The forerunner to self-aware horror films like Wes Craven's "Scream," "Fright Night" is a smart, scary gem that might just be too smart to be true schlock.
"Fright Night" is the story of teenager Charlie Brewster (William Ragsdale), who has two loves: his girlfriend Amy (Amanda Bearse, who went on to fame as Al Bundy's neighbor Marcy in "Married, With Children"), and old horror movies, specifically vampire flicks starring the Cushing-esque Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), who used to be a star but now hosts a late-night show (similar to Indy's Sammy Terry) where he introduces his own movies.
When Charlie spots the new neighbor moving in, at first he think's he's seeing things as he watches them carry a coffin to the basement. Soon, a rash of young women are popping up dead, and Charlie begins to think the neighbor, who his mother thinks is just a nice handsome man named Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon, Susan's ex-husband) may be the vampire to blame.
When no one else will believe him, Charlie approaches Peter, who...doesn't believe him. But things go from bad to worse when Dandridge starts to threaten Charlie and his friends.
The film's standout performance has to be Stephen Geoffreys, who plays Charlie's pal Evil Ed, Charlie's nerdy horror movie buff pal. Evil is perfectly over-the-top and brings a new dimension and sense of fun, and never allows the film to stray too far from the ridiculous.
Ed does mark one of the first horror-movie characters to be aware of horror movie conventions (and who got his knowledge from watching horror movies), and helps arm Charlie with garlic, crosses and holy water to defend himself against his fanged adversary.
There are other spoofs of the genre, including the film's opening, where the movie Charlie is watching includes some hilariously campy dialog, punctuated by Peter Vincent entering the scene to slay the vampire, only to hold aloft his stake...backwards.
That is, of course, until Dandridge targets Ed, presenting him an offer he can't refuse.
McDowall also gives a wonderful performance playing the ultimate actor's nightmare: he has to play the role he's famous for in a real-life setting where the stakes are literally your life.
Sarandon is suave and charming, and his black vampire cape is played by a gray leather trenchcoat that was awfully snazzy at the time, and once he decides to go full-bore against Charlie, the game is on. He's a vicious, heartless character who tells the kid what he's going to do, then does it with a smug smirk.
There are solid gore effects where necessary, including a scene where a character transforms into a werewolf-like creature, another where a character melts, and various vampire transformations.
"Fright Night" is absolutely essential for anyone looking for a good fright, a laugh, and a fun look back at the decade of excess in all its glory.