#19 - Fright Night (1985)
(dir. Tom Holland)
Charley, a high school kid who loves horror movies, witnesses a murder at his new neighbor's house. He becomes convinced that the man, the handsome and charming Jerry Dandrige (Chris Sarandon), is a vampire. His suspicions are soon confirmed, but once Jerry realizes that Charley knows his secret, he attempts to kill him. Desperate, Charley seeks help from TV host Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), an actor famous for playing vampire slayers in low-budget horror films, and together they set out to kill Dandrige before he can claim any more victims.
I saw this for the first time maybe 8-10 years ago and was very lukewarm on it then, however I liked it quite a bit more this time. My biggest complaint is that the main character is awful - he's a stupid dweeb and the actor that plays him is completely awful. He's supposed to be a big fan of horror movies, but doesn't know that you can defeat vampires with crosses and garlic? Plus he's a total dick to his girlfriend for most of the film. The kid who plays his friend "Evil Ed" is even worse. Luckily, Chris Sarandon is perfect in his role - he strikes just the right balance between charming and predatory. McDowall is also great, and the film really picks up once he enters the story. There are also a lot of really great special effects throughout, and some excellent atmosphere. The inside of Dandrige's house is basically Dracula's castle, with a huge staircase covered in cobwebs.
If it weren't for the horrible main character/actor, I think I'd be way more into this one, but I do still appreciate it for a being a pretty good vampire film and I can see why so many people really love it. I do think the good far outweighs the bad though, so I still recommend it - it just takes a while to start getting good.
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