Fright Night

Dir Tom Holland, US 1985 Eureka Entertainment, £19.99 (Dual format)

A first outing on Blu-ray for the original 1985 version of the teen horror comedy in which teenager Charley (William Ragsdale) comes to believe a vampire has moved in next door. Sure enough, dead bodies start turning up, but Charley can’t get anyone to believe that charming Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) is the undead killer. Only his faithful girlfriend Amy and geeky pal Evil Ed will give him the time of day until they enlist the aid of local TV horror movie host Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), a self-proclaimed vampire killer.

Definitely one for older teens this: there’s a flash or two of nudity, some swearing and some pretty gruesome horror effects from the glory days when rubbery monsters were de rigueur. There’s an American Werewolf- style transformation, a Raiders- esque face melt and some good old-fashioned vampire bat action. What really makes it work though is that the characters are likeable and that their relationships are nicely drawn; the budding romance between Charley and Amy is especially sweet and amusing. It’s elements such as these, as opposed to buckets o’blood, that makes films fondly remembered and it’s a measure of this film’s enduring appeal that among the special features are a cast reunion from 2008 and a lengthy documentary detailing just about every aspect of the film’s production and reception. It’s hard to imagine the same being done in 30 years for the recent, quickly forgotten, remake which starred the late Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell and David Tennant. This is an excellent package and the HD transfer is good.