry from committing mass murders. The film garnered generally good reviews and made $24.9 million at the box office.
Tommy Lee Wallace directed the sequel, “The Fright Night Part 2,” which was published in 1988. As Charlie and Peter, William Ragsdale and Roddy McDowall repeated their roles. In this sequel, Charlie, a college student, is set to meet more vampires on their quest for vengeance. Traci Lind and Julie Carmen also appear in the film.
The 2011 remake, directed by Craig Gillespie and starring Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrel, Christopher Mintz, David Tennant, and others, follows the same narrative as the original 1988 “Fright Night.” The film’s comedy and cast performance earned mostly excellent reviews.
“Fright Night 2: New Blood,” directed by Eduardo Rodriguez and published in 2013, is the concluding instalment in the saga. Will Payne, Jaime Murray, Sean Power , Sacha Parkinson (pronounced Shasha Parkinson), and others appear in the film. So, one by one, let us introduce you to the vampires from the flicks.
If You Love Being Scared, it’ll be the night of your life- Fright Night: Released in 1985
Charley Brewster was an ordinary adolescent who lived with his widowed mother and enjoyed watching Peter Vincent’s “Fright Night” show, in which he pretended to be a vampire hunter. One evening, Charlie saw his new neighbors move in while he began to spy on them. Very soon, he discovered that his new neighbor, Jerry Dandridge was a vampire responsible for the deaths of several victims. Charlie informed his mother, girlfriend Amy Peterson, and friend, Evil Ed about his findings, but no one believed him and doubted his sanity.
He even informed the police as the detective accompanied him to Jerry’s house, where they met Billy Cole, Jerry’s roommate, who showed them around the house. The furious police detective left, considering the allegation against Jerry Charlie’s exaggerated imagination.
Imagine Charlie’s surprise when he discovered Jerry seated in his living room, ostensibly invited by his mother. Charlie proceeded to secure his home, knowing that once vampires are welcomed in, they may come and go as they like. That evening Jerry entered through the second-floor window and threatened Charlie that either he would have to ignore his vampiric activities or be killed.
When Jerry tried to choke Charlie, he stabbed Jerry’s hand with a pencil. Injured Jerry revealed his true demonic image with red eyes, sharp fangs, and claws. He threatened to kill Charlie the following day.
Chris Sarandon subsequently said that lengthy hours of makeup would have driven him insane if he hadn’t practiced meditation. Almost eight hours were required to complete the makeup for Jerry’s final transformation. Also, his finger extensions would make it difficult for him to go to the bathroom.
Fearful, Charlie sought the assistance of Peter Vincent when visiting Jerry’s residence with Amy and Ed. It didn’t take long for Vincent to be persuaded that Jerry was a vampire after noticing that he didn’t have a reflection in the mirror.
In the meantime, Jerry hunted down Ed and converted him into a vampire while he tried to attack Vincent. Ed was burned by a crucifix to the forehead by Vincent. Jerry then hypnotized Amy, abducted her, and bit her in the neck. Helpless, Charlie had no other way but to approach Vincent once again, who reluctantly agreed to help him.
Charlie and Vincent assaulted Jerry with a crucifix when they entered the vampire house, but Vincent’s cross didn’t operate as expected since he didn’t believe in his spiritual power. Billy struck them both, knocking Charlie unconscious while Vincent panicked and ran over to Charlie’s house only to be attacked by Ed in a werewolf form. Vincent managed to save himself by killing Ed with a wooden table leg.
A more confident Vincent returned to Jerry’s house to rescue Charlie and Amy, where they confronted Billy again, and this time Charlie stabbed him with Vincent’s wooden stake, turning him into a mess of blood and green slime.
Charlie and Vincent then faced Jerry once more, this time using their crucifix to entice him towards a window. Vincent’s crucifix got more powerful as he gained confidence and total faith in spiritual power. As dawn broke, Jerry transformed into a bat, attacked them, and fled into his coffin at the basement.
When they found the coffin in the basement, Amy, almost turned into a vampire, attacked them. As Charlie fought with Amy, Vincent opened the coffin and tried to stab the stake through his heart, but missed piercing his heart since Jerry woke up. Jerry got out of the coffin and broke the stake into two. When he attacked Vincent, Charlie started smashing all the basement windows to enable sunlightto enter and hit the vampire. Finally, Charlie managed to reflect sunlight onto Jerry and blasted him. As soon as Jerry died, Amy was released from the curse and became human again.
At the end of the film, Peter Vincent presents Amy and Charlie with a horror flick. When Charlie looked out of the window towards Jerry’s house, he saw a pair of red eyes in the darkness, but he ignored it. Ed’s voice could be heard, “Oh, you’re so cool, Brewster!”
The film’s greatest strength is found in the outstanding performances of all four lead actors. In the character of the vampire, Sarandon was fantastic. The blend of horror and comedy was smooth in the screenplay, which makes the film a great watch. “Fright Night” is the first vampire film to spend over $1 million on special effects. The special effects were quite impressive, especially when Billy melts in front of our eyes. The film doesn’t feature slashers or non-stop gore but adds a twist to a familiar storyline, making it an outstanding cinema.
Do you have a taste for terror? – Fright Night 2: Released in 1988
It had been three years after the events of the previous film. After extensive counseling, Charlie came to think that Jerry was a serial killer and that vampires did not exist. Charlie and his girlfriend, Alex Young, visited Peter Vincent, who still acted as the vampire hunter on Friday Night’s horror program. While looking through the window in Peter’s apartment, Charlie once again saw few people bringing four coffins inside the building.
When Charlie was leaving Peter’s apartment, he noticed four individuals going by him and entering the elevator. Charlie was particularly taken to one of them, Regine, who was incredibly gorgeous. While dropping Alex back to her dorm, Charlie and Alex started making out in the car, but suddenly Charlie was shocked to see Regine’s face instead of Alex’sand he pulled back.
Alex became upset and hurried back to her dorm where she was silently being stalked by Louis, a member of Regine’s group. He climbed up the wall outside her window, but Alex slammed her window, surprising Louis, as he crashed back on the ground.
Charlie began to have nightmares about Regine visiting him and turning him into a vampire. He went back to his psychiatrist, Dr. Harrison, who assured him that such dreams were frequent and that Charlie needed to shift his concentration. He decided to go to the symphony with Alex but suddenly saw his friend Richie with Regine and decided to follow them. As he climbed up the fire escape and looked, he was terrified to see Regine biting Richie and draining his blood.
Charlie rushed back to Peter, and together they arrived at Regine’s party with crosses. But Charlie was startled to find Richie safe and sound at the party. Meanwhile, Regine introduced herself to Charlie and Peter as an artist attending some shows in town. Charlie, convinced that Regine and Richie were merely performing, left to attend his date with Alex, but Peter stayed back only to find Regine and her friend Belle didn’t cast any reflection in his pocket mirror.
Charlie began to have nightmares about Regine visiting him and turning him into a vampire. He went back to his psychiatrist, Dr. Harrison, who assured him that such dreams were frequent and that Charlie needed to shift his concentration.
Her sole purpose of visiting the town was to avenge her brother’s death by Charlie and Peter. Julie Carmen, as Regine, had a panic attack as she had never done prosthetic makeup before. Imagine her condition when she had to undergo the plaster mask again, as the first mask had developed some problem.
Regine bit Charlie in the neck when he was sleeping, so Peter raced off to his house. When Peter told Charlie and Alex about Regine, they didn’t trust him, so he packed his possessions and left his residence. Meanwhile, Charlie began displaying symptoms of vampirism, as he seemed to become sensitive to garlic and sunlight. When he heard about Richie’s death, Charlie realized that Peter’s warnings were valid.
Meanwhile, Charlie and Alex confronted Louis in the school library and injured him with wild roses, known to be harmful to vampires, but campus officers arrested them. “Fright Night 2” is one of the few films that had acknowledged that wild roses would repel vampires like garlic. Peter was also arrested as he tried to kill Regine, who was hosting the show of Fright Night. Dr. Harrison helped Alex get the bail, but when they went to free Charlie, they were told that Regine had already bailed him out.
As Alex and Dr. Harrison went to release Peter, they confronted another vampire disguised as a doctor and killed him. Alex took his identity and tried to release Peter. One of the patients in the hospital, Fritzy, helped them escape.
Alex and Peter arrived at Regine’s residence for the ultimate showdown and to rescue Charlie from her grasp. Charlie, transforming into a vampire, was rescued by them while they managed to kill Richie, Bella, Bosworth, and Louis. Regine tried to escape to her coffin, but Charlie and Peter had already lined her coffin with Communion Wafers, as Peter killed her with sunlight just the way her brother had died.
The next day, Charlie and Alex resolved to carry on with their lives while remaining vigilant for any future vampire encounters. As they embraced each other, a bat could be heard flying away.
With a budget of $7.5 million, the film was finished in 45 days. It’s a typical observation that sequels lack the same zeal as the original. The same can be said in this case too. As Ragsdale and McDowall reprise their role, the continuity is well maintained while they seem to share great chemistry on screen.
The film is relatively darker and gloomier compared to the original, as the vampires had been made crueler. But it is pretty entertaining as a horror movie, especially ifit’s not placed under scrutiny with its prequel. Being a Fright Night fan, you definitely don’t want to miss the second part.
You Can’t Run from the Evil When it Lives Next Door- Fright Night: Released in 2011
In a Nevada suburb, an unknown, invisible vampire slaughtered a whole family. The film then moved to Charlie Brewster, intrigued by the new neighbor, who had just moved in next door. Charlie’s friend Evil Ed informed him that many students had gone missing from the school, but Charlie totally disregarded his words.
Charlie’s mother, Jane, introduced him to their new neighbour Jerry when he returned home from school. Ed informed Charlie about Jerry being a vampire, but Charlie didn’t believe him. Soon Jerry managed to confront Ed and bite him. When Ed went missing, Charlie became concerned about what he had been saying and decided to visit Ed’s house and investigate.
As the number of missing persons in the area increased, Charlie resolved to break into Jerry’s house and locate the secret chamber where he kept his victims. Charlie tried to rescue one of the victims but failed. She was incinerated as soon as they stepped outside, into the sunlight. After finding the truth, Charlie went to Las Vegas to consult the expert magician, Peter Vincent, but he didn’t believe him.
The director and screenplay writer didn’t even change the names of the characters. Anyway, Jerry took drastic action; as he was not allowed to enter Charlie’s house he set it on fire. Charlie, Jane, and his girlfriend Amy escaped in a minivan pursued by Jerry and forced them to crash. Jerry then attacked Charlie, but Jane injured Jerry with a stake while she fainted with a head injury from the crash.
At least some new ideas had been implemented in this film, or else it feels like repeating the same plot again. It is heard that the car chase sequence was completed in one rotating shot. Other shots were added later.
Jane was admitted to the hospital, and Charlie received a call from Peter Vincent, who requested that he meet with him. Peter tried to give some advice to defeat Jerry but was interrupted by the arrival of Ed and Jerry.
Peter, as usual, hid in his room while Amy momentarily stopped Jerry by sprinkling Holy Water, allowing Charlie to kill Ed. But soon, Jerry resumed his attacks as Charlie and Amy ran into a club. Unfortunately, they got separated inside the club as Amy was hypnotized, bitten, and abducted by Jerry.
Charlie requested Peter’s assistance in fighting Jerry, but he rejected, citing the fact that both of his parents had been murdered by vampires. Jerry was later revealed to be the one who murdered Peter’s parents. However, he gave a special stake to Charlie, blessed by Saint Michael, that would slaughter Jerry and convert all his victims into their human forms. When Charlie decided to confront Jerry, Peter, in the end, altered his mind and accompanied Charlie in his final combat.
They arrived in Jerry’s house’s basement but were ambushed by his victims, including Amy, who was anxious to turn Charlie into a vampire so that they could spend the rest of their lives together. As she was about to bite him, Charlie stabbed her carefully, to miss her heart. Charlie then looked for Peter and found that Jerry and his victims had almost ambushed him. Charlie shot holes in the roof to let sunlight enter the room and kill them. The sunlight entering the room also acted as a protective shield against the vampires who were still alive. Charlie was wearing a flame-retardant suit, which Peter set on fire as he started a fierce battle with Jerry.
Meanwhile, Peter blasted another hole in the ceiling, allowing more light in, which completely burnt Jerry, and as Peter passed the stake, Charlie stabbed Jerry straight in the heart. into his heart. With Jerry’s death, his victims were all converted into their human forms.
Finally, Jerry’s mother healed entirely and started shopping for their new home after being discharged from the hospital, while Charlie and Amy became closer in Peter’s penthouse. Though Tom Holland stated that he didn’t like the remake, but in general, the movie generated positive reviews regarding the cast performance and the humor factor of the film.
The movie grossed $41 million against its budget of $30 million. The film had improved effects and editing. David Tennant, Imogen Poots, and Colin Farrell were excellent in their respective roles. But the story could have been more well-paced, witty, and creepy. After all, it’s a remake, a pretty good remake to watch.
The Suckers are back- Fright Night 2: New Blood Released in 2013
Finally, Jerry’s mother healed entirely and started shopping for their new home after being discharged from the hospital, while Charlie and Amy became closer in Peter’s penthouse. That night, Charlie spotted a woman biting the neck of another woman in a house across the road. The woman was Gerri(pronounce:-Jerry) Dandridge, a college professor who was supposed to teach their class Romanian history and culture.
Charlie spotted Gerri wooing a student who went missing later when the class was touring the castles. Gerri was seen placing a corpse inside her car that night, and Charlie drove away. Charlie took the opportunity to enter her house and found a ritual sacrifice chamber. Soon Gerri returned with a young woman whose blood was drained. Gerri bathed in the blood to become youthful again.
After completing the ritual, she noticed Charlie hiding in a coffin, but somehow, he managed to escape. For shooting this scene, a special breakaway coffin was designed to take the shot of Charlie inside. The concept of bathing in the blood of young women was based on the Hungarian serial killer, Countess Elizabeth Bathory de Ecsed.
Charlie tried unsuccessfully to persuade the police of the occurrence, and even Amy did not believe him. When Charlie narrated his previous experiences to Ed, he identified Gerri as Elizabeth Bathory, considered one of the most powerful vampires. Ed and Charlie decided to track down Peter Vincent, the host of “Fright Night,” who was found at a strip club and agreed to help them if they pay his fees.
The three of them met Amy, and confronted Gerri as soon as they boarded the train. Like all the other films, Peter fled, while Ed sacrificed himself to save Charlie and Amy. Gerri didn’t waste any time in converting Ed into a vampire and pursued Charlie and Amy. As the duo tried to flee in a taxi, Gerri charged again, and this time she succeeded in abducting Amy. This time, I felt incredibly sorry for Ed and Amy. Poor Ed is sacrificed in all the three movies and Amy ended up getting kidnapped and bitten by the vampire.
Gerri’s secret is revealed: she must bathe in the blood of a “new moon virgin” to be able to resist sunlight, but only if no one witnesses it. Amy fulfilled all the criteria while Charlie, a witness, must be killed to make the ritual successful. Peter prepared Charlie to fight Gerri by giving him holy water, wooden stakes, and garlic.
As soon as Charlie entered the castle, he was attacked by Ed, but Charlie used the holy water to cause him to explode. Gerri forcefully pushed Charlie into a bathing pit as Amy bit him, turning him into a vampire. But before Amy could kill him, Charlie staked himself without hurting his heart.
Peter finally arrived and staked Gerri, but he too missed Gerri’s heart while she chased him inside the castle. Charlie, in the end, delivered such a loud screech that shattered all the windows of the castle, as sunlight entered and engulfed Gerri.
Charlie and Amy returned to their human form as the master vampire died, and they kissed each other.
This film cannot be considered a sequel to the 2011 remake of “Fright Night,” as it retells the original plot with almost identical characters, in a new setting, and with a female vampire. The film was completed in 23 days, and while shooting in Romania in winter, the temperature was about –15 degrees Fahrenheit.
The director, Eduardo Rodriguez, should be credited for theGothic settings and locations with the novel camera work to make up for the lack of originality in the script. The effects and stunts are quite good, presented with some gore and subtle nudity.
Despite the fact that none of the films are as good as the original, the “Fright Night” films will undoubtedly give some interesting nights.