HALLOWEEN HORROR DAYS ~ DAY 10: FRIGHT NIGHT

80's horror is an incredible era for the genre. The output of horror films in this decade is astronomical. There's a ton of bad but there is also a lot of good. Among the seminal films of that era is a little vampire homage film titled FRIGHT NIGHT. This film has been remade in recent years with actor Colin Farrell taking on the role of Chris Sarandon's vampire master Jerry Dandrige. If that tells you anything about the classic status of this film.

Charlie Brewster is your typical horror film obsessed teenager with a hottie girlfriend who wants him bad (please suspend your disbelief for a little bit). The decrepit house next door suddenly has a new owner who only seems to come out at night. As the days pass murder reports start showing up on the nightly news. One night, while watching the TV show FRIGHT NIGHT, Charlie looks out his window next door. He sees a beautiful woman in the embrace of his new neighbor. And then he sees his neighbor's fangs.

It's a case of fantasy meets reality for Charlie. As much as he tries to convince everyone that his neighbor is not only responsible for the deaths of all these attractive young women but also a genuine vampire! He becomes so adamant that his friends attempt an intervention. They all go to Mr. Dandrige's house, test him for vampirism, and prove to Charlie once and for all that he is crazy. That's when one of the others notices Jerry doesn't have a reflection. It becomes a race against death as Charlie's friends are picked off one by one and Charlie has to stop the vampire before everyone he loves is gone.

The film has that late Saturday night movie feel. On the surface it doesn't look like much. You dig a little deeper and it surprises you. Chris Sarandon makes a convincing sexual predator. The difficulty with which Charlie has convincing his friends of the truth feels real. And the special effects are almost as good as those in Hellraiser. It's fun. It's scary. It's a solid vampire film to put right up next to the Lost Boys. If you've got a sweet tooth for particular 80's films like Goonies, Back To The Future, Lost Boys, Adventures In Babysitting, this one is another to add to the list.

Overall Ranking: 7 out of 10
Nude-O-Meter: 4 out of 10