The Long Dark Marathon of the Soul 2017 - Fright Night (1985), directed by Tom Holland

The Trailer
and
The Appropriate Tune: "Fright Night (Nevermore)", by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

     Upcoming worst review ever. Don’t know what happened, all attempts to write this completely snowballed, and this is the end result. Sorry.

     Fright NIght follows the story of Charlie Brewster, a typical teen in your average American suburb. Charlie has a girlfriend that he likes to neglect (Amy), he has a friend who treats him like shit (Ed, commonly referred to as ‘Evil’), a mom who has a fixation on sex, and a favorite public access television show, ‘Fright Night’, hosted by in-universe horror movie actor Peter Vincent. Who could ask for more? However, things take a turn for the worse when Jerry Dandridge moves into the house next door. Strange things start happening, people start disappearing, and Charlie is a witness to events that defy description. It’s looking like Dandridge is a vampire, a member of that damned race of blood-sucking fiends. If that’s true however, then how can he stopped? Not only that, but what happens when he knows that you’ve discovered his secret?

     Well, call Peter Vincent of course!

     This is a strange film to pin down, because all the interesting things seemed to be matched with an equally bad thing. I like the idea of having a horror enthusiast thrust into the role of monster fighter, like in fellow Marathon film Monster Squad, but the ‘neighbor does weird stuff but no one believes the protagonist’ concept has been well-worn ever since Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (if you’ve seen The Burbs from last year’s list, you’ve seen about 70 percent of Fright Night). I like Roddy McDowell’s performance as Peter Vincent, but I want to strangle the kid who plays Evil Ed. The film goes for a laugh in one scene, but then has an excruciatingly long death scene the next. Great special effects and makeup, but the music is standard fare. It even has its own theme song, which seems like a thing all horror movies had at the time. Good cinematography etc.

     Fright Night is worth a watch. Hell, you might even really enjoy it, considering it has a decent cult following. When you consider how many horror movies from the ‘80s have that distinction however, it gets hard to say that it’s a must-watch movie. If you liked movies like Monster Squad, The Burbs, The Frighteners, maybe a bit of The Lost Boys too, then you’re in good hands. Otherwise, just add this queue and get to it eventually.