Fright Night
There are some very good reasons to be afraid of the dark.
Country
Production
Budget
$9 000 000
Box office
$24 922 237
Director
Actors
Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Roddy McDowall, Stephen Geoffreys, Jonathan Stark, Dorothy Fielding, Art Evans, Stewart Stern, Nick Savage
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Herb Jaffe
Camera operator
Jan Kiesser
Composer
Artist
John DeCuir Jr.
Audition
Jackie Burch
Editing
Kent Beyda
Whole Team (71)
Whole Team (71)
Short description
Charley Brewster, a high school student, accidentally discovers the true and creepy nature of Jerry Dandrige, his dashing and enigmatic new neighbor; but no one seems willing to believe him.
What's left behind the scenes
- A full-size wolf puppet was created for the scene featuring the transformation of the character played by Stephen Jeffreys. However, the film actually used the actor himself in werewolf makeup with a prosthetic head.
- The "vampiric" contact lenses for actors Steven Jeffreys and Chris Sarandon were made by Steve Johnson. Small glitter was attached to the inside of the lenses to create a yellowish glow around the pupils.
- A great deal of time and budget went into filming the scene where Jerry walks through Mrs. Brewster's bedroom without being reflected in the mirror.
- The handmade contact lenses were made of a hard plastic that caused pain to the actors. For a while, Stephen Jeffreys could not see anything at all. Amanda Beers experienced such discomfort that she requested the lenses be further processed so they could be worn painlessly.
- In the scene where Chris Sarandon's character grabs a bouncer by the throat and lifts him up, the bouncer was actually standing on a huge box with wheels located just out of the camera's view. The bouncer then began to slowly rise, creating the impression that he was being lifted into the air and then dragged across the floor.
- While swatting Jerry (Chris Sarandon) in his bat form with a bone, Roddy McDowall, who played Peter, accidentally punched the puppet’s head. The crew rushed to repair the bat to continue filming, but the damage was so severe that it took two days to repair it. Close-up shots of the bat had to be postponed.
- During the filming of the final scene on December 24, 1984 (three weeks after the start of filming), William Ragsdale injured his leg while running down the stairs. Filming of the action scenes with his character had to be postponed to allow time for treatment and recovery, while scenes with other characters were filmed in the meantime.
- Director Tom Holland asked special effects master Randall William Cook if he could create a toothy maw for one of the vampires. The filmmakers had no more time or money left to create the prosthetic, but Cook said he could put something together over the weekend, provided the maw only flashed briefly on screen, and no more. In the end, the prosthetic was not only shown repeatedly on screen, but also featured on the film's famous poster.
- Before his final transformation into the Evil Ed, actor Stephen Jeffries spent 18 hours in the makeup chair.
- A theater master's graduate of the Catholic University of America, Chris Sarandon helped the makeup artists "transform" him into a vampire. While they were applying makeup to his face, the actor himself attached special lengthening prosthetics to his fingers.
- A monstrous puppet (the librarian ghost) was made for Ivan Reitman's 1984 comedy-action film "Ghostbusters" and was offered for use in the film, but the offer was rejected. It was decided that the puppet was too frightening for a "PG" rated film (a film that requires parental guidance; this rating is never given to horror or thriller films). Then someone realized that it resembled the already created vampire puppet, so it was used in the final scene of the vampire's demise in flames.
- William Ragsdale intentionally did not look at the actress doubling for him in makeup until the filming of the scene where his character is frightened by seeing Amy transformed into a vampire (played by Amanda Birze).
- To film one of the scenes, a solution was poured into Stephen Jeffrey's mouth to thicken his saliva, only for the crew to realize it was a sticky substance used by dentists, which immediately began gluing the actor's oral cavity shut.
- Handmade contact lenses were made of durable plastic, and wearing them caused the actors pain. Stephen Jeffries was unable to see anything for a while. Amanda Birze experienced such unpleasant sensations that she asked for the lenses to be further processed so they could be worn painlessly.
- While swatting away Jerry (Chris Sarandon) in bat form with a bone, Roddy McDowall, who played Peter, accidentally punctured the puppet's head. The crew rushed to fix the bat to continue filming, but the damage was so severe that repairs took two days. Close-up shots of the bat had to be postponed.
- A monstrous puppet (the librarian ghost) had been created for Ivan Reitman's 1984 comedy-action film 'Ghostbusters'; it was proposed for use in this movie, but the offer was rejected. It was decided that the puppet was too frightening for a PG-rated film (a rating that indicates parental guidance is suggested and is never given to horror movies or thrillers). Later, someone noted that it resembled an already created vampire puppet, so it was used in the final scene where the vampire perishes in flames.
- Before the final transformation of Evil Ed, actor Stephen Jefferies spent 18 hours in the makeup chair.
- A full-size wolf doll was made for the filming of the scene of the character’s transformation, played by Steven Jeffreys. However, the film actually featured the actor himself in werewolf makeup and with a prosthetic head.
- For the filming of one scene, Steven Jeffreys was given some solution in his mouth to thicken his saliva, and then they realized it was an adhesive substance used by dentists, which immediately began to glue the actor's mouth shut.
- During the filming of the final scene on December 24, 1984 (three weeks after the start of production), William Ragsdale injured his leg while running down a staircase. Action scenes featuring his character had to be postponed to allow time for treatment and recovery, while scenes involving other characters were filmed in the meantime.
- Director Tom Holland asked special effects master Randall William Cook if he could create a toothy maw for one of the vampires. The filmmakers had neither the time nor the money left to create a prosthesis, but Cook said he could put something together over the weekend, provided that the maw only flashed on screen briefly. It ended up that the prosthesis was not only shown on screen multiple times but was also featured on the film's now-famous poster.
- In the scene where Chris Sarandon's character grabs a bouncer by the throat and lifts him up, the bouncer was actually standing on a large wheeled box that was just outside of the camera's view. The bouncer then began to slowly rise, creating the impression that he was being lifted into the air, after which he was dragged across the floor.
- William Ragsdale intentionally avoided looking at the stunt double in makeup until the filming of the scene where his character is frightened by Amy (played by Amanda Beers) turning into a vampire.
- The 'vampire' contact lenses for actors Stephen Jeffrey and Chris Sarandon were made by Steve Johnson. Small sequins were attached to the inside to create a yellowish glow around the pupils.
- Chris Sarandon, who held a Master's degree in theater from the Catholic University of America, assisted the makeup artists in 'transforming' him into a vampire. While they applied makeup to his face, the actor himself attached special lengthening extensions to his fingers.
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