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Fright Night Blu-ray or DVD Review
Written by R.J. MacReady
Blu-ray released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Written and directed by Tom Holland
1985, 106 Minutes, Rated R
Released on October 4th, 2022
Starring:
Chris Sarandon as Jerry Dandridge
William Ragsdale as Charley Brewster
Amanda Bearse as Amy Peterson
Stephen Geoffreys as Evil Ed
Roddy McDowall as Peter Vincent
Review:
Here it is, my second-favorite vampire film after The Lost Boys, released in 4K beauty with a host of new extras.
There’s not a lot I can say about this film that hasn’t been said before. Tom Holland was at the top of his game here as he took on his first directorial effort after penning successful movies like The Beast Within, Class of 1984, and the amazing Psycho 2. After Fright Night, he would go on to write and direct another classic, Child’s Play, cementing his status as a Master of Horror.
This movie has the feel of a sixties creature feature infused with some eighties gore and a dash of nudity. As you probably know, it’s about a young man named Charley Brewster who’s obsessed with horror movies. A handsome stranger moves in next door, and Charley suspects he’s a vampire, and enlists the help of his girlfriend, a weirdo named Evil Ed, and television horror host Peter Vincent (played by Roddy McDowall).
There’s no sense going into any more of the plot, because either you’ve seen it and know it by heart, or you haven’t seen it and should just rectify that shit immediately.
This features three discs: One that has the full 4K version of the movie, another that has the regular Blu-ray version plus some special features, then the final disc that contains the rest of the special features.
The special features discs are packed to the brim. I can’t think of anything else they could have put on these that would be of interest to even the hardcore fan.
This is a gorgeous steelbook release featuring the highest resolution the movie has ever been released in, so if you’re a fan of this movie then it’s a must-have.
Video and Audio:
Presented in 2.39:1 aspect ratio, it's a beautiful 4K picture. There’s definitely a bit of grain in some of the darker scenes, but I’d rather the movie retain its film look rather than artificially denoise it and make it look too smooth.
Audio options are English Dolby Atmos (Dolby True HD 7.1 compatible), English, French (PAR) 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English 2-channel surround DTS-HD MA, and Spanish. There are English, English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles for those in need.
Special Features:
Fright Night 35th Anniversary Script Read (157 minutes): Filmed at a benefit for the Democratic National Party of Michigan, this is a special where they got all the original actors back (sans the deceased Roddy McDowall) to do a live table reading of the movie, along with some other special guests like Rosario Dawson, Mark Hamill and more. The feature starts out with Tom Holland showing off some of the original props and prosthetic FX that he has at his house before cutting to a Zoom shot of Holland, who introduces Ben McKenzie(Gotham) as the narrator. What follows is a script reading that alternates between whoever’s talking (sometimes split-screening Zooms) and an occasional cut to the actual movie. It’s fairly entertaining if you’re a fan of the movie, and weird how Amanda Bearse can sound just like her 27-year-old self even though it’s nearly forty years later. Also worth the price of admission is Stephen Geoffrey’s preposterous wig that I’m going to hope he’s wearing for laughs.
The Queer Lens: Bryan Fuller in Conversation with Amanda Bearse (43 minutes): Writer/producer/director Bryan Fuller (Hannibal) interviews Amanda Bearse about the “queerness” of this movie. Personally, I don’t get it, but I’m not gay, though I’ve been called that more than a couple of times. To each their own, though.
A Novel Approach: The Splatterpunk Story of the Fright Night Novelization (8 minutes): Tom Holland via Zoom tells the story of the original Fright Night novelization along with the authors who wrote it, John Skipp and Craig Spector. This short featurette also interviews the publisher who brought the novelization back into print recently.
Deleted Scene Storyboards (8 minutes): Tom Holland introduces via Zoom this section that details a small scene that was deleted due to budgetary reasons, cutting between storyboards Holland himself drew and the actual movie. Another thing I think only purists are going to be interested in.
SFX Storyboard Comparisons (10 minutes): A simple slideshow gallery of storyboards with music in the background that sometimes also cuts to the movie. For purists only who are interested in the process.
Holland/Neyda Spec Trailer With An introduction by Tom Holland (under 3 minutes): A trailer cut by Holland and friend for the studio to give them an idea of how they’d market the movie. Interesting to see because it’s not fully color-corrected and reminded this old dude of when he originally saw it on VHS.
Special Features (ported from other releases):
- Audio Commentary with writer/director Tom Holland, actors Chris Sarandon and Jonathan Stark. Moderated by filmmaker Tim Sullivan.
- Audio Commentary with writer/director Tom Holland, actors William Ragsdale and Stephen Geoffreys, FX artist Randall Cook, moderated by journalist Jeremy Smith and filmmaker Tim Sullivan.
- You’re So Cool, Brewster! The Story of Fright Night.
- What is Fright Night: Tom Holland on Writing Horror.
- Roddy McDowall: From Apes to Bats
- Tom Holland and Amanda Bearse talk Fright Night
- Round Table with Tom, Stephen and William
- Shock Till You Drop Presents Choice Cuts with Tom Holland and Ryan Turek.
- Vintage EPK
- Theatrical Trailers
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