Meet Jerry Dandrige. He’s sweet, sexy, and he likes to sleep in late. You might think he’s the perfect neighbor. But before inviting Jerry in for a nightcap, there’s just one thing you should know. Jerry prefers his drinks warm, red, and straight from the jugular! It’s FRIGHT NIGHT, a horrific howl starring Chris Sarandon as the seductive vampire and William Ragsdale as the frantic teenager struggling to keep Jerry’s deadly fangs out of his neck. Only 17-year-old Charley Brewster (Ragsdale) knows Jerry’s bloodcurdling secret. When Charley can’t get anybody to believe him, he turns to TV horror host Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), who used to be the “Great Vampire Killer” of the movies. Can these mortals save Charley and his sweetheart Amy (Amanda Bearse) from the wrathful bloodsucker’s toothy embrace? If you love being scared, FRIGHT NIGHT…will give you the nightmare of your life.
For thoughts on Fright Night (1985), please check out my overview here.
For additional thoughts on Fright Night (1985), please check out our unboxing on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
The new 4K UHD Blu-Ray debut of Fright Night (1985) offers a tremendous uptick in quality over the accompanying Blu-Ray, which is sourced from the same 4K master. This release is derived from a 4K scan of the Original Camera Negative, and it is presented with Dolby Vision/HDR, which offers numerous improvements that allows the film to look the best it ever has. While not a candy-colored example of ‘80s excess, the expansion of the color spectrum gives more nuance to the hues than previously thought possible. Colors within the costumes and various elements of the production design are revitalized with this technology. As we well know, vampire activity takes place largely at night, so it is important to have strong black levels. Throughout every scene, the shadows stay deep and inky with terrific line detail. The highlights in the film are no slouch with the whites compact and balanced with no instances of blooming to be found.
No one should complain about the sumptuous film grain present in this transfer which resolves comfortably without being clumpy or unnatural. Even the most complex gradients do not betray the picture with loose grain or banding, always leaving a great impression. Skin tones appear natural with healthy doses of fine detail apparent on faces such as the textured skin of the vampires. Costumes and other textural output of the production design is simply marvelous to behold with everything rendering without any issues. With this release, you will find a vast array of details that are visible thanks to the 4K resolution. There is a touch of softness that can be spotted in some shots, but it is not a monumental issue. Sony has thankfully not had any digital tinkering applied to this transfer, so this disc is free of DNR, compression artifacts and other encode issues. Sony has delivered one of their five-star presentations for fans.
Audio Quality
This 4K UHD Blu-Ray provides a brand new Dolby Atmos track that brings a substantial amount of spirit to this world. The 4K UHD Blu-Ray also provides two additional English options including a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track and the original soundtrack in lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio. After at least heavily sampling all of them, we can say they are all pretty great in their own ways, but there are some small marks against some of them. For example, those who choose to embark with the original 2.0 track will be delighted to hear the audio as originally intended, but you will also soon notice that the source utilized has not been cleaned up much at all as it exhibits some age-related popping and general wear.
With the Atmos track, you will find one of the more tastefully constructed tracks we have heard in some time. There is still a natural emphasis on the front channels for dialogue and other primary sounds, but you will be blown away by how the activity extends to the surrounds, rears and overhead speakers to make the world feel more immersive and all-consuming in a way you will not soon forget. Dialogue is crisp and clear without ever getting trampled by the music or sound effects. Atmospheric sound effects are presented with care within the mix so that directionality is never an issue. There are panning moments between speakers that will have you whipping your head around with concern that something has breached your viewing area. The sounds up above are quite a treat, such as Jerry walking on the roof. The low end effects from the subwoofer give pivotal moments extra weight to enrich the experience. The period-appropriate soundtrack blasts throughout the room in an effective manner.
It is this last point which brings us our one big flaw with the Atmos track, which is the elimination of lyrics from the song “Good Man In A Bad Time” when Jerry enters the club and connects with Amy. The lyrics are present in both the 5.1 and 2.0 tracks, so this feels like an unintended error during the creation of the Atmos track. Other than this screw up, the Atmos track is an absolute crowd pleaser from beginning to end. The 5.1 track seems to be a good middle ground between the age spots of the 2.0 track and the lyric mess up in the Atmos presentation if these issues are enough to bother you. Sony has more issues than normal with these tracks, but they are still quite great all things considered.
Special Features
Sony has provided Fright Night (1985) with a sleek new SteelBook featuring artwork that is truly lovely in person. The front artwork is the classic poster art of the cloud vampire, and the rear features Jerry in vampire mode. The interior sports a solid turquoise appearance that is not creative in any particular way. Video of the SteelBook can be found at the top of this review.
Blu-Ray (Disc Two)
- Audio Commentary #1: Writer/Director Tom Holland and Actors Chris Sarandon & Jonathan Stark provide a great commentary track moderated by Filmmaker Tim Sullivan in which they discuss their homages to their favorite films growing up, the state of horror films of the time, experience with Peter Cushing in other films, motivations behind certain character choices, shots that were ruined by a rogue hair, seeing the movie with an audience and more.
- Audio Commentary #2: Writer/Director Tom Holland, Actors William Ragsdale & Stephen Geoffreys, FX Artist Randall Cook provide a fun commentary track moderated by Journalist Jeremy Smith and Filmmaker Tim Sullivan. In this companion track, the subjects discuss the origins of the film, memories from the production of the film, the tonal balance, and much more. There is a small bit of overlapping information, but they both provide some great information.
- Deleted Scenes Storyboard: A new eight-minute piece with director Tom Holland in which he shows off the storyboards of a scene that was deleted due to production cost while also reading from the script to give you a well-rounded sense of what could have been.
- You’re So Cool, Brewster! The Story Of Fright Night: A truly terrific and comprehensive 2 hour and 27 minute documentary which takes an all-encompassing look at the film from nearly every angle via a plethora of interviews with the cast and creative team, clips from the film, script excerpts and more. These interviews allow you insight into the events that led to this production, how the story and cast was assembled, how the craft side of things came together, the film’s enduring legacy and more. This is one of the best movie-specific documentaries I have ever seen, and it is nearly worth the price of admission alone.
- What Is Fright Night: An 11-minute piece in which the cast and crew discuss Tom Holland’s script, how the film harkens back to classic horror films, how it impacted the horror genre and more.
- Tom Holland – Writing Horror: A nine-minute piece in which the writer/director discusses his enduring love for horror films, his approach to acting and writing, what he brought to the genre, and more.
- Holland/Beyda Spec Trailer With An Introduction by Tom Holland: A two-and-a-half minute trailer created in order to convey the proper tone of the film as explained by the writer/director.
- Theatrical Trailer: This disc provides the Original Theatrical Trailer “R” Rating (1:26) and Original Theatrical Trailer “G” Rating (1:22)
Special Features Blu-Ray (Disc Three)
- Fright Night 35th Anniversary Script Read: A massive 2 hour and 37 minute virtual reunion which begins with Tom Holland giving a small tour of some props from the film before diving into the script reading with the original cast and some special guests such as Ben McKenzie, Rosario Dawson, Jason Patric, and Mark Hamill filling in for Roddy McDowall. There are some great conversations had about the film after the script reading is done, as well.
- The Queer Lens – Bryan Fuller In Conversation with Amanda Bearse: A new 43-minute conversation between Fright Night aficionado Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Queer for Fear: The History of Queer Horror) and Fright Night star Amanda Bearse about embracing the unintended Queer subtext, the links between vampires and sexuality, the evocative imagery that gives a metaphorical power to this content, tapping into life experiences within some aspects of her performance and much more that makes for a fascinating supplement.
- A Novel Approach – The Splatterpunk Story Of The Fright Night Novelization: An eight-minute featurette with Tom Holland, Fright Night novelization authors John Skipp and Craig Spector, and publisher Mark Alan Miller in which they discuss how the novelization came to be, what inspired them about the material, how they adapted the material to book form, the legacy of the work and more.
- Roddy McDowall – From Apes To Bats: A 21-minute piece in which the cast and creative team behind Fright Night reflect on the late, great Roddy McDowall, his presence on the set, the talent he had both in front of and behind the camera, the depth of knowledge of Hollywood history he had at his disposal, memories of working with one another and more.
- Tom Holland and Amanda Bearse Talk Fright Night: A 30-minute conversation between the director and star of Fright Night in which they discuss Roddy McDowall, the collaborative nature of the production, memories of shooting certain scenes, the landscape of the movie industry of the time, the legacy of the feature and more.
- Round Table with Tom, Stephen and William: A 17-minute conversation between the director and two stars in which they discuss the legacy of the film, memories from the production and more that highlights the relationship between these individuals.
- Shock Till You Drop Presents Choice Cuts with Tom Holland and Ryan Turek: A 28-minute conversation which brings more of a fan perspective to the questions asked of Holland which allows the director to hit some of the same beats while providing some exclusive tidbits that fans will love that cover beyond Fright Night.
- First Ever Fright Night Reunion Panel – Fear Fest 2 (2008): A 55-minute panel in which Holland and the cast gather to discuss the film in depth including its origins, anecdotes from the set, memories of McDowall, their most memorable scenes and more.
- Weekend Of Hell Panel with Amanda and Stephen: A 13-minute panel from Germany in 2015 with Stephen Geoffreys and Amanda Bearse in which the pair discuss what drew them to the project, working with the legendary Roddy McDowall and more.
- Vintage EPK with Behind-The-Scenes Raw Footage: A 95-minute archival featurette from the time the film was made in which you get various videos and interviews about the film primarily from the cast and creative team discussing the film and their place within the production.
- SFX Storyboard Comparisons: Four sequences totaling 10 minutes are provided here which give you a look at the early storyboards created for the film and how they compare to what we got on screen.
- Photo Galleries: Three photo galleries are provided here of Unit Photography, Special Effects and Tom Holland.
Final Thoughts
Fright Night (1985) is a classic within the horror genre thanks to its clever script, impeccable direction and peerless balancing of humor and terror. The story itself is obviously derivative of Rear Window, but it brings enough personality to the proceedings to feel fresh and relevant. The ensemble does a great job of establishing characters who continue to radiate through certain segments of popular culture all of these years later. This is just such a fun movie all around. Sony Pictures has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring a stellar A/V presentation and more special features than you will ever know what to do with – all in a fetching SteelBook packaging. If you are a fan of this film, this is a no brainer to pick up a cherish for years and years to come. Highly Recommended
Fright Night (1985) is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.