“Fright Night” at the Nuart

It’d been something like 15 years since I’d originally seen “Fright Night.” I was just getting into horror, and the USA Network was my one-stop shop for all manner of things that go bump. I did a lot of catching up on mid-’80s scare-flicks in my early adolescence, not that I can remember much of what I saw all that well on late-night basic cable. That said, “Fright Night” was a movie that I remember having seen, and not much else.

So last night when the Nuart screened the film, I sort of was going in blind. There was a buzz in the audience, as several members of the cast and crew were there. Tim Sullivan — director of “2001 Maniacs,” one of the worst movies I’ve seen at the Nuart to date — did a brief introduction before the film, calling out all the actors and filmmakers who were in attendance. I think the editor probably got the most tepid applause. Vampire villain Chris Sarandon unfortunately couldn’t make it to the screening but had sent a video message that played before the film; they had to run it twice since there was no audio the first time. There was even a camera crew at the screening. They went all out for this one.

The film itself is pretty okay. I think it has a great first act but limps along for much of the middle section. The climax is a little long-ish for a movie like this, too. It’s definitely enjoyable with a packed house, but if it’s a movie you haven’t grown up on and can easily overlook its flaws — like I can with “Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter” — you might be a little puzzled as to why some people are so nuts over the film.

It has a great concept: a teenage horror movie buff (William Ragsdale) thinks his next-door neighbor (Sarandon) is a vampire and teams up with a late-night spookshow host (Roddy McDowall) to stop him. And I liked how the film actually follows all the “rules” of vampire lore instead of subverting them like the Bush Administration does with the Constitution. Too many vampire movies — even my beloved “Blade” films — try a more “realistic” approach to the material rather than just resigning themselves to the fact that, yes, everything pop culture has taught you about vampires’ strengths and weaknesses is true.

It certainly saves you gobs of exposition.

After the film, there was a Q&A. The movie had started late, and William Ragsdale pointed out that it was almost 3:30 in the morning, and we were all still there — 23 years after the movie had been released — talking about it. Some people might say that’s pretty frightening.

-Brad Lohan

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