Fright Night (1985) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_325" align="alignright" width="263"] Official Score = 3 Devils[/caption]

Have you ever seen a movie that just kind of stuck with you? Something that you found to be both fun and exciting but was also extremely emblematic of the decade upon which it was made? I have seen plenty of those in coming of age dramas and the like, but you know what? I have to admit that up until a few years ago I had never really seen it in a horror movie!

I mean don't get me wrong all horror movies regardless of the decades which they were made always had very clear cut signs of the times on which they were made, but some were just a little bit more then others... A great example of this is, Poltergeist (1982)!

Now this is one of only a small handful of horror movies that are like this, but one of things that I have grown to really appreciate and enjoy about this movie in particular, is the fact that this movie, (which was made in 1982), just really screamed the 80s, and the truth is, is I was pretty young back then, but that decade was a fun (and in the case of a horror movie like this,) thrilling walk down memory lane!)

And another one, and it is not the only thing that I like about this movie, but it is certainly a nice draw, and that is, Fright Night (1985)!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Charley Brewster (WIlliam Ragsdale) & Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall) in, Fright Night![/caption]

Written & Directed by: Tom Holland (Child's Play). Starring: William Ragsdale (Justified), Chris Sarandon (The Nightmare Before Christmas), Amanda Bearse (Married With Children), Roddy McDowall (Shakma), Jonathan Stark (According To Jim) & Stephen Geoffreys (Moon 44).

Now, again I actually had not heard about this movie until about a few years ago when my buddy Matt Dowling from AwesomeBMovies.com told me about it, and I got to say that I was surprised at how truly pleased with this movie that I really was!

What I mean by this,  is that the story has some funny cheesy awesome moments to it, but it also has moments where in you are on the edge of your seat... And another lesser important side to it, but still good, is the fact that this movie never really has a truly dull moment to it!

You see, this movie tells the story of how a horror aficionado by the name of, 'Charley Brewster' (William Ragsdale), a nice suburban teenager, with a nice girl next door type of girl friend, and with the slightly nutty best bud... He is living a very ideal life indeed... That is until he comes to discover that his new next door neighbor is straight out of a horror movie!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Charlie as he is being introduced to his new neighbor... m[/caption]

You see, Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) is some one who does not particularly enjoy sunlight, and is a lot older then he looks... He's a freakin Vampire!

So with out anyone actually believing him, it will be up to his skeptical best friend, and his hero (a former movie Vampire killer turned late night monster movie host), to stop Charley's new next door neighbor from really sinking his teeth in to the neighborhood!

The other thing that I really liked about this movie was the talent, I had seen these guys in some other things through out the years, but not for many years... So it was great to not only see them at work fresh, but from way back in the day as well!

In the end guys, if you haven't seen it yet, do so, it is definitely one worth watching... I thought so, and I suspect you will as well!

http://youtu.be/1ISgM9sjza8

House 2: The Second Story (1987) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_330" align="alignright" width="220"] Official Score = 2 1/2 Devils[/caption]

Written & Directed by: Ethan Wiley (Children Of The Corn V: Fields Of Terror), and based on the story created by Fred Dekker (The Monster Squad). Starring: Arye Gross (Minority Report), Jonathan Stark (Fright Night), Royal Dano (Space Invaders), Bill Maher (Cannibal Women In The Avacado Jungle Of Death), John Ratzenberger (Cheers), Lar Park-Lincoln (Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Beginning) & Amy Yasbeck (The Mask).

I have always known that I had seen one of the house movies when I was a kid (at this point I have seen both) but I always thought that it was the first one that I had seen, but as it turns out the first one that I had seen was actually the second one!

Well to be honest with you when I had seen this movie, I had seen parts of this on TV and I thought the movie was alright, but the truth is, is that since I have seen this movie all the way through, I can say that this movie is one of those rare opportunities where the sequel is just as good as the original! The actual original movie being more a sort of Sci-Fi movie, this one seemed to be more of a horror/fantasy movie, but was still a lot of fun!

For example, the story for this has to do with Jesse (Gross), and Kate (Park-Lincoln), a young couple who move in to the old family mansion...

Now in this house Jesse's parents had previously been murdered by an unidentified person, but with their success kind of slowly growing, Jesse decides to movie in the old family home with his family!

[caption id="attachment_1486" align="aligncenter" width="600"] 'Jesse', (Arye Gross) and, 'Kate' (Lar Park-Lincoln) before they realize what home ownership is really all about![/caption]

From the first night he gets there things are significantly different, what I mean by this is that Charlie (Stark) and Jana (Yasbeck) decide to move in with them and arrive at their door step drunk out of there mind... After that and while Jesse is researching his ancestor with the same name, (Dano), they come to discover that not only in his grave is a magical crystal skull (that can essentially give some one eternal life, but his ancestry is still alive but really old!

And after a music producer by the name of 'John' (Maher) comes to the house and takes the talented Jana, and Kate (who is a music industry executive) away to work, Jesse, Charlie, and, 'Gramps' will be thrown in to a world, where they will have to protect the skull from, cave Men, Aztecs, Dinosaurs, and all manner of monsters and men and what not, because if they don't then that could be it for Grandpa, and you know what? They are going to have to do this all from the comfort of Jesse own home!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Jesse, his ancestor, and his best friend as they battle a real dead cowboy![/caption]

Another thing that I thought was cool was how they added an element of adventure to this movie... I,e... the various times that they go to rescue the skull!
And the last thing that I wanted to mention here is the talent in this film... I mean the talent for the first one was great, and usually when you have great talent in the first one, for what ever reason the talent in the second one suffers, but not this one!

No, this movie has a great cast of awesome 80s/90s talent that includes: Arye Gross, Jonthan Stark, Royal Dano, John Ratzenberger, Lar Park-Lincoln & Amy Yasbeck. Also as a surprising twist, it turns out that George Wendt (Harold Gorton from the first House movie), and John Ratzenberger (who worked on, 'Cheers' with Mr Wendt) was also in this film!

Also the last thing that I thought you guys might find to be rather amusing is the fact that Bill Maher, with whom most people at this point would probably recognize him for the political commentary shows that he does was in this movie as well!

In the end this movie is a fun one, and I thought was definitely worth viewing, and you might as well!

http://youtu.be/5ouvkZzJ-Nc