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Showing posts with the label Chris Sarandon

Retro Review: Fright Night (1985)

Fright Night is the first horror movie I saw in a theatre, and it scared the crap right out of me. I'd seen scary movies before, but at home on TV. I knew well and good vampires weren't real, but I wasn't prepared for the immersive experience of seeing a vampire movie on a giant Vancouver screen with full audience participation, not to mention big-budget gore and special effects. It terrified and excited me, and I was hooked! Fright Night doesn't scare me anymore. Hundreds of viewings have diminished its impact to do so. But it has aged really, really well, and the effects still have an impact. I'm a particular fan of the almost demonic vampire makeup. No glittery, Emo douchebags here! Chris Sarandon is probably my favourite vampire ever put on screen. He's charming and funny, but is also monstrous and scary. Pretty much everything a vampire should be. And I get why all the ladies would flock to him. This is an iconic horror villain. It goes without ...

The Month of Horror Day 27: Fright Night (1985)

Basement contributor Matt Bellamy has taken it upon himself to watch and review at least one horror movie a day for the month of October . . . because he's awesome that way! For the latest installment in his series, Bellamy welcomes us . . . to Fright Night!   "Welcome to... Fright Night! For real". There were two movies I watched on regular rotation by the time I was four years old, the first was Jaws, and the other was this horror gem. I recall the first time I saw the trailer for the new remake in theatres, many younger people verbally complained "what a rip-off of Disturbia!", I simply shook my head, they really had no idea. Not like the 1985 original didn't borrow heavily from anything else *cough* Rear Window *cough* but simply added vampires into the mix, which is A-OK with me! The remake was solid, I enjoyed it but everything about the original is better; the actors, the vampires, even some ...

Retro Review: Fright Night

I first saw this movie back in 1985. It's the first horror film I watched in a theatre and it scared the crap out of me. Now it's just a great funhouse ride of laughs, scares and gruesome, but fun, visual effects. Chris Sarandon is just awesome as the vampire and Roddy McDowall is a joy to watch as Peter Vincent: Vampire Killer. This was made back when horror movies, and movies in general, were a lot of fun and it shows. I find it hard to believe the remake will have anywhere near the energy and wit writer/director Tom Holland put into every frame of his movie. A Good for me.