Fright Night Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Fright Night Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 6, 2019

Sony has released the cult favorite Horror film 'Fright Night' to Blu-ray as part of its MOD (Manufactured on Demand) line of pressed Blu-ray discs. The film was previously released twice by limited-run label Twilight time, first in 2011 with scant extras and again in 2015 with refurbished video and a much larger selection of extra content. Both of those are long since sold out and command top dollar on the secondary market. The Sony disc adds some extras (including a 2.5 hour documentary), drops some others, and carries over several of the key supplements from the more recent Twilight Time disc. Unfortunately, I did not review and I do not have access to either of the Twilight Time discs, so I cannot confirm whether the A/V presentations are in any way changed. This review, then, will simply offer fresh audio and video critiques in lieu of a direct comparison.

Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) knows vampires. Bloodsuckers are his life, and his life revolves around watching a television show hosted by the famous vampire slayer Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall) called Fright Night. The show, and his obsession, are even a detriment to his relationship with girlfriend Amy (Amanda Bearse). Charlie, in a moment out of Rear Window, finds reason to suspect that his new next door neighbor, Jerry Dandrige (Chris Sarandon), is a vampire. Is Charley's imagination merely running wild, or is there something to his suspicions? Enlisting Amy, his friend "Evil Ed" (Stephen Geoffreys), and eventually Vincent himself, Charley declares war on his neighbor who denies, denies, denies but cannot deny the truth, forever.

For a full film review, please see Jeffrey Kauffman's writing from the original 2011 Twilight Time release here.

Fright Night Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sony's Blu-ray presentation of Fright Night scares up a quality 1080p image. The picture is organically filmic, maintaining a fairly steady and complimentary grain structure which does spike in intensity in a few shots. Textural qualities are excellent, with high-yield reveals that capture a range of image details with superb screen command. These include mundane elements like wooden accents outside Dandridge's home, brick façades around town, and even a close-up of vintage era stereo equipment (a Vector Research cassette deck). Core visuals like skin and clothing textures are particularly good, while the resolution allows the viewer to see all of the practical prosthetics with impressive clarity, from fangs to deep wounds caused by a cross placed on a vampire's face. While the image by nature does not reveal infinite levels of textural exactness, expect a healthy, organic picture that suits the movie well. Colors are a little less impressive, but the movie naturally favors a somewhat drained and dull palette. Essentials are fine with good saturation and contrast, but the picture's frequent lower light and nighttime shots, scenes, and sequences are the most dominant of the film's visuals. Essentials fare well, with clothes a particular standout, while smaller color splashes like a bowl of fruit, a cracking fire, or a red Raggedy Ann type wig yield quality saturation. Skin tones appear somewhat pasty but black levels hold fairly deep. Compression issues appear to have been a point of contention in the Twilight Time discs but the Sony discs produces none of glaring obviousness. Likewise, print speckles are very few and far between. This is a high quality image that fans who missed out on the old, sold out Twilight Time discs should find to be more than agreeable.

Fright Night Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Fright Night's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack delivers a fairly front-heavy experience with a couple of notable exceptions. A dance floor opens up a little into the rears in chapter 11, with greater expansion when people flee in chaos once things get a little testy in there. It's the first real surround intensive moment the track has on offer, and while fluidity and clarity are far from perfect, the welcome engagement into the back, after half a film's worth of steady front-centric placement, almost comes as as surprise. A few action elements during the climax seep into the rears, including a barrage of alarm clocks ominously, for one character, chiming in harmony. The exclamation point part of the climax is another that produces a wave of hardly precise, but agreeably intense, full-stage mayhem. General effects clarity is fair, ditto music, along the predominantly front-heavy stage. There's nothing particularly memorable or out of the ordinary here, but the track does expand for effect on a couple of occasions while keeping core sonic definition and front-side width as staples for the duration. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized in the front-center position.

Fright Night Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Sony's release of Fright Night offers a hybrid supplemental section that includes various extras from the Twilight Time discs, scraps a few, and adds a few. Below is an outline of what's included. New extras are marked as such and reviewed. A list of removed extras is also included for convenience. For reviews of the carryover content, please click here. No DVD or digital copies are included and this release does not appear to ship with a slipcover.

• Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Tom Holland and Actors Chris Sarandon & Jonathan Stark. Moderated by Filmmaker Tim Sullivan.
• Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Tom Holland, Actors William Ragsdale & Stephen Geoffreys, and FX Artist Randall Cook. Moderated by Journalist Jeremy Smith and Filmmaker Tim Sullivan.
• 1st Ever Fright Night Reunion Panel - Fear Fest 2
• NEW! Tom Holland: Writing Horror (1080p, 8:51): The film's writer/director discusses his love for the Horror genre, followed by a collection of cast and crew interviews that includes discussions of the genre at the time, Holland's work, and more.
• NEW! What is Fright Night? (1080p, 10:39): Cast and crew again discuss Holland's writing, the film's throwback sensibilities, the picture's legacy and impact on the genre, and more.
• NEW! Roddy McDowall: From Apes to Bats (1080p, 20:50): Cast and crew remember the late, great actor, including his character and expertise on both sides of the camera.
• NEW! You're So Cool, Brewster! (1080p, 2:26:46): A truly comprehensive retrospective that looks back on Fright Night in great detail through interviews, film clips, promotional materials, script excerpts, and more. The piece looks at the story, cast and performances, technical details, the picture's legacy, and much more.
• Shock Till You Drop Presents Choice Cuts with Tom Holland and Ryan Turek
• Vintage EPK with Behind the Scenes Raw Footage
• Original Theatrical Trailer "G" Rating (1080p, 1:25).
• Original Theatrical Trailer "R" Rating (1080p, 1:28).

The following extras appeared on the second Twilight Time disc but do not appear on this Sony release:

• Stills and Memorabilia Gallery from the Tom Holland Archive
• Isolated Score

Fright Night Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fright Night is a bonafide classic, a throwback Monster movie that will undoubtedly live on amongst the greats of its kind. It compares very favorably to the somewhat (subjectively speaking) better The Lost Boys, which would release a couple of year later. The mid-80s: what a great time for Vampire movies! Sony's new Blu-ray release of Fright Night may be part of the studio's "MOD" line of pressed discs, but it's a complete package that is not to be missed. Rock-solid video and audio are accompanied by an exhaustive supplemental collection which induces a 2.5 retrospective documentary. Very highly recommended.