Fright Night (Steelbook) [4K UHD]
[{'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2017', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Let me start by clarifying that this version of Fright Night (1985) Blu-ray plays on American Blu-ray players. I thought I should clarify this first because there are inconsistencies about the way this particular version is presented on Amazon. For instance, the link for the product says [Region Free] but then on the Product Description it says Region B (won\'t play on most Blu-ray players in America) but then down below there is another note that says "it will play on American Blu-ray players". The product link says "Blu-ray only" but the sticker on the product image says Blu-ray/DVD Dual copy. I was confused so I called Amazon customer service. Agent, after putting me on brief hold, told me that the item is Region B only and probably won\'t play on American Blu-ray players. But because I trust Amazon\'s return policy, I decided to take the chance and purchase. I thought to myself, if it didn\'t play I could always return it to Amazon. I am glad I did that. As soon as I inserted the disc to my Blu-ray player (Sony 4K Blu-ray player ubp x800), it played without any issues. My other 4K Blu-ray Player, Samsung UBD-KMC85C also plays it without any issues. And it is dual copy, there is a Blu-ray disc and a DVD.\n\nThis is a Christmas wish come true as Fright Night Blu-ray has been the most elusive Blu-ray commodity in the past 10 years. There are many other Blu-ray versions, there is a German Blu-ray version, I believe there is also a Blu-ray Australian version none of which were playable on American Blu-ray players. Then there was the 30th anniversary Blu-ray edition that was released in 2015 that was sold out quickly. Now, finally there is a Fright Night Blu-ray version UK import that plays on American Blu-ray players.\n\nPicture and audio quality is excellent. They did a fantastic job with the transfer. I watch it on LG OLED 55C7 TV. Make sure you go to audio settings and select 5.1 surround sound (if you have surround sound system) because the audio setting is default to stereo selection.\n\nThere are tons of special features all of which are listed on the product description - not inconsistency there. They are all on the Blu-ray disc. If you love this movie and concerned about the Blu-ray format, you should not have any fears. You should definitely add this to your collection, turn off your lights and enjoy Fright Night on Blu-ray....for real :)'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2019', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I first watched this movie after it had been released for television. I was instantly hooked and have been a devoted fan since then. The story is about a young guy named Charlie Brewster who is into horror flicks and a stale, campy t.v. show named "Fright Night" hosted by an aging actor named Peter Vincent ( Roddy McDowall) . One night, from his bedroom window, Brewster sees his new neighbors carrying what appears to be a coffin to the outside, basement entrance of their house. Brewster\'s natural curiosity leads him to discover that his new neighbor is a vampire and may be involved in the disappearance of a young call girl and several other victims. Of course no one believes Brewster including his mother, his girlfriend (Amanda Bearse) , and their mutual friend "Evil Ed" Thompson (Stephen Geoffreys) and the local police. Brewster\'s new neighbor Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) and his "roommate" Billy Cole (Jonathan Stark) find out that Brewster knows that Dandridge is a vampire and that sets off the chain of events that leads Brewster to contact Peter Vincent who naturally thinks Brewster is an over zealous, fanatical nut. But after much persuasion and a bribe of around $500.00, Brewster convinces Vincent to telephone Dandridge and ask if he, Brewster, Amy and Ed can pay a visit ,complete with a cross and a small bottle of "holy water", to either prove or disprove Brewster\'s claim of vampirism. When Brewster, Amy, Ed and Vincent arrive at the Dandridge residence and after some accusations by Brewster, Dandridge holds the little bottle of water near to the flames of a lit fireplace then reluctantly drinks the " holy water ". When nothing happens, Peter Vincent chides Brewster on wasting everyone\'s time. Just before they leave, Vincent turns from the group to admire the house and its numerous antiques and pulls from his lapel pocket a gold cigarette case. While looking at the little mirror inside of the case, he discovers he can see the reflections of everyone behind him except Dandridge\'s reflection. Startled, he drops the case, unaware that the corner of the small mirror broke off and is on the floor. Vincent nervously apologizes for the inconvenience then quickly ushers the other 3 out of the house. Once Vincent is in his car and about to leave he confesses to Brewster what had happened with the mirror and quickly leaves. Inside the house as Dandridge is telling Billy that no one will ever believe Brewster\'s story now, he walks across the room and steps on the broken piece of mirror. The look on Dandridge\'s face makes it clear to the audience that he is convinced that Peter Vincent now believes that Dandridge is indeed a vampire. In order not to divulge too much more and spoil the ending, I\'ll leave the plot summary at that. "Fright Night" is a very well made cult classic that is a "Halloween night must watch" movie that can be enjoyed any time of the year. I\'d like to add that Roddy McDowall (in my opinion) is one of Britain\'s finer actors. His portrayal of the character " Peter Vincent " brings the perfect "old world" charm to this 1980\'s cult classic. I very highly recommend this movie!!'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2020', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'When 17 year old Charlie Brewster finds out that his next door neighbor is a vampire he seeks the help of Peter Vincent. Will anyone believe him that his neighbor is a vampire or is it already too late?\n\nNOTE: as the title mentioned this is a MOD or manufactured on demand bluray. This means that the disc is not your traditional colorful print but just a white print with the title and copyright information. The copy is that of the original bluray version (film or what you’re watching/seeing). Also, MOD doesn’t mean it’s any less than the original. You won’t be able to tell the difference.\n\nSee pictures for illustrations: the white one is the MOD bluray version. The black one with orange writing is the original dvd version. Both of the back of each disc is white/clear as some disc you might get a burned/copied one. I’ve heard of people buying MOD copies and they end up with your typical dvd-r or bd-r; the dvd-r which will likely be purple on the burned side. Be careful buying MOD copies!'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2021', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Columbia/Sony released this 1985 horror-comedy hybrid onto Blu-ray, looking superb in HD, a huge upgrade over the ancient DVD, now loaded with extras like two different commentary tracks from the director-writer (Tom Holland) with and the cast(good guys on one, bad guys on the other) plus several new interviews and an extended documentary about the making of the film(including one about the late Roddy McDowell, who played Peter Vincent) and even a bit about the 1988 sequel(still no region one DVD/Blu-ray release yet...).\n\nStill effective with both horror and humor mixing well as William Ragsdale plays a horror film loving teenager convinced that his new neighbor(played by Chris Sarandon) is in fact a real-life vampire, and his efforts to convince everyone of it before he becomes the next victim.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2020', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Cult classic American horror film from 1985, one of those films I had heard of and meant to watch but just now got around to seeing. It was a lot of fun, I liked the cast and the overall story, it has some good practical effects, it was great seeing Roddy McDowall, and it was a blast of 80s nostalgia. Good nods to classic vampire tropes too.\n\nFitting nicely into the “kids/teens fight evil in the suburbs, protecting a disbelieving or unaware town” subgenre, a subgenre I really like, the movie’s central character is Charley Brewster (played by William Ragsdale), a 17 year old high school student and fan of a local late night TV series called Fright Night, hosted by a former well known horror movie star named Peter Vincent (played by Roddy McDowall). One night, while with his girlfriend Amy Peterson (played by Amanda Bearse), he notices that the next-door neighbor, newly moved in, is, well, odd, and soon concludes this neighbor, Jerry Dandridge (played by Chris Sarandon) is in fact a vampire. Only no one believes Charley, not Amy, not Charley’s best friend Edward “Evil Ed” Thompson (played by Stephen Geoffreys), not his mom, not the police, no one. With women in town vanishing or turning up dead, all the signs that Jerry is a vampire, and no one to turn to…well I can’t say much more, but the film does end up involving Peter Vincent as well.\n\nI liked the movie’s progression from Charley trying to convince his friends that Jerry is a vampire, protecting himself and his mom from a threat his mom is blissfully unaware of, to a group assembled to fight Jerry (ok, that may be spoilerish).\n\nIt is a fun movie, a little campy maybe at times but it is mostly pretty earnest and is a lot of fun, clearly a movie made as a love letter to classic horror films. Lots of surprisingly good practical effects, especially the climatic scene, and it was fun to see a really traditional vampire, more like the ones in the old black and white movies rather than any new revisionist, modern take. I liked especially the Peter Vincent and Evil Ed characters, the first such a classic embodiment of Vincent Price and Peter Cushing type characters, the second a classic 80s character. Just a fun horror movie.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2017', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "BOTTOM LINE: One of the THE BEST horror movies pretty much EVER, actually. It has a timeless quality, despite the obvious hairstyle & clothing selections which squarely pegs it as an 80's flick. Top-shelf acting across the board, with the wonderful Roddy McDowell being a stand-out. (IMHO, he deserved an Oscar for his terrific turn as hollow, egotistical B-movie has-been, Peter Vincent.) Excellent practical & optical effects still provide the jolts needed to keep you jumping throughout. Sensuous, slick synth soundtrack by Brad (Terminator, T2) Fidel. This Blu-ray plays flawlessly on all machines and the picture is worlds above the previous DVD editions. The extras alone rate 5 STARS, but with the superb hi-def transfer as well, this would be a 10 STAR release, if such a thing were allowed. :-)\n\nTHOUGHTS: I have loved this movie ever since first catching it on cable decades ago. It is one of those movies that you never get tired of, the kind where if you come across it on TV you'll settle in and watch it, no matter how far along into the film it is. Writer/director Tom Holland crafts a full-blooded film that takes many of the time-honored vampire tropes and embraces them, while at the same time adding new wrinkles, all without smudging the trappings we've come to know and love about the genre. Every actor here is putting in A+ work, with only Charlie's mom coming across as over the top/farcical in her performance, (though it's still not too far-out and, thankfully, her needed presence is brief). Chris Sarandon as new pain-in-the-neck neighbor Jerry Dandridge is smooth & suave yet also frighteningly threatening... yet still a little sad. Young William Ragsdale makes for a wholesomely good all-American boy next door as our hero, Charlie Brewster. Amanda Bearse, as Charlie's girlfriend Amy, is both a quirky cutie pie and a smoldering seductress (post neck-bite). Stephen Geoffreys is hilarious and appropriately scatterbrained as Charlie's dorky monster nerd pal, 'Evil' Ed. And rounding out the main cast, is legendary thesp Roddy McDowell, playing an in-joke former sort-of 'star' as Peter Vincent. Vincent is on his last legs; eking out a living milking his tarnished status as a former horror film icon to host a chintzy local late night creature feature TV show (which, much to his bitter disappointment, has just been cancelled). He lives in the rose-colored past, pompously clinging to his former (not so glorious) glory days. The character arc for Peter is wonderful, and lifelong yeoman actor McDowell masterfully exploits his character's hidden strengths and abundant weaknesses to their fullest. His transformation from bitter, self-important fop to fearless slayer of all things evil is a joy to behold. (And his quiet monologue in his apartment when Amy & Ed come to visit him is unexpectedly touching.) Truthfully, the man should've gotten the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance, or at the very least a nomination. He did however win the Saturn Award in that category that year, so his work in FRIGHT NIGHT wasn't completely ignored.\n\nTHE BLU-RAY/DVD COMBO SET: I wasn't sure about ordering this, as it was a non-US release, but took a chance based on the recommendations of other Amazon customers. Shouldn't have worried. This Blu plays just fine in Region 1 machines. The picture & sound jump in quality from the old DVD release is like day & night. A 4k restoration results in a super-sharp picture, with little in the way of dirt & debris not much artifacting, pixelation, edge-enhancement nor crush to spoil it. Vibrant color palette, without accursed over-saturation, bleeding or the villainous use of DNR to ruin the original vision of the cinematographer & the director. Likewise, the soundtrack & audiomix are worlds improved. The mix is properly balanced here now, allowing you to fully enjoy composer Brad Fidel's haunting, sensual score, without it overpowering the dialogue scenes. The BIG bonus for fans of the film is the wealth of fantastic bonus features, the best of which is a thoroughly exhaustive 'Making of...' piece that's almost two and half hours long!!! Lots of other great stuff is included as well. This Blu-ray/DVD combo will likely be THE definitive edition to own for some time to come. Do yourself a favor and buy this! (Score some brownie points with a friend who doesn't yet have a Blu-ray player and give them the DVD .)"}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2019', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "This is one of my most favorite vampire movies, it even beats out Lost Boys for me. When I saw that I could get a bluray copy of this movie without having to buy the expensive (and limited) version from ebay, I preordered right away! I find the quality to be good and the extras included a must if you love this movie like I do. I just wish they would come out with another run of the soundtrack too (a full one, like with the song 'Come To Me' not having vocals etc)."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2021', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'This has been a favorite movie of mine for several decades. It\'s kinda a B movie, the graphics are fairly weak compared to 2021, but it\'s about what love used to be, how people do the right thing when push comes to shove and how people work together to defeat evil: That\'s reading a lot into it and the movie is not that deep, it\'s meant to be enjoyed "as is". It\'s a classic, has to be pretty good to have been remade 2011.\nWouldn\'t let small children watch it, but I don\'t think it would scare most 10 years old and up. Humor, love, family and friendship.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2020', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'This has become my favorite and most watched movie since I first saw it in a movie theater in 1985. And this Blu-ray edition has the best picture so you can enjoy the movie better than possible for most of the past 35 years.\n\nAnd this edition has ALL the special features available. Commentary tracks and the You’re So Cool Brewster documentary that was recently released but is already unavailable.\n\nWhy do I love this movie? Terrific story, incredible performances by Chris Sarandon and Roddy McDowall, and some real heart in a horror-comedy that has a great blend of both.\n\nIf you haven’t seen this, you really should. It could be the night of your life.\n\nHIGHEST RECOMMENDATION'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2020', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'This was a fantastic movie that had just the right amount of everything. Great characters, superb cosmetic/make-up design, just the right usage of special effects, and a fun, simple story that\'s brought to life through good acting.\n\nThe "R" Rating seems a little misguided - outside of a very brief scene with topless nudity there\'s nothing here you wouldn\'t see in a PG-13 movie or even TV show in the modern day. The rating does seem a little exaggerated here.\n\nI recommend it if you want an actual story with your horror movie and not just cheap jump scares.'}]