We couldn't leave out this October without at least one vampire movie, now, could we? Nothing can top Lifeforce, but there's plenty others to look at. Here's a quick review at one cult piece from 1985--it's Fright Night. For real.
William Ragsdale plays Charlie Brewster, a suburban teenage kid with an obsession for horror movies, and a programming block hosted by Roddy McDowall's vampire hunter-themed host Peter Vincent (like Vincent Price, geddit?). Brewster's obsession is played by his weirdo friend Evil Ed Thompson (Stephen Geoffreys), who delivers his performance like his character just consumed fifteen espressos, and only gets more over the top later on. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that when a certain Jerry Dandridge moves next door to Brewster, and starts acting odd in certain ways, certain suspicions come into play--like, say, him being a bloodsucking creature of the night. That happens to be taking out a mortgage.
Naturally, it's all due to Brewster's TV-addled overactive imagination, and merely a reflection of suburban paranoia--well, okay, no, Jerry really is a vampire. But he's managed to etch himself into the canon of movie nosferatus with Chris Sarandon's charismatic performance--one that he uses to start ensnaring friends and loved ones of Brewster's to put under his thrall. You've got one memorable scene in a nightclub where Jerry isolates and steals away Amanda Bearses' Amy, which in fairness is kind of tense even with the eighties fashions crowding the screen.
McDowall's Peter Vincent is also a lot of fun--as a washed-out and cynical TV star, he plays along with Brewster's not unjustified paranoia, but of course eventually cottons on to the truth. There's more than a little bit of classic Peter Cushing being channeled, but when you're fighting vampires in the old-school way, you'll probably find yourself trilling your rrrrrs while spouting off sanguine lore as well.
Near the climax, the film gets stuck in with performances that decide that subtlety is for losers, and all manner of prosthetic and creature effects of varying quality. It gets more than a little cheesy, but just fun enough to hold you--even if the tone sways about a little drastically at points.
Still, with some of the standouts involved, it's easy to see why Fright Night ended up a cult classic despite some odd moments. There's talk about LGBT subtext involved, but if you want a more upfront take on that which also happens to be an eighties vampire film, check out Lost Boys. I'm not quite as adoring of either film as some are, but I'm happy to give them a watch here and there.
Oh, and there was also the remake in 2010, starring the sadly prematurely departed Anton Yelchin, and most memorably, the best Doctor Who himself--David Tenant. The remake, while it didn't really diverge too far plot-wise, was actually a fair amount of fun in and of itself, especially next to far crummier attempts to redo eighties entries (and despite cheesy CG replacing cheesy 80s FX). Depending on my mood, I might actually prefer it a smidge more than the original--maybe just because of Tenant bringing his A-game to a performance as the horror host that easily tops McDowall's for the ham factor.
Check out either if you want--but in the meantime, we've got some more monster types to look at before Samhaim rolls over...
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