For next week's screening, we are moving away from the demented serial killer genre and focusing on a more traditional horror movie villain: the vampire. Beginning with F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu in 1922, the vampire has been a reliable figure in the horror genre and was established fully by Bela Lugosi's famous portrayal in Todd Browning's Dracula in 1931. Since then, there have been countless movies made utilizing the legendary creatures of the night. They hay-day of these horror icons is arguably in the late 1950's through the 1970's with the Hammer Films organization based out of the United Kingdom. Hammer Films produced at least 8 Dracula films from 1960 to about 1974. After all the success and popularity of the Hammer films, however, the vampire genre films became less appealing to audiences and the vampire began to fade from the silver screen.
Then came the '80s...
Film audiences experienced a healthy resurgence of vampire-themed horror films in the 1980's, but this time it did not come from the U.K. This rebirth of the vampire movie came from the American film industry. The '80s was a decade dominated by horror movies. The '80's gave birth to a number of successful horror movie franchises as well: Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Child's Play (Chucky), and Hellraiser. These franchises, and most of their sequels, came out in the '80s and are still active today. The franchises, however, are just the tip of the iceberg. The number of stand-alone horror films from this decade is staggering and the vampire film benefited from this greatly.
One of these films has made its way into this year's Halloween Movie Madness: Fright Night. Fright Night was released in 1985 and was directed by Tom Holland (who would later direct Child's Play as well.) Fright Night was Holland's first directing gig (he also wrote the film) and established him as a premier director in the horror genre. It contains your classic "boy who cried wolf" plot line. The movie follows Charlie Brewster as he tries to convince his friends that a vampire (played by Chris Sarandon) has moved in next door. He goes so far as to ask Peter Vincent, the local horror movie television host and legendary vampire-killer, to help him. Of course no one believes him and, as always, it takes some drastic occurrences for them to see the truth.
The movie works really well as it blends elements of horror and comedy, and a little bit of teenage romance, seamlessly. The script is incredibly funny and witty and the actors do a tremendous job of using to create some unforgettable characters. Not least of which is the Peter Vincent character played the one and only Roddy McDowell. McDowell's performance is what makes the movie as memorable as it is. He basks in the absurdity of his character's life and screen career and brings a lot of truth to the part. He is so much fun to watch in this film, as are the other actors as well (Amanda Bearse, the love interest in the film, would later go on to become the annoying neighbor, Marcy D'Arcy, in the "Married with Children" sitcom.)
As I mentioned before, Fright Night was just one of many vampire films that emerged in the '80s to renewed excitement and welcome. Others include, Once Bitten (with a young Jim Carrey), The Hunger (David Bowie, Susan Sarandon), Vampire's Kiss (Nicholas Cage), and, most famously, The Lost Boys with Kiefer Sutherland. Now, the natural thing to ask would be why were these films so successful and accepted after audiences had grown tired of the vampire genre. According to Tom Holland, the vampire movie genre was in desperately needed redefining. In fact, that was his goal in writing Fright Night. According to Holland, almost all vampire movies were Gothic period pieces set in Victorian-era England with women in gowns, horse-drawn carriages, and high English accents. This is what Holland wanted to get away from with his movie and give the audiences a vampire story set in modern day that they could relate to and give them a vampire that could easily pass for any one's next door neighbor. Well, redefine the vampire genre Tom Holland did. With Fright Night and The Lost Boys, the vampire genre in movies is no longer constricted to Gothic period pieces. They opened the doors for writers and directors to take vampire movies in completely new directions.
One last thought before I end this post...
If, after reading this far, you are wondering why I chose to screen Fright Night instead of The Lost Boys, you are not alone. As I was writing the above passages, I began to wonder that myself. Yes, personally, I do prefer Fright Night over The Lost Boys, but there is more to it than that as I think about it. Both of these films would be adequate choices for any horror movie series and are excellent examples of their genre. My reasoning for choosing Fright Night for the Freedom Film Series is two-fold. First, I think the comedic elements give Fright Night an added bonus in that the comedy does not distract from the horror, as it is apt to do in other films. And second, Fright Night is not as well-known. The Lost Boys is definitely the more popular of the two and, I'm sure, has been seen by more people. With the Freedom Film Series, I like to try exposing people to new films that have been flying under the radar for years. Though Fright Night may not be as under the radar as other films, it definitely takes a back-seat to The Lost Boys.
So, I hope you will join us next Wednesday, October 15, at 6:00pm as we watch Fright Night here at Freedom Regional Public Library. The screening will be free of charge and free popcorn will be served to those who attend the movie. Hope to see you there!
Until next time....
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