Fright Night (1985)



Fright Night is a 1985 American horror film written and directed by Tom Holland (in his directorial debut) and produced by Herb Jaffe. It stars William Ragsdale, Chris Sarandon, Roddy McDowall, Amanda Bearse, Jonathan Stark, Dorothy Fielding, Stephen Geoffreys, and Art Evans. The film follows young Charley Brewster, who discovers that his next-door neighbor Jerry Dandrige is a vampire. When no one believes him, Charley decides to get Peter Vincent, a TV show host who acted in films as a vampire hunter, to stop Jerry's killing spree.

Plot
17-year-old Charley Brewster is a fan of both traditional horror films and a horror TV series entitled Fright Night, hosted by former movie vampire hunter Peter Vincent. One evening, Charley discovers that his new next door neighbor Jerry Dandrige, is a vampire responsible for the disappearances of several victims. Charley tells his mother and asks his friends for help. In desperation, he contacts the authorities. Detective Lennox goes with Charley to Jerry's house to question him, but his "roommate" Billy Cole tells them that Jerry is "away on business". Charley reveals his suspicions, and the detective leaves furiously. That night, Charley is surprised to see Jerry in his house after his mother invites him in (after Charley's friend "Evil Ed" Thompson tells him that a vampire can't enter someone's home without an invitation). Later on, Charley gets a visit from Jerry, who offers Charley a choice: forget about his vampire identity - or else. Charlie refuses, brandishing his crucifix at Jerry. When Jerry stops Charley and slowly tries to push him out the window to his death, Charley stabs Jerry's hand with a pencil. Enraged, Jerry destroys Charley's car in retaliation and informs Charley that he will do much worse to him tomorrow night.

Charley turns to Peter Vincent for help, but Peter dismisses Charley as an obsessed fan. Charley's girlfriend, Amy Peterson, fearing for Charley's sanity and safety, hires the destitute Vincent to "prove" that Jerry is not a vampire by having him drink what they claim is "holy water", but it is only tap water; Jerry has claimed to Peter that drinking actual holy water would be against his religious convictions. Vincent discovers Jerry's true nature after glancing at his pocket mirror and noticing Jerry's lack of a reflection, causing him to accidentally drop and smash the mirror. Vincent then flees, but Jerry learns of his discovery after finding a shard of glass on the floor.

Jerry hunts down Ed and turns him into a vampire. Ed then visits Vincent and, revealing himself, tries to attack him, only to be warded off when burned by a crucifix. Meanwhile, Jerry chases Charley and Amy into a nightclub. While Charley is trying to call the police for help, Jerry hypnotizes and abducts Amy, who bears a resemblance to Jerry's lost love, and bites her after an intimate moment. With nowhere left to turn, Charley attempts to gain Vincent's help once more. A frightened Vincent initially refuses, but he then reluctantly resumes his "Vampire Killer" role as Charley approaches his neighbor's house. The two are able to repel Jerry's attack using a crucifix, though only Charley's works since he has faith in its spiritual power. Billy appears and knocks Charley unconscious over the banister, leaving Vincent to flee to Charley's house. There he is surprised by Ed, who attacks him in the form of a wolf, only to be pierced through the heart with a broken table leg held by Vincent. Removing the stake from Ed's corpse, Vincent goes to rescue Charley and battle Dandridge.

Meanwhile, Charley is locked in with Amy, who is slowly transforming into a vampire. Vincent manages to free him before she awakens, and says the process can be reversed if they destroy Jerry before dawn. Charley and Vincent are then confronted by Billy, who is revealed to be an undead, though non-vampiric servant, and manage to destroy him, melting him into goo and sand. Jerry appears, but Vincent is able to lure the overconfident vampire in front of a window using a crucifix (now working due to his renewed faith in its abilities). Just before the morning sun, Jerry transforms into a bat and attacks Vincent and Charley before fleeing to his coffin in the basement. Charley and Vincent pursue Jerry; Vincent breaks open Jerry's coffin and tries to stake him through the heart while Charley fights off Amy, who has almost completed her transformation. By breaking the blacked-out windows in the basement, Vincent and Charley expose Jerry to the sunlight, destroying him. Jerry's destruction leads to Amy reverting to her human form, and the three embrace.

A few nights later, Vincent returns to his Fright Night TV series and announces a hiatus from vampires by instead presenting Octaman. The series is being watched by Charley and Amy as they embrace in bed. As Charley gets up to turn off the TV, he at first sees red eyes in Jerry's now-vacant house, but dismisses them. Unbeknownst to both Charley and Amy, the still undead Ed (hiding in the darkness) laughs and says, "Oh, you're so cool, Brewster!"