Fright Night

Product Information

When asked his thoughts in 2015, creator Tom Holland replied "Kudos to them on every level for their professionalism, but they forgot the humor and the heart. They should have called it something other than Fright Night, because it had no more than a passing resemblance to the original. What they did to Jerry Dandrige and Peter Vincent was criminal." Smiling, he added "Outside of that, it was wonderful." [52] In other media [ edit ] Comic books [ edit ] Champlin, Charles (March 16, 1985). "Critic At Large: Fangs For Those Memories". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved January 23, 2016.

Once his cast was in place, Holland got input from each of the actors and made numerous revisions to the script. Some were slight and others were major – such as the ending, which originally featured Peter Vincent transforming into a vampire as he returned to host Fright Night. [18] The September 6, 1984, draft of the screenplay, which is circulating online, [4] is very close to the final cut of the film, but a few more changes were still to come.a b "William Ragsdale bio – Fright Night press kit". Archived from the original on October 22, 2009. a b c d e "Fright Night Retrospective Part One: Tom Holland Reflects on the Early Stages of Creating the Seminal Monster Movie". August 23, 2011 . Retrieved September 13, 2014. The film was issued by Columbia/TriStar Home Video on DVD in 1999. This release included a double-sided DVD, which featured the widescreen version of the film on one side, a pan and scan version on the other, and the theatrical trailer on both. Included was a pamphlet with the poster art, five photos, scene selections, and a brief text interview with visual-effects art director John Bruno. The DVD was later issued by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment; this release is missing the pamphlet and bears a different company logo, but is otherwise identical to the previous DVD. In 2008, the film was paired on DVD with Urban Legend, [36] and in 2013, it was issued again as part of the 4 Movie Thrills & Chills Collection, Volume 3 release alongside: The Craft, Monster High, and Brainscan. [37] Chris Sarandon, who portrayed Jerry in the original film, makes a cameo appearance as a motorist killed by the vampire (his character is credited as "Jay Dee", after the initials of his original character).

Tor Books published a novelization, Fright Night, by Craig Spector and John Skipp in 1985. [55] Working from Holland's screenplay, Skipp and Spector only had a month to write the book, so it could be published to coincide with the release of the film. [56] The book follows the story of the film, but includes additional details about the characters and their relationships. [12] The novel has been out of print for decades, and resale prices wildly vary. [ citation needed] In January 2017, Tom Holland announced that he was writing a Fright Night 3 novel, noting that by 2019 he would obtain the rights to the franchise; after which he plans to develop a third movie. [47] a b "Fright Night Retrospective Part Three: Crafting the Ultimate 80s Creature Feature with Tom Holland". August 23, 2011 . Retrieved September 13, 2014. The Peter Vincent character was named after horror icons Peter Cushing and Vincent Price, and Holland specifically wrote the part for Price, [5] [8] but at this point in his career, Price had been so badly typecast that he had stopped accepting roles in horror movies. [11] Guy McElwaine, then the head of Columbia Pictures, suggested Roddy McDowall for the part. [12] McDowall had already starred in the Holland-penned film Class of 1984, so Holland was immediately receptive to the suggestion. "He understood the part", commented Holland, "and he also understood what he could do with it, and he really wanted it!" [7] McDowall was particularly interested in the genesis of the character. "In the film, I perform as being in my late 20s or early 30s in the film clips of my old movies-all the way up to my 60s, when I'm the washed-up has-been", McDowall adding that the role interested him because, "I'd never played anything that old." [13] Holland and McDowall built a lasting friendship, and McDowall eventually invited Holland to a dinner party where he introduced him to Vincent Price, who was flattered that the part was an homage to him and commented that the film "was wonderful and he thought Roddy did a wonderful job." [5]In 2018, Tom Holland announced a new comic series called Tom Holland's Fright Night: The Peter Vincent Chronicles. [54] Novelizations [ edit ] On January 20, 2015, Twilight Time re-released the film on Blu-ray as a 30th-Anniversary Edition, limited to 5,000 copies. The Blu-ray has gone out of print and has been a sought-after collector's item. [39]

Choice Cuts: Tom Holland Interview pt. 2 (3/24/11)". youtube.com. March 24, 2011 . Retrieved September 13, 2014. You're so cool Brewster!"... Story Time with Stephen Geoffreys". encyclopediapsychotika.com. November 11, 2010 . Retrieved September 13, 2014. Maslin, Janeturl= https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9800EEDF1038F931A3575BC0A963948260 (August 2, 1985). "Screen: Fright Night Vampire Tale". New York Times. {{ cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list ( link) In 2011, Intrada Records officially issued the score on CD. Unfortunately, some of the master tapes had gone missing, so some of the music was transferred from lower-quality tapes. The limited-edition 2011 Twilight Time Blu-ray also included the complete isolated score. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four and wrote, " Fright Night is not a distinguished movie, but it has a lot of fun being undistinguished". [33] Variety praised Sarandon's performance, writing that he "is terrific as the vampire, quite affable and debonair until his fingernails start to grow and his eyes get that glow". [34] Colin Greenland gave a negative review for White Dwarf #75, stating "We may be justified in suspecting that a film which has such contempt for its characters has contempt for its audience, too." [35] Accolades [ edit ] Award

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Jonathan Stark was not a fan of vampire films, but he also liked the script. The Billy Cole character was written as a hulking giant, so Stark padded himself with extra clothing when he went in to audition. [8] At auditions, he read the scene in which he is being questioned by the detective, which was written to be played straight. "I'm thinking if I'm sitting there being evil", Stark commented, "the lieutenant's gonna get suspicious. Why not throw him off the trail by being funny?" [8] Holland liked his take on the character, and Stark was told that he had the part – but because he came in to read at the start of the audition process, months passed before filming commenced and Stark worried that he had lost the role. [15] The gap worked to his advantage, however, because it gave him time to hit the gym and bulk up so he would not have to wear padding in the film. [8] a b c " 'Fright Night' Actors and Director Discuss Making The Film". youtube.com. September 22, 2008 . Retrieved September 13, 2014. Robert Koehler of Variety writes, Fright Night has "a cleverly balanced mix of scares and laughs". [17] Box office [ edit ] Charley Brewster is a teenager living in a suburb of Las Vegas, Nevada, who discovers that a new neighbor has moved in next door. Charley's old best friend, Edward "Evil Ed" Lee, informs him that many students have gone missing, including their other childhood friend, Adam Johnson. When Charley goes home after school, his mother, Jane, introduces him to Jerry Dandrige, their new neighbor. Fed-up and angry with Ed after he claims that Jerry is a vampire, Charley tells him that he is crazy and that he does not want to be friends anymore. The official stage adaptation of Fright Night celebrated its world premiere at Carnegie Stage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 5, 2018. It was written and directed by James Michael Shoberg and produced by the Rage of the Stage Players. The original cast included Dan Finkel as Charley Brewster, Elena Cristina Lázaro as Amy Petersen, Greg Crawford as Peter Vincent, Ryan Ott as Billy Cole, Brian Ceponis as Jerry Dandrige, Amanda Anne Leight as Judy Brewster, Corey Shaffer as "Evil" Ed Thompson, Dave Joseph as Lieutenant Detective Lennox, Ryan Frank as Donny, and Edward Bates as Leon. [59] Foreign market [ edit ]