October 22nd, 2014 
Brian Leak 
Of all the holidays celebrated worldwide, no single day is more loved by the UTG staff than Halloween. With the arrival of the year’s best month, the time has finally come to begin rolling out a plethora of features and special announcements we have prepared in celebration of our favorite day, including the one you’re about to read.
Now in its third year, 31 Days Of Halloween is a recurring feature that will run throughout the month of October. The hope and goal of this column is to supply every UTG reader with a daily horror (or Halloween-themed) movie recommendation that is guaranteed to amplify your All Hallows’ Eve festivities. We’ll be watching every film the day it’s featured, and we hope you’ll follow along at home.
[Warning: the material within is likely NSFW]
Day 22: Fright Night (1985)
Since the days of Vampyr, Nosferatu, and even Dracula himself, there have been countless vampire-related films to grace the silver screen, but the 1980s saw somewhat of a surprising drought when it came to notable, blood-sucking action. Films like The Lost Boys, Near Dark, Vampire’s Kiss and even The Monster Squad would come around later in the decade, but before all the comedy and horror found within those features, Tom Holland’s directorial debut — an eventual cult classic — would breathe new life into the genre in 1985.
Fright Night was a film that I had unfortunately overlooked for the majority of my life. It wasn’t until just two years ago that I experienced it for the first time, and when the end credits began to roll as I completed that inaugural viewing, I immediately began kicking myself.
Holland’s Fright Night, before anything, is a ton of fun for horror fans. With perfect measures of all things essential to the genre, you’d be hard-pressed to find a ‘horror hound’ that’s seen the movie and not loved it. There’s a true sense of mystery and dread throughout, elevated by the eerie score and the familiar themes, but there are darkly comedic elements strewn about as well which only make the film that much more enjoyable. One of my favorite aspects of Fright Night, however, is the full use of practical effects. Unsullied by the use of CGI, the original Fright Night is pure visual horror to its core without the aid of over-the-top digital effects. Richard Edlund’s (Ghostbusters, Big Trouble In Little China) time-consuming makeup, puppetry, and other visual manipulations are outstanding and have held up beautifully over the past three decades. I’ll take practical effects over computer-generated ones any day.
Another unique quality of the film is its ability to often feel like a stage play in its flow and delivery, which adds a truly dramatic, theatrical feel to the whole affair. This of course is already inherent in the Dracula-esque production, but the tone is likely due mostly in part to Tom Holland’s roots as a classically-trained actor and his meticulous approach to pre-production for the film. The cast was provided with ample rehearsal time and actually acted out the entire movie on a blocked-out stage as they delved into self-written biographies (suggested by Holland) for each of their respective characters, aiming to more fully understand who they were to become within the story.
Furthermore, when you combine vampire motifs with the ’80s, you have to know you’re going to get some formula that consists of blood, grisly transformations, over-the-top acting and some saxophone-soundtracked sensuality. I mean, what would a vampire film be without some sexual activity, right? Fright Night has it all. With a relatively simple plot in place, the film is carried along by the acting of all involved — regardless of whether or not you think it’s overplayed — along with the necessary effects that help portray everything as needed. On top of that, the film just looks beautiful. The lighting, the camera work, the costumes and set design; it all makes Fright Night a pleasure to watch.
As this isn’t intended to be a synopsis, I wanted to focus more on why this is a film you should have an interest in this Halloween season. Like any great film, it’s better if you take the time to experience it for yourself, rather than have me spoil all the fun. Luckily for us, Fright Night is currently streaming on Netflix, but if you’re not a subscriber (do those people exist?), you can always rent it or just pull the trigger and blindly purchase a copy.
While the trailer below admittedly isn’t the best representation of Fright Night, it, in conjunction with this editorial, might just convince you to spend some time with this dynamic, ’80s horror classic, no matter how cheesy you might end up believing it to be.
Editorial written by: Brian Lion
Last year’s Day 22 film: Saw
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