Search - Fright Night on DVD

Margaret S. (morgan2010) from GLENVIEW, IL
Reviewed on 8/12/2009...

Thei is a classic horror movie. Filled with enough moderate gore to keep you saying,"ick,", but the real gem is the story itself. This is caught in that innocent times before computer generating monsters and we had to rely on artists, props, and a great story line... i love it. It hasn't lost it horror adventure even today.

5 of 6 member(s) found this review helpful.

Makes fun of old vampire movies, until...

a reader | 08/01/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Saw it when it came out (feels like 1955 now) at the movie theater, and it was a riot. I don't know how it plays on DVD at home, but I have so many fun memories. You probably already know the premise of the boy who has trouble convincing his friends and everyone else that the guy who just moved in next door is a vampire on a killing rampage. The boy is a fan of a late night tv show, Fright Night, whose host is played my McDowall. The casting of McDowall is one of those things that could have exploded in the face of the producers, but as it turns out it worked brilliantly. McDowall made a career camping it up in B-grade horror movies, and here he plays someone who made a career camping it up in D-grade (pun intended) movies. This type of self-parody is carried to an extreme, because the movie spends most of its first half making fun of the established cliches of the genre, only to use them all, ALL, in the second half, with a straight face, and to great effect. It is not nearly as gory as the reality-horror we see these days, and I know that to some this will detract from the film, but not for me. Also, this may have been the first movie where the vampire transformation changed the whole facial demeanor of the monster, at least to my knowledge, so there's a little innovation in the genre's rules right there. And then there's Geoffreys' performance (the scene with the mop on his head, then reading the note, is the type of disturbing scary that stays with you, rather than boo-hoo scary), and Sarandon's, suave and threatening, Bearse's seduced virgin, and Ragsdale's earnest geek. Zap the popcorn, unplug the telephone, turn off the light, and enjoy!"

I Was a Teenage Vampire Hunter !

Scotman | Mt. Shasta, CA | 06/06/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Charlie is just your average teenager, clueless about girls, a protective mom, and a horror fan. He spots a coffin being moved around by the next door neighbor. Later, Charlie sees a nude woman getting chomped on the neck from his vampire neighbor. Vampire?

Yes, the hip and handsome Jerry Dandridge and his zombie boy-toy are bringing women up to the newly renovated (in early Addams Family) house, draining them, then dumping their bodies.

Charlie sees all this and no one believes him. Unfortunately for him, Jerry does and begins stalking him and lusting after his girl Amy (who looks just like a girl in an old portrait Jerry has) -- holy bats!

Charlie gets a has-been horror host, played well by veteran actor Roddy McDowall.

Great special effects, when Charlie's best friend Evil Ernie gets bit and becomes a vampire, complete with teeth and blood. And his girl Amy, what a grin on that ghoulish face!

This is the first I've seen this film and sorry I didn't see it back in the 80s. Hilarious!

And no, the vamps don't sparkle!

Some nudity and violence makes this an R-rated film. Recommended.


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