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Poor Charlie Brewster. Believing a vampire has just moved into
that big, creepy old house next door, Charlie begs everyone around
him to take action before the bloodsucker claims him as his next
victim. They all laugh, of course, including his ditzy mother,
frustrated girlfriend Amy and best pal "Evil Ed. ("You poor
dope! There are no such things as vampires, fruitcake!") Yet Charlie
has one last oddball chance at salvation, the ultra-low budget
TV "vampire killer," actor Peter Vincent. Yet even this jaded
phony may need a little convincing...
Tom Holland was a successful actor in commercials and soap operas
(over 200 in all), when in 1984 he wrote and directed horror sleeper
Fright Night. The film debuted August 2, 1985 and was a hit with
critics and audiences, still one of the few truly memorable "horror
comedies" of the 80's. Holland finely honed a thoughtful
script that weaved well-developed characters with a plot that
has fun with vampire lore and conventions. A cut above most genre
pictures of the era, the production values and special effects
were top notch, and Fright Night does nothing more deliver the
goods in spades.
According to the production notes, Holland claimed "We needed
really good actors - one thing I wanted to avoid at any cost was
having he special effects overshadowing the acting." And indeed
the performances are terrific. Some may say Roddy McDowall as
Vincent hams it up too much in this film, but dammit, he doesn't.
Sure, he's cheesy within the "Movie within a movie"
Fright Night TV show, but the character's empathy, fear, humor
and courage come through in McDowall's sincerity. Cast against
type, Chris Sarandon easily anchors the film with as the evil
Jerry Dandrige, still one of the sexiest yet intimidating vampires
ever seen on screen. Rounding out the cast is a young William
Ragsdale in his major motion picture film debut, who's all conviction
as Brewster, the plucky and enthusiastic Amanda Bearse as Charlie's
girlfriend Amy, and big guy Jonathan Stark plays the vampire's
Egor-ish/bisexual assistant with a sly, strange combination of
warmth and cruelty.
Yet it is Stephen Geoffreys' distinct presence that steals the
show as "Evil" Ed Thompson. It's too bad the rep of
the high-pitched Geoffreys (a talented Tony-nominated actor) -
and in part the film - have been tainted by his post-Fright Night
work in adult films. Here he delivers much of the comedic zingers
with wit and a vulnerability that is by turns touching and tragic.
The usual sidekick role is quite the cliche in horror movies,
but here he turns it into one the most memorable ever. Get Geoffreys
back in mainstream Hollywood, pronto! So cheers to Holland for
exceeding expectations with a "corking good screenplay" and one
of the better horror flicks of the past twenty years. Sit back
and be prepared to have a great time.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
The film is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer
from a high-definition master. A pan and scan version is on the
flip, for those who want to see specific close-ups and ignore
the other, excised, visual half of the movie. I've read other
reviews that note that this transfer looks to be made from the
1994 laserdisc master. Somehow I would suspect that could be true.
(Editor: It actually comes from a new touched-up high-definition
master.) Compared to the laserdisc, the DVD delivers eye-popping,
increased resolution. However, as the laserdisc bled all over
the place, the color-subdued DVD showed signs of age, lacking
deep blacks, sometimes-faint color saturation, and grain during
some night shots. Fleshtones waned a touch, but were easily more
natural compared to previous presentations.
Back to the resolution, you could argue it is too good, as some
of Roddy McDowell's close-ups revealed powdery makeup. The 2.35:1
ratio of the DVD reveals slightly more information on both sides
compared even to the laserdisc. Not a lot, but it is evident.
It seemed to improve on the compositional framing. Happily, the
film print appeared quite clean with very few nics, so faces and
shots with depth of scope were clear and Holland's classy and
perfectionistic direction felt uninterrupted. Though the film
print hasn't exactly aged like wine, this DVD is a dramatic improvement
in Fright Night's visual presentation, and cheers to Columbia
for dedication to anamorphic transfers.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
Lacking. If the damned film elements of this (and other movies)
weren't in good shape, why the hell don't studios store their
films better? Studios, we love film and want to see them at their
best. If you want to keep the original 2.0 surround on one DVD
track, fine, go ahead. But Fright Night aches for a 5.1 Dolby
Digital remix. The enveloping, original score by famed composer
Brad Fiedel (Terminator, True Lies) is melodic and intriguing
but harsher than seemingly intended. I hoped the DVD would correct
this. Nope. With a supernatural movie using wild effects, again,
why not go all the way with a 5.1 remix?
Anyway, the Dolby Surround 2.0 on this DVD is much more restrained
than the laserdisc; frequency sounds and dynamics are lessened.
I always thought the laserdisc left quite a bit to be desired
at times with some rough edges. But side by side comparisons revealed
the laserdisc's wider soundstage, higher and deeper dynamics,
increased gain with surrounds, and more natural sounding dialogue
compared to the DVD. Later in the movie, music at the "Club Radio"
- the dance/seduction scene - on the DVD sounds more like "cheap
80s" music, while the music is much more alive on the laserdisc.
Hands down. It's just disappointing. At least Fright Night wasn't
in mono, so I should shut up and be thankful, right? Just remember
to crank up your surrounds, I guess...
Also included is a French mono dub, English and French subtitles
and English Closed Captions.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
Not much. We get one pretty good trailer in non-anamorphic 1.85:1
widescreen, plus some production notes that contain only about
30% of the exact same text that was on the back of the laserdisc
sleeve. This film was obviously Tom Holland's baby at the time,
so a screen-specific audio commentary or even a new documetnary
is a real missed opportunity.
DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc
in your PC?
No ROM extras have been included.
Parting Thoughts
Fright Night looks terrific, although the audio and supplements
are lacking. As a very well received, well executed amd entertaining
little movie goes, this makes for a fine low-priced DVD. But Fright
Night fans will likely be disappointed with the lack of a special
edition, so we can only hope Columbia realizes the sizable cult
following this movie has and give fans what they want. For what
it is, however, well recommended.
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