Fright Night

"There are some very good reasons to be afraid of the dark."

1985 1h 47m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 1,623

ComedyHorror

Synopsis

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Charley Brewster, a high school student, accidentally discovers the true and creepy nature of Jerry Dandrige, his dashing and enigmatic new neighbor; but no one seems willing to believe him.

“There are some very good reasons to be afraid of the dark.”

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Cast

Chris Sarandon
Jerry Dandrige
William Ragsdale
Charley Brewster
Amanda Bearse
Amy Peterson
Roddy McDowall
Peter Vincent
Stephen Geoffreys
Evil Ed
Jonathan Stark
Billy Cole
Dorothy Fielding
Judy Brewster
Art Evans
Detective Lennox

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Tom Holland
Writers: Tom Holland
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

41 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Fright Night Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Tom Holland, shot by Jan Kiesser. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Brad Fiedel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Kent Beyda shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Chris Sarandon and William Ragsdale and Amanda Bearse carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "There are some very good reasons to be afraid of the dark.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0089175 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Tom Holland directs. Jan Kiesser behind the camera. Brad Fiedel scores. Kent Beyda cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

141 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Part of the "Fright Night Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Tom Holland, shot by Jan Kiesser. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Brad Fiedel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Kent Beyda shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Chris Sarandon and William Ragsdale and Amanda Bearse carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "There are some very good reasons to be afraid of the dark.".
8IMDB entry: tt0089175 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jan Kiesser
Original score: Brad Fiedel
Editing: Kent Beyda
Production design: John DeCuir Jr.
Makeup / hair: Ken Diaz
Sound: David E. Campbell
Stunt coordinator: Bill Couch Jr.
Runtime: 107 min · 1h 47m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $9,000,000
Box office: $24,922,237
Return: 277% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Fright Night (1985)

Part of

Fright Night Collection

Fright Night is a 1985 American horror film written and directed by Tom Holland and produced by Herb Jaffe. It stars William Ragsdale, Chris Sarandon, Roddy McDowall and Amanda Bearse. The film was released on August 2, 1985 and was followed by a sequel, Fright Night Part II (1988).

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Tom Holland

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What people are saying

John Chard2018-12-09
★ 8/10
Feeling like a time warp now, but oh so much fun and frights. Viewing this for the first time in 20 years really put a smile on my face, now I know that for after having just watched a horror film that may not be the best guideline you will ever read, but the film has it's tongue firmly in cheek and it doesn't come up short on the thrill factor. You will read other reviews stating that the film is a little cheesy and a little dated, and sure, in this day and age of gorno and ultimate slash kill death murder movies, the film can be judged as tame alongside the big box office ghoul movies. But from a personal point of view I got such a kick out of watching a good honest genre piece that shows love, care, and entertainment rolled into one movie. Perhaps I'm the old fart who is so desensitised to blood horror these days? Perhaps I live in the past too much? So what? It matters not because as long as there are delightful genre pieces like this to remind me that the 80s horror crowd had some knowing style, then I'm a happy bunny. Cute teens embroiled in Vampire next door plot is about the make up of the film. No one believes the central guy of the piece (William Ragsdale as Charley Brewster), but he convinces TV Vampire Slayer Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowell) to join his quest to rid the neighbourhood of the murdering menace living next door. The film has the love interest in peril (Amanda Bearse), it has the grossly annoying best friend (Stephen Geoffreys) - and boy is he annoying! And it has all the homages to the horror classics gone by you could wish to have. Such guts and gusto went into making this film I felt like clapping at the end. It's aware of the horror competition when you catch some of the dialogue, so it should never be allowed to become a perceived cheesy relic, because this is 1985 and it rocks for those that remember when horror had a glint in its eye instead of a sabre through its head. 8/10
John Critic2022-03-25
★ 10/10
5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My personal favorite horror film of all time that has a favorite death scene of mine that compares to the one and only Wizard of Oz!!!