Fright Night Part 2
It was a bit of a surprise for me to learn that there was a Fright Night sequel. Like, maybe I already knew this but if so it's not something that was really on my radar. IMDB tells me that the release was somehow disrupted by the Menendez murders and the film only played in a couple of cities before heading to home video. And apparently even Mr Wooley hasn't seen it.
So anyway, this one suffers from a lack of Sarandon but I think it does a decent job of capturing the spirit of the first film. Sequels in the 80s had a tendency to take everything from the original and make a joke of it, so I was pleased to find that was not the case here. Charlie and Peter are the only returning characters and this might be sacrilege but I think I preferred Charlie's new college girlfriend to the first film's Amy. Just a more interesting character. The spooky bits are shot just as nicely as Part 1 and the effects are up to the same level. And there's a werewolf this time. This is a film that features a roller-skating vampire with Duran Duran hair and not only manages to make that not seem ridiculous, but in fact films it with such flair that it was one of the highlights for me. No one is more surprised than I at that last sentence.
Most would agree that it's the lesser film but it doesn't tarnish the original in any way and I'm confident recommending it to fans, with the understanding that it's gonna be a step down.
I watched it on Youtube in this very nice-looking upload:
ps-- Also, bonus points for featuring Johnny Slash from Square Pegs
It was a bit of a surprise for me to learn that there was a Fright Night sequel. Like, maybe I already knew this but if so it's not something that was really on my radar. IMDB tells me that the release was somehow disrupted by the Menendez murders and the film only played in a couple of cities before heading to home video. And apparently even Mr Wooley hasn't seen it.
So anyway, this one suffers from a lack of Sarandon but I think it does a decent job of capturing the spirit of the first film. Sequels in the 80s had a tendency to take everything from the original and make a joke of it, so I was pleased to find that was not the case here. Charlie and Peter are the only returning characters and this might be sacrilege but I think I preferred Charlie's new college girlfriend to the first film's Amy. Just a more interesting character. The spooky bits are shot just as nicely as Part 1 and the effects are up to the same level. And there's a werewolf this time. This is a film that features a roller-skating vampire with Duran Duran hair and not only manages to make that not seem ridiculous, but in fact films it with such flair that it was one of the highlights for me. No one is more surprised than I at that last sentence.
Most would agree that it's the lesser film but it doesn't tarnish the original in any way and I'm confident recommending it to fans, with the understanding that it's gonna be a step down.
I watched it on Youtube in this very nice-looking upload:
ps-- Also, bonus points for featuring Johnny Slash from Square Pegs