Fright Night (1985)

Directed by Tom Holland. Starring William Ragsdale, Roddy McDowall, Chris Sarandon, Amanda Bearse, Stephen Geoffreys, Dorothy Fielding, Jonathan Stark, Art Evans. [R]

Here’s an outlandish but ingenious premise: a vampire (Sarandon) moves in next door to suburban teen Ragsdale, but no one will believe him, so he enlists the aid of a former low-budget horror movie actor (McDowall) who’s currently hosting a television horror program called “Fright Night” that re-airs creature features. McDowall is as skeptical as anyone else at first, but once he catches on, his deep knowledge of vampire movie lore could prove quite beneficial. Funny deconstruction of vampire mythos and tropes; its knowing sense of humor makes for a savvy counterpoint to the mild frights, Dale Brady and Bill Sturgeon’s makeup and creature work, and Richard Edlund’s nifty special effects. Writer/director Holland brings the requisite style to the proceedings, though energy is sometimes lacking, and a little more build-up to the climactic confrontation would have gone further toward “giving ‘em their money’s worth,” the key motivation behind the B-pics that McDowall’s character once filled. Ragsdale is a bit of a dud as the protagonist, but McDowall and especially self-assertive Sarandon are a lot of fun. Followed by a sequel, and remade in 2011.

70/100