PROM NIGHT (1980) (Synapse Films Blu-ray Review)

PROM NIGHT (1980)

Special Edition Blu-ray 

Label: Synapse Films

Region Code: A

Rating: R

Duration: 93 Minutes

Audio: DTS-HD MA 5.1, DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.78:1)

Director: Paul Lynch

Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Leslie Nielsen, Eddie Benton, Casey Stevens

Life at Hamilton High sure can be murder - particularly when you belong to a group of teens whom six years previously made a pact to hide the truth of their friend's death. At the top of the film a group of five kids play a mean spirited variation of hide and seek called "killers" in which they stalk a victim and chant "the killer is coming" inside of what appears to be an abandoned school, it's a creepy set-up.

A young girl named Robin is chased down a hallway by the four kids during the game and backed-up against a window of which she falls through to her death two stories below onto a broken window pane. The four kids not wanting to get into trouble make a pact to keep what happened a secret. Hours later her body is discovered and the death a known sex offender in the area is blamed for the crime. The sex offender flees from the police when they come for him only to crash and burn in a car wreck. Scarred by burns we are told he has been sent to the State Hospital. 

Flash forward six years later and the four kids are high school seniors at Hamilton High and have apparently kept their vow of secrecy. Among them we have the blond bombshell Wendy (Anne-Marie Martin), Jude (Joy Thompson), Kelly (Mary Beth Rubens), and Nick (Casey Stevens) all preparing to attend the prom - the prom theme is "Disco Madness"  - which in 1980 was already dated. Enter into the picture Robin's surviving twin brother Alex (Michael Tough) and older sister Kim (Jamie Lee Curtis) plus their father Mr. Hammond (Leslie Nielsen) and wife Vivian (Antoinette Bower). 

Wendy's a white-hot bitch at war with the much nicer Kim, the beef is over her choice of prom date - Wendy's ex Nicky. Then we have the virginal Kelly and her boyfriend Drew (Jeff Wincott) who is on a mission to deflower her. There's a nice bit of comic relief with cute Jude and her jokester boyfriend Slick (Sheldon Rybowksi). The scene where they meet is fun as Slick rolls up on her in his Chevy van and makes a pass which somehow works.  

Alex and Kim are the children of school principal Mr. Hammond and are well liked by everyone with the exception of Wendy and uni-brow burnout Lou (David Mucci). Lou and Wendy are obvious knock-offs of the Travolta and Nancy Allen characters in Brian De Palma's adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie (1976), it is also cashing-in on the success of Saturday Night Fever (1977) and John Carpenter's Halloween (1978). 

After the effectively creepy opening at the abandoned school the film slows down quite a bit which is to say slow by any modern movie convention which allows ample time to set-up the character before the bloodletting begins. During this time the teens receive threatening phone calls from a raspy-voiced weirdo and someone posts pictures of them inside their lockers with a broken shard of glass taped to them - which is sort of threatening. These scenes provide a decent amount of suspense leading up to the final stretch. It so happens that the prom falls on the anniversary of Robin's death - we see her family visiting the cemetery and how hard it is on her slightly deranged mother. Additionally the suspect in her murder has escaped the asylum and the nurse he took hostage is found murdered at the abandoned school igniting fears that the killer may strike again. 

The prom does not actually begin until about an hour into the movie and the deaths don't start for another 10 minutes after that.  Once the disco dancing starts the kids are dispatched in quick succession but not before some prolonged disco dancing sequences, it should be noted that Jamie Lee Curtis has got some serious moves on the dance floor - this is seriously the Saturday Night Fever of slashers. 

The set-ups for each kill are decent even though they are not graphic and the camera turns away just before the actual slicing and dicing which is a damn shame. The first kill happens inside the locker room after an unsuccessful deflowering attempt. It's a notable scene as it is the only bit of nudity in the film, I felt a lot of sympathy for this character. My favorite set-up features young lovers coupling in the back of a Chevy sex van - these two are sweet and fun couple and seeing them go was pretty sad - one of the benefits of spending time with characters before they die is you start to develop a fondness for them. It was also quite sad to see that sweet Van go up in a fiery explosion!

White-hot bitch Wendy has the most prolonged stalk and slash sequence when she is chased throughout the school and into the auto shop where the feisty bitch manages to put a hurting on our masked murderer if only momentarily when a chained door stops her escape. While most of the kills are just off screen the scene the film most known for is a sweet decapitation with the severed head rolling out onto the dance floor as horrified disco dancing teens look upon it and panic - this is the one kill where the film revels in the gore and it's quite nice. 

Prom Night sets-up more red-herrings than pretty much any other whodunit. You have quite a choice of potential culprits. It could be the escaped sex fiend or maybe the creepy gardener. It might even be Mr. or Mrs. Hammond! You just never know, the one thing I can safely say is that the first time I watched it I had a notion of who I thought it would be and I was wrong. One might say that the movie doesn't earn the reveal at the end of the film but there's a nice dynamic at play during the final scenes that smooth that over for me. 

The appearance of the masked-killer here is very simple, a balaclava and dark tight-fitting clothing, probably a bit too simple to inspire a franchise but apparently not as we have three sequels though it should be noted that none of them seem overly influences by the originator. A weapon of choice is an elongated shard of mirror which is a device used in the Australian slasher Nightmares (1980), it's an effective weapon but the killer also grabs an ax and a knife at some point. When physically engaged the killer is a spry character, during the fight scene with Nicky on the dance floor he has some cat like moves and this might be the only clue as to whom the murderer is for eagle-eyed first time watchers. 

A few things have always bothered me bout the film. The first being that the kills and nudity are a bit too tame for a slasher of this era. Another being this weird cop story that is peppered throughout - turns out this was tacked-on at the request of the distributor - it definitely feels like an insert. My biggest issue would be we do not see these teens dealing with the guilt of having covered-up the death of Robin just six years earlier - this was a missed opportunity - especially when you considering what a slow-burn the first hour of the film was, could have been an interesting dynamic that ramped up the tension. 

Even with some negatives I do love Prom Night even if it would not enter my top ten list of slashers - it wouldn't even be on the top five Canadian slashers. It's a slow burn and the deaths are weak but the cast is pretty great and the final twenty minutes are fun. We have Jamie Lee Curtis in her first post-Halloween horror, after this she would go straight into the Terror Train (1980) which is a far better watch in my opinion.  

Blu-ray: Synapse present this maple blooded slasher with a brand new 2k restoration straight from the negative and the results are simply gorgeous. There's a nice layer of natural film grain, a digitally over-scrubbed scrubbed image is a blasphemous sight and Synapse do it up right. The film has a preference for soft-focus cinematography which does not always look great in HD but the dreamy quality it gives the film suits certain scene quite nicely - others not so much.  DVD where it languished for years with a murky transfer. 

Colors are strong and vibrant with good contrast and a few nice moments of fine detail.  Those who suffered for years with a murky DVD plagues by compression will certainly appreciate the outstanding black levels and shadow detail. Previously the final twenty minutes of this film were ruined by an impenetrable murkiness that made it nearly impossible to follow what was happening onscreen - this is a glorious new transfer worthy of celebration. 

The disc features two audio options, a DTS-HD MA Mono presentation for the purists and a newly created DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround Sound Mix for the kids with fancy home theater systems. The Mono option is very nice but I dig the new surround mix  which some nice atmospheric use of the surrounds, very clean and well-balanced with optional English subtitles. 

The restored PQ is the entree now lets dig into the dessert -  the new extras! We begin with a brand new Audio Commentary with Director Paul Lynch and Screenwriter William Gray which is a great listen from start to finish. These guys are fun bunch with an arsenal of gossip, anecdotes and facts about the production and the cast and crew. Lynch starts off with the formation of the project and pitching the idea of a OB/GYN themed medical slasher to Halloween producer Irwin Yablans before coming up with the prom theme - which he brought to producer Peter R.Simpson. The duo are quick to point out various homages featured throughout and gossiping a bit about Eddie Benton's marriage to author Michael Crichton and the lucrative divorce some years later in between commenting on how gorgeous she was. A lot of great anecdotes including Lynch revealing that the van used for a particularly explosive scene was stolen off the street of Toronto!

Up next is a forty-minute making of doc featuring the participation of director Paul Lynch, art director Reuben Freed, composer Paul Zaza, prosthetic creator Warren Keillor and stars Mary Beth Rubinstein, Joy Thompson, Michael Tough and Jeff Wincott. A fun featurette with behind-the-scenes footage ad a lot of great commentary on the film from cast and crew. 

REVERSIBLE ARTWORK OPTION

We also have eleven-minutes of additional scenes added for the TV broadcast with an introduction from editor Michael Laverty who assembled the TV version. These scenes were just trims from the editing room floor and were not created for the TV version and add very little to the story except to point out that Alex and Robin were twins and an ill conceived stab at making Mr. Hammond a suspect. There are two additional scenes with a ditsy blond secretary which are just awful. These scenes have been available for quite a while on YouTube but it's great to see them cleaned-up a bit with a new video introduction - love that Synapse go the extras mile for us fans. 

Two of the extras are exclusive to the Blu-ray version - this is not the standard BD/DVD Combo we've come to expect from Synapse - and they just could not cram everything onto a DVD. We have twenty-three minutes of never-before-scene outtakes with score from the film layered over it in the absence of original audio elements. The other is a six-minute motion still gallery of behind-the-scenes pics, stills and lobby cards accompanied by Zaza's score. 

Extras are capped off with the theatrical trailer, radio spots and TV spots for the film. Watching th TV spots I noticed at least three versions of the Prom Night logo including one that was appropriately reminiscent of the Saturday Night Fever logo. All of the extras are presented in HD and there's a sleeve of reversible artwork - which I prefer to the standard  art option. 

Here are a few screenshot comparisons of the old Echo Bridge DVD and the new 2K restoration on Blu-ray from Synapse Films.The Echo Bridge DVD featured a open matte presentation while the new Synapse version is framed at 1.85:1 and loses some information along the top and bottom - at least that's what appears to be happening here. 

ECHO BRIDGE Open Matte (1:3:1)  TOP

SYNAPSE Widescreen (1.85:1) BOTTOM

Special Features:

- Brand-New 2K High-Definition Transfer from the Original 35mm Camera Negative

- 5.1 Surround Remix Specifically Created for This Release (Original 2.0 Mono Included)

- Audio Commentary with Director Paul Lynch and Screenwriter William Gray

- THE HORRORS OF HAMILTON HIGH: The Making of "Prom Night" (41 minutes)

- Collection of Additional Scenes Added for Television Broadcast (11 minutes)

- Never-Before-Seen Outtakes from “Prom Night” [Exclusive to Blu-ray] (23 minutes)

- Motion Still Gallery [Exclusive to Blu-ray] (6 minutes)

- Original Theatrical Trailer (2 minutes) 

- 6 Television Spots (3 minutes)

- 2 Radio Spots (1 minute) 

Verdict: Prom Night is a bit of a slow-burn but it makes up for it with some decent tension and character building leading up to a spirited final sprint to the finish line with some fun kills with plenty of blood and whodunit fun. The new HD restoration from Synapse is a love-letter to the film and a must-own for fans of eighties horror. Easily one of the year's best horror releases. 

On the way from Synapse are what I hope to be the definitive version of Dario Argento's masterpiece Suspiria (1977) and the nineties slasher entry Popcorn (1991). Don May and the Synapse crew have been killing it with outstanding  transfers and sweet extras - support these guys - they deserve it. 

Blu-ray Review: PUNK VACATION (1987)

PUNK VACATION (1987)

2-Disc Blu-ray + DVD Combo

Label: Vinegar Syndrome

Region Code: 0 
Duration: 93 Minutes
Rating: Unrated
Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 StereoDirectors: Stanley Lewis
Cast: Stephen Fiachi, Sandra Bogan, Roxanne Rogers, Rob Garrison

When some L.A. punks roll into a small rural town for a much needed vacation from the urban decay of the city the shit hits the fan when a young punk named Bobby (Rob Garrison) loses forty-cents in a soda vending machine, all the money he has in the world. Now he's pissed and vandalizes the soda machine, that is until the diner owner chases him off with a shotgun. Bobby returns a short time later with the entire gang of what are supposed to be threatening punks but what look to be teased hair new-wavers in rather heavy make-up, but this was the 80's and TV and film never did quite capture the true essence of punk, anyone remember that infamous punk episode of Quincy? The gang of bike riding trouble-makers are are lead by a somewhat threatening chic-punker named Ramrod (Roxanne Rogers) and the ensuing altercation ends with the diner owner dead and his young daughter apparently molested and catatonic. As the punks flee the scene the older daughter Sally (Karen Renee) and her cop boyfriend Steve (Stephen Fiachi) arrive on scene injuring Bobby with his squad car, but the rest of the punks get away.

In the aftermath Bobby is taken to the hospital with a broken arm where a vengeful Sally attempt to stab the punker with a pair of surgical scissors while he's handcuffed to the bed, and failing miserably.  She only further complicates matters when she attempts to track down the punks on her own which leads to her capture, she's stripped down to her undies and chained to a tree, thus becoming their prisoner. 

Her deputy boyfriend Steve enlists the help of the local sheriff and a group of rednecks with rifles whom manage to track the punks to an abandoned farm where a shootout ensues, it's pretty lackluster and not very entertaining in the traditional sense but it plenty entertaining as a slice of inept trash cinema, particularly entertaining is the cigar-chomping Sheriff Virgil (Louis Waldon) who spews a verbal tirade against the commie pinko punk rockers, it's hilarious stuff that expectantly devolves into an cartoonish 80's punks vs. rednecks debacle.

Punk vacation (1987) is a film from a director and writing team who went on to do absolutely nothing else and for a very good reason, this is a stinker! We have a cast of first-time actors giving it their best and still coming up short, perhaps the most egregious offense would be the complete lack of a punk rock soundtrack, instead we get a shitty synth score that does little to enhance the proceedings, not that it would have polished this turd of a revenger but it couldn't have hurt, Keith Morris and Black Flag chugging through "I Don't Care" in HD audio, that would have been fucking sweet! As it is this is a stale "punk" revenger that's just so bad that there might be some intrinsic entertainment value, but you would have to be a serious connoisseur of 80's schlock n' trash to appreciate it.  

Blu-ray: Vinegar Syndrome give this low-budget "punk" revenger a 1080p widescreen (1.85:1) transfer with an MPEG-4 AVC encode from a master that was scanned and restored in 2K from 35mm archival film elements, and considering what a low-rent production it was the presentation is quite stunning. Skin tones are spot on, color reproduction is accurate nicely saturated and there's quite a bit of detail, some of the darker scene suffer from black crush but overall this looks pretty great, way better than it probably deserves to in actuality. 

The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 does the film justice, there's some very minor audio hiss and the dialogue is a bit muffled at times but it's never difficult to decipher. My main beef is that for a film titled Punk Vacation there's very little... um, actually no punk rock to be found anywhere, instead we get some 80's new-wave synth which is quite a disappointment but overall this is a decent audio presentation, but abandon all hopes of a Repo Man (1984) worthy punk soundtrack. 

Main Menu

Onto the the special features we get two video interviews, one with producer Stephen Fusci whom speaks about his previous feature Nomad Riders (1984) and Punk Vacation (1987), his aspirations to become a Roger Corman-esque low-budget producer and working with the original director of the film, whom was apparently quite a pain the ass, he was replaced by cinematographer Daryn Okada at some point during filming. The second video interview is with Production Coordinator Steve Rowland who was also the stunt coordinator on the film, he speaks about teaching the inexperienced cast to ride motorcycles, low budget shortcuts and a scene with the rats that featured in the film  terrorizing an aerobics studio full of women which was cut from the film,  also pointing out that Clint Eastwood was shooting Pale Rider in the very near vicinity plus a fun anecdote about a messy port-a-pottie incident. There's also an image gallery with 100 behind-the-scene pics and still from the film. 

The best extra is the inclusion of the Stephen Fusci produced Nomad Riders (1984) from director Frank Roach presented on the DVD portion of the 2-disc set, sourced from a 1" tape master that's quite watchable in a full screen VHS sorta way, and it's a fun trashy watch. This one features a cop named Steve Thrust (Tony Laschi) who sets out for revenge against a crime boss named Mister Vacci, played by director Frank Roach. Vacci hires a trio of bikers known as the Marauders to send a message to Thrusts, I was never sure what that message was but the Marauders end up blowing-up his wife and child, it's fun stuff. As the film opens Thrust is airborne in a glider (WTF) as his wife and kid wait for him on the ground, as he approaches for landing the bikers arrive on scene and force his wife and kid into a tent, douse it with gasoline and toss in a grenade. As the bikers ride off Thrust lands and in hilarious slow-mo he jumps from the glider and tears off his member's only jacket screaming as the tent goes up in flames. The Marauders next victims are a site surveyor using the a port-a-pottie, again a grenade is used and then they run wild through some old woman's house, destroying it. The first five minutes of this film are pretty great  but the last 75 are not so great with Thrust riding around in his Trans Am with his sunglasses on avenging his families death... when he's not busy bedding a babe, of course. 

Special Features: 
- Video Interviews with producer Stephen Fusci (17:57)

- Video Interview with Production Coordinator Steve Rowland (13:54)
- Still Gallary (4:41)

- Bonus Feature Film: Nomad Riders (82 Minutes) - DVD Only

Verdict: Not sure what would lead Vinegar Syndrome to bestow the 2-disc special edition treatment upon the rather inept Punk Vacation (1987) but every shit 80's revenger should be so damn lucky, it's a great looking release with some striking artwork and the inclusion of the feature length film Nomad Riders (1984) doesn't hurt, it definitely loses points for it's lack of punk rock and the fact that it sorta stinks, definitely a low-rent 80's trash fest. 2 Outta 5 

Blu-ray Review: RED SCORPION (1989)

RED SCORPION (1989)

Blu-ray/DVD Combo

Label: Synapse Films
Region: All Regions
Duration: 106 minutes
Rating: Unrated
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1,  DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Joseph Zito
Cast: Dolph Lundgren, M. Emmet Walsh, Brion James


Synopsis: International action star Dolph Lundgren (Rocky IV, The Expendables) is Lt. Nikolai Rachenko, a Soviet Special Forces “killing machine” assigned to infiltrate an African rebel uprising and assassinate their anti-Communist leader. Taken into custody and tortured after the mission fails, he stages a harrowing prison escape. Befriended by an African bushman while on the run, Nikolai discovers he was fighting on the wrong side of this violent conflict all along. Nikolai finds the rebel army once more but, this time, he’s on their side and wages bloody war against his former comrades!

Going into this I was only familiar with director Joseph Zito's 80's slasher classics The Prowler (1981) and Friday the 13: The Final Chapter (1984) and not so much for his later Chuck Norris actioners Missing In Action (1984) and Invasion USA (1985) mostly because I just can't stand Norris and I don't really count myself as an action-film fan. That said I've always been really curious about Zito's body of work once he exited the horror genre after Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter and this sweet Blu-ray/DVD from Synapse was a great reason to finally jump in.


Fresh off his iconic turn as Ivan Drago in Rocky IV (1985) Dolph Lundgren stars in Red Scorpion as Russian killing machine Lt. Nikolai Rachennko, a Spetsnaz in the Soviet Special Forces, assigned to infiltrate and assasinate an anti-communist African leader during the Cold War. Towards that end a bar fight is staged by Lundgren as he clears out an entire bar of Soviet soldiers single-handedly which lands him in prison where he forms an alliance with a anti-Communist resistance fighter Kallunda Kintash (Al White) and an untrusting American war correspondent named Dewey Ferguson played by character actor M. Emmet Walsh (Blood Simple).


This is definitely a late-80's actioner that never fails to deliver what the action genre promises with the tons of blood-soaked action, gigantic fiery explosions, an unceasing spray of gunfire, fun set-pieces plus the African backdrop is a stunner. Tom Savini whom worked with Zito on both The Prowler and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter has some decent effects work on display including a severed arm and long needles being pushed through Lundgren's bicep during a torture scene. The appearance of M. Emmet Walsh as the untrusting American journalist was pretty great and it was a brief appearance of Brion James (Bladerunner, The Fifth Element) as a brutal Soviet soldier.


Lundgren is a man of few words on-screen here and that's probably for the best. The man's got an engineering degree, he's no dummy for sure, but he's not exactly the most articulate action-hero the 80's had to offer. On-screen he's pretty much everything you want when it comes to ass-kicking and brutalizing commies. His hero's journey is maybe a bit harder to swallow but there's more than enough shit blowing up real nice to distract you from any acting shortcomings, this is afterall an 80's actioner.  

Alternate Artwork

Video: Synapse Films Blu-ray/DVD combo sports a brand-new 2K high-definition transfer of the uncensored version, containing footage never before seen in the U.S. I've seen the Arrow Video Blu-ray and it's pretty great but this is just on another level - when it comes to 1080p transfers Synapse are definitely on a Criterion level of perfection, few can touch 'em and Red Scorpion benefits greatly from there tender love and restoration affections.


The English DTS-HD 5.1 surround sound mix is stunning, there's no shortage of explosions, gunfire and sounds of the battle field here and the surrounds get a nice workout, the low-end rumble was really rattling the walls. Also included us the DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo track for the purists but trust me the 5.1 is the way to go here, it's a great presentation.


Special features are plentiful beginning with the Hell Hath No Fury featurette, an interview with Lundgren whom talks about his beginnings as a engineering student, working security detail for 80's icon Grace Jones which lead to a romance and then landing a bit part in the 007 film A View to a Kill through that connection which eventually brought him worldwide acclaim with Rocky IV  then into the Masters of the Universe film. When speaking of Red Scorpion Lundgren talks of producer turned politician Jack Abrahamoff and director Joseph Zito, the troubled production in South Africa and his stunt work which is just crazy by today's standards, dodging errant explosion, jumping from a motorcycle to a moving truck and being bit by a hyena and stung scorpions. It's a great interview and a treat for fans of the film.


We also get a dry but informative interview with lobbyist cum producer Jack Abrahamoff and another with master special effects maestro Tom Savini who worked on the film and speaks about the insane pace of the shooting, working with Lundgren and his effects work on the film. Savini  also has  a few interesting tales to tell of getting caught in a flood with his wife and then infant daughter and being rescued by rebel soldiers, there's also some really cool behind-the-scenes video footage he shot included too, great stuff. 


There's also a super-informative audio commentary with director Joseph Zito moderated by Mondo Digital's Nathaniel Thompson. Pretty much anything you could ever want to know about the film is discussed, it's an entertaining commentary and well-worth a listen. On top of that we get a still gallery of one-sheets, production stills, and behind-the-scenes pic, theatrical trailer and a collection of TV spots.


Special Features: 
- All-New 2K High-Definition Digital Restoration of the Uncensored Version
- Audio Commentary with Director Joseph Zito and Mondo Digital’s Nathaniel Thompson
- All-New DTS-HD MA 5.1 Soundtrack Mixed Specifically for This Release
- HATH NO FURY – DOLPH LUNDGREN AND THE ROAD TO RED SCORPION Featurette (24:56) 16:9
- ASSIGNMENT: AFRICA (12:41) 16:0 – Video Interview with Producer Jack Abramoff
- SCORPION TALES (10:05) 16:9 – Video Interview with Make-Up Effects Artist Tom Savini
- Rare Original On-Set Behind-the-Scenes Video Footage (9:11) 16:9
- Animated Still Gallery (6:57)
- Liner Notes on the Making of RED SCORPION by Jérémie Damoiseau
- Theatrical Trailer (1:55) 16:9
- TV Spots (3:06) 4:3
- Reversible Cover Design


Verdict: Synapse's Blu-ray of Red Scorpion is a muscular, sweaty and blood soaked 80's actioner that looks fantastic in 1080p. The gorgeous 2K transfer, sweet DTS-HD 5.1 surround mix and impressive array of extras make this an easy recommend. 

Red Scorpion definitely kicks some major ass on Blu-ray. 3.5 outta 5 

Blu-ray Review: FRIGHT NIGHT (1985)

FRIGHT NIGHT (1985) Blu-ray

Label: Twilight Time
Region Code: Region FREE
Rating: R
Duration: 106mins
Video: 1080p 16:9 Widescereen (2.35:1)
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA
Director: Tom Holland
Cast: Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Stephen Geoffreys, Roddy McDowell

I was all of twelve years old when I caught director Tom Holland's FRIGHT NIGHT in the cinema in 1985, some might think this young but I think twelve was a very appropriate age for one to properly enjoy this awesome 80's vampyric tale of young sexuality. At that age I definitely had an interest in girls but I also still had one foot firmly planted in adolescence. For example, at that age I would still sprint home after school to catch the latest episode of the THUNDERCATS, even though I was pretty rapt by the sci-fi action adventures of Lion-O an his battles on Third Earth against the ultimate evil of Mumm-Ra I would also run to window for a sneaky-peak of a pretty neighbor girl by the name of Heidi O'Claire when I would hear her voice outside. This was just the beginning of what would become many unrequited teen crushes and these cursory pangs of sexual curiosity put me in nearly the right frame of mind to understand the character of Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale, TV's HERMAN'S HEAD), a pretty average teenager with a love of Hammer-esque Gothic horror films which he views during the late-night showings of the TV program Fright Night hosted by washed-up b-movie actor Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowell, THE PLANET OF THE APES). It's up in his room with Fright Night on in the background that Charley's making out with girlfriend Amy (Amanda Bearse, TV's MARRIED WITH CHILDREN) who's right on the verge of giving into Charley's demands for sex that he becomes distacted by the arrival of his new nextdoor neighbor Jerry Dandrige (Chris Sarandon, THE PRINCESS BRIDE) and his live-in carpenter Billy Cole (Jonathan Stark, HOUSE II) who seem to be moving a coffin into the basement. This bit of oddness proves too much for young Charley to ignore and he forgoes losing his virginity to spy on the neighbors instead, WTF? Sure, Amanda Bearse may not the most stunning beauty the 80's had to offer but what the fuck is he thinking? Apparently Amy doesn't think much of this deflowering snub either as she storms outta his room and the next day at school smashes a burger into his face, and rightfully so,  much to the delight of Charley's pal Evil Ed (Stephen Geoffrey's, 976-EVIL) who cracks one of his classic catch phrases, "You're so cool Brewster, I can't stand it!". Geoffrey's plays the awkward, social misfit looking for acceptance so well here, it's definitely a stand-out performance from a young man who would soon go onto to takes lead roles in gay porno like GUYS WHO CRAVE BIG COCK ...I wonder what that one's about?

Later that night Charley hears a blood curdling scream come from next door after witnessing a memorably gorgeous woman enter the home and the next day when he catches a news report about a murdered prostitute he realizes its the same woman. It's the following evening while peeping the neighbors  REAR WINDOWN style that Charley actually witness's Jerry about to exsanguinate a woman with his fangs and eerily long fingers on full display. Alarmed at the prospect that a vampire is living next door Charlie attempts to tell his mother who attributes the incident to an overactive imagination spurred by too many horror films and a lack of sleep. When he tells Amy she thinks it's a ploy to win her back, which flatters her and when he goes to Evil Ed the misfit thinks he's surely flipped his wig but is only too happy to offer some vampyric folklore in exchange for a few dollars. At his ropes end Charley resorts to calling the authorities to report that Dandrige may be behind the recent spate of prostitute murders. However, when he accompanies  Det. Lennox (Art Evans, DIE HARD 2) to confront Jerry he loses all credibility once he mentions the "sleep of the undead" and the embarrassed officer can't leave the premises soon enough.

A bad situation gets even worse when Charley shockingly discovers that his own mother has invited Jerry over for drinks despite his warnings, and we all know that a vampire can't enter your house without permission. With that layer of protection now gone the already nervous teen breaks into a flop sweat and really starts to lose it. His worst fears are realized when Jerry pays him a visit later that night threatening the teen to forget about what he' seen but Charley outright refuses and drives a wooden pencil into the vamps hand, the injury reveals Dandrige's true hideous self and he flees but swears vengeance upon the meddling teen.

With no where else to go Charley contacts the local horror-host Peter Vincent played with perfection by Roddy McDowell who summons equal parts Peter Cushing and the the theatrics of Vincent Price, it's a brilliant portrayal and a loving nod to horror-hosts and Hammer films, it's really is a large part of why I'm so enamoured with this film. Like those before him Vincent sends the boy away, believing that he'sa rather unfortunate nut case. When Evil Ed and Amy discover Charley plans to murder his neighbor it's they whom finally convince the actor to help if only to appease their delusional friend. Eventually all four end up on the doorsteps of the vamp's home which is drenched in a creepy fog, with Charlie the only one not knowing this is a staged event Jerry only too willingly drinks the "Holy Water" and though he passes this ultimate test Charley still refuses to believe, he protests but is told to leave before he further embarrasses himself or any further harm comes to his friends, but when Peter Vincent takes out a cigarette case for a smoke he sees in it's mirror that Dandrige casts no reflection. He quickly makes for the front door trying not to attract attention but is obviously quite shaken, which does not go unnoticed by Charley or Dandrige. Once outside Charley demands to know what he saw and Vincent begrudgingly confesses just before speeding off.

Walking home that night the trio of friends discuss the incident amongst themselves, Ed, still a non-believer, chooses to take a shortcut through an alley alone, all the while mocking Charley's fears,  but he finds himself cornered by Dandridge and succumbs to the vampire willingly when offered the life without ridicule he so craves. With Ed now among the vampire's acolytes Dandridge turns his attention to Amy, chasing the two teens into an 80's discotheque where he abducts Amy after glammering her. Jerry Dandridge is truly one of the most suave 80's vampires ever, the guy is just super-smooth, great hair, a great dancer, rocks a sweater and is an apple snackin' maniac which just tickles me for some reason. It's set-up early on that Amy bares a striking resemblance to one of Jerry's former lovers and he plans to turn her into a blood-sucker and deflower the young virgin, much to the chagrin of Charley who I have to say had his chance earlier.

Desperate and without an alternative Charlie once again enlists the help of the frightened Peter Vincent in an attempt to rescue Amy from the vampire Dandrige. It's here that we get one of my favorite scenes in the entire film with Peter Vincent facing off against Evil Ed now a shape-shifting vampire who takes the form of a wolf which leaps towards the horror-host just as Vincent thrusts a stake through his chest, the dying beast crawls under a stairwell and gruesomely transforms from a snarling beast into a pathetic looking creature then into the innocent looking Ed, all the while emitting an unnatural and unnerving wail as a sympathetics Peter  Vincent looks on with tears tears streaming from his eyes, pained by the tragic death of a young person.

Pretty typical of my favorite 80's films the special effects are mostly in-camera and practical done by a couple of guys who know a thing or two about cool special effects; Richard Edlund (GHOSTBUSTERS) and Randall Cook (LORD OF THE RINGS). Their work here is something wonderful and even under the scrutiny of 1080p still look pretty awesome. The final battle with Dandridge does reveal some cheesy effects work in my opinion but on the whole it's a pretty top notch production.


Blu-ray: Twillight Time's transfer of the film is very nice, presented in 16:9 enhanced widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio with an English 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio track with optional English (SDH) subtitles. The image comes from a near pristine print and is quite pleasing to the eye easily offering better contrast, deeper black levels, and way more fine detail than the standard definition DVD, it's pretty sharp and is surely the best presentation the film is likely ever to see. The 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio option is very impressive with Brad Fiedel's score getting some sweet surround sound action, it's a very nice audio presentation.

Special features are few but appreciated beginning with an isolated score track featuring the film's excellent score from Brad Friedel, two theatrical trailers and an eight-page booklet with an essay on the film by Julie Kirgo which is a pretty great read on it's own. In lieu of commentary it's noted in the booklet that you can download commentaries for the film by Robert Galluzo and Tim Sullivan at http://www.iconsoffright.com/

Special Features:
- Isolated Score Track
- Original Theatrical Trailers (2:48)
- 8 Page Booklet with essay by Julie Kirgo

Verdict: FRIGHT NIGHT remains not just one of the best vampire films of the 80's but one of the best horror films that decade had to offer, a film that attains it's humor smartly without resorting to lame-brained boner jokes and is just horrific enough to keep he horror fans rapt with some impressive effects work. It's great to see the film make the jump to Blu-ray even in such a limited quantity, it's hard to believe that Columbia Pictures haven't thought to give the film a wider Blu-ray release, there's surely demand for this title so I give it up to Twilight Time for their great taste and superior attention to detail. 4.5 outta 5

Note: Sadly, by the time I was able to review this wonderful release the very limited edition run of 3,000 had sold out completely and is currently available, though at super inflated prices, through Amazon and on Ebay. I was quite impressed with the quality of the presentation and I encourage you check out Twilight Time's other titles which includes a Blu-ray of the Ray Harryhausen film THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1961) which is also available in a limited run of 3,000 editions so grab it quick, available exclusively through http://www.screenarchives.com/

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