Frightful Commentary...

Thanks to die-hard FRIGHT NIGHT enthusiasts Tim Sullivan and Robg (at iconsoffright.com), fans can now endulge in some long-awaited commentary tracks to this classic film! Why wait for Sony to get around to producing that long-overdue special edition, when fans are already doing the dirty work?

For the occasion, two commentaries were recorded. The first features writer/director Tom Holland with actors Chris Sarandon and Jonathan Stark and is moderated by Tim Sullivan. The second track features Holland along with actors William Ragsdale and Stephen Geoffreys, FX artist Randall William Smith, moderated by Jeremy Smith and hosted by Tim Sullivan. These feature-length commentaries were produced by the fans, for the fans. MP3 files which are completely free for download. Save them to your computer or your portable MP3 player, designed to play along with the DVD you already own. (Think Michael J. Nelson's Rifftrax.) So, dust off that ancient, bare-bones DVD you own and breathe new life into it! Sync 'em up and enjoy!

The linkage goes as follows:
FRIGHT NIGHT Commentaries
Tim Sullivan's Shock N' Roll interview with Tom Holland

While you're there, make sure to check out the Tim Sullivan-moderated CHILD'S PLAY commentary featuring Tom Holland, the key ingredient noticeably absent from the recent 20th anniversary edition release.

Also, if you missed the FRIGHT NIGHT reunion at this year's Fear Fest, you'll find the transcript of the event HERE.

That's all, folks!

Midnight Fright...

I recently received information regarding a special midnite screening of the original FRIGHT NIGHT. Here are those precious details...

When:

September 19th, 2008

Where:

The legendary Nuart Theatre

11272 Santa Monica Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90025

(310) 281-8223

The event will be hosted by Tim Sullivan and features personal appearances by Tom Holland and members of the cast.

Let's hope this is the first of many frightful affairs. Perhaps if there is enough attention on the film, Sony will recognize the fan base and their desire for a special edition re-issue.

Signing out.

Fright Night Film Fest...

I realize it has been forever-and-a-day since my last entry here at The Focus (my humble apologies), but I've recently learned about two events in the near future that should definitely appeal to Fright Nighters abound. Stay tuned for info. on the second event, but here is the info. on the first...

FRIGHT NIGHT FILM FEST
August 15-17, 2008

Clarion Hotel & Convention Center
9700 Bluegrass Parkway

Louisville, KY 40229

Contact Information
E-Mail: frightnightfilmfest@yahoo.com
[Check website for ticket and guest information]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Guests

Special Guests of Honor:
Mick Foley
Angus Scrimm
Reggie Bannister

30th Anniversary of John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN:
Tony Moran
Tommy Lee Wallace
Brian Andrews
John Michael Graham
Danielle Harris

ADDAMS FAMILY Reunion:
Ken Weatherwax
Lisa Loring
Felix Silla

FRIDAY THE 13TH Jason Reunion:
Kane Hodder
CJ Graham
Steve Dash

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE:
John Dugan
Teri McMinn
Bill Vail

Pop Culture Guests:
Jason Lively
Robyn Lively
Charles Edward Pogue
Tom Holland
Lloyd Kaufman
Alex Vincent
Alex Del Monacco
Al Snow
Matthew "Feedback" Atherton
Melody Anderson
Sonny Landham
Keith Age
Tim Gross
Deadpit.com
Jim O'Rear
Gary Klar

Artist's Alley:
Dirk Strangely
Robert Logue
Richard Cook
Jeff Gaither
Ken Kelly
Gary Friedrich

Filmmaker's Alley:
JD Feigelson
Mark Poole
Patrick Rea
Eric Stanze
George Bonilla

Keep checking for more possible guests!

August 15-17, 2008
Friday - 4:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Saturday - 10:00 am - 7:00 pm
Sunday - 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Clarion Hotel & Convention Center
9700 Bluegrass Parkway

Louisville, KY 40229

Obviously, this event doesn't deal entirely with the Fright Night world, but the appearance of filmmakers Tom Holland and Tommy Lee Wallace make it essential. Not to mention all of the other terrific guests in attendance! I wish I were going!

I would love to hear from anyone attending this event. Comments and photos are welcome from all. Inform fellow Fright Nighters about your experience!

Off the shelf & on the move...

William Ragsdale DVD alert! The long out-of-print "Mannequin Two: On The Move" finally makes it's DVD debut.

Announcing the newly-released double feature of "Mannequin" & "Mannequin Two: On The Move" from MGM Home Entertainment. This is the first official DVD release of "Mannequin Two" and it's only available in this set. ("Mannequin" first issued on DVD in 2001.)

Retailing at an average of $9.99, this 2-disc set incorporates the same exact double-sided DVD for "Mannequin" (boasting both 1.85:1 widescreen and full screen transfers + the theatrical trailer) from the previous release, along with a second disc devoted to the sequel. "Mannequin Two" sports a fine 1.85:1 (16:9 enhanced) transfer (with 2-channel Dolby Surround) which, in my opinion, beats all former incarnations. Beyond that, unfortunately, the disc contains no supplemental features.

"Mannequin On The Move," as titled in the opening credits, debuted theatrically in 1991 and stars Ragsdale and Kristy Swanson (the original "Buffy, The Vampire Slayer") in the lead roles. Co-starring Terry Kiser (Bernie Lomax from "Weekend At Bernie's"), Stuart Pankin (Dudley Laywicker from "The Hollywood Knights") and Meshach Taylor reprising his role from the original as 'Hollywood' Montrose. Produced and co-written by Edward Rugoff (he also co-penned the 1987 predecessor) and directed by Stewart Raffill ("High Risk," "The Ice Pirates," "The Philadelphia Experiment" and a slew of those "Wilderness Family" epics from the mid-1970s).

Since it's not included on the DVD, the film's theatrical trailer can be found on various LIVE Home Video VHS releases, circa late '91 to early '92. Of course, if you're a fan of "Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker," you should already know this! ACK!

He's a good man in a bad time...

Whatever happened to Nick Savage?

It takes a seriously over-confident chap to challenge the likes of both Jerry Dandrige AND Jason Voorhees! Enter character actor Nick Savage, a man who was certainly up for the task! I remember first seeing "Fright Night" and saying "Hey, that's the dude from 'Friday The 13th, Part III' and he still hasn't learned his lesson!"

In the third-dimensional "Friday" entry, Savage portrayed a vengeful biker named 'Ali' who presumably met his demise early in the film only to return during the finale, seemingly out of nowhere, extremely pissing Jason (Richard Brooker) off. The result of which was Ali's true demise, caused by an acute case of severed hand followed by a terminal case of quick death.

Fast forward to 1985 and Savage is back as 'Bouncer #1' in Tom Holland's "Fright Night". Of course, when he attempts to mess with Jerry Dandrige (Chris Sarandon), 'Bouncer #1' immediately regrets the decision and nearly does a #2 in his pants at the sight of this vamped-out gate crasher.

The Nick Savage Factor (as I've deemed it) is something I've always been intrigued with and it's definitely a relief to finally document the issue.

Where for art thou, Nick Savage?!
You can come out of hiding.
The coast is clear.
The boogeymen are all gone.

Or, are they?
[Insert sinister maniacal laughter here!]

A frightful reunion revisited...

On March 7, 8 & 9th, Texas Fear Fest hosted the first-ever "Fright Night" reunion, featuring cast members and filmmakers from both films. Tom Holland, Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Stephen Geoffreys, Jonathan Stark, Julie Carmen and Tommy Lee Wallace were all in attendance.

Thanks to the fine folks at IconsOfFright.com, a complete transcription of the Q&A panel (moderated by Robg) has been made available. Video clips are also included!

http://www.iconsoffright.com/IV_FrightNight.htm

Special thanks to Robg for the heads up on this!

Excellent work, M8!

Upcoming transmissions...

Encore is airing a few showings of "Fright Night" throughout the month of April on both it's main channel and it's Mystery channel. ENCORE: April 11th/12th @ 1:30 am (12:30 am central) and April 29th/30th @ 12:40 am (11:40 PM central) . ENCORE MYSTERY: April 6th @ 11:15 am (10:15 am central) & 6:10 PM (5:10 PM central); April 15th @ 1PM (12PM central) & 9:30 PM (8:30 PM central); April 19th @ 12:50 PM (11:30 am central) & 10PM (9PM central); April 23rd @ 8PM (7PM central); April 23rd/24th @ 3am (2am central).

Unfortunately, this is the pan & scan version, but hey, it's "Fright Night"!

MyFrightSpace and yours...

Dearest Cyber-Chums,

I'm pleased to announce that the Fright Night Focus MySpace page is up and running. Consider this an invitation to all fans to follow the link and add some frightfulness to your friend list!

http://myspace.com/frightnightfocus

Of course, now that you've been made welcome...

I'll expect that you'll probably drop by, quite a bit.

In fact, any time you feel like it.

Hitting the streets...

While there might not be an 'I' in 'team,' there is a 'me'... and that is 'moi' - the one-man FNF street team!

I'll be tagging a few venues in the area to help advertise this blog. My plan is to sticker the site info on any "Fright Night" related products that I can find. Yes, I have that kind of time on my hands. Should I be doing more important things with said time? Sure, but this is for a good cause!

I've got a long day ahead of me, I'd better "Rock Myself To Sleep".

ACK!

Grab your pencils...

To cover all bases, it wouldn't be a bad idea to embark on a "snail mail" campaign to plead for a special edition DVD of Tom Holland's "Fright Night". To do so, please send your requests to either Mr. Michael Lynton or Mr. Bob Osher or, even better... both!

c/o

Sony Pictures Entertainment
10202 West Washington Blvd.

Culver City, CA. 90232

Don't be shy! Include your suggestions on what specifications you'd like to see make the disc. Let 'em know just how lovely the film will look, all cleaned up, on one of their nifty BluRay machines!

As with any situation such as this, please conduct your request with the utmost respect and honesty. Remember that true fan dedication has influenced and resurrected several cult classics to their definitive presentations and our consumer voices deserve to be heard!

What if...

Since remakes and "re-imaginings" are all the rage in Hollywood these days, it's inevitable that someone would want to remake "Fright Night". If you know me, you probably also know that I'm quite the curmudgeon when it comes to these things. My obvious reply to a remake is "Please don't". But, a sequel... that, I wouldn't mind.

Sure there's already been a sequel, but I always felt a third film would have been great and I still think it's a good idea. There's plenty of backstory to work with and the possibility of reuniting the original cast could lead to a bevy of interesting storylines.
At any rate, there's my plea.

Naturally, an online petition was in order and I've created it!
Calm your applause, please.

Here's where you can leave your fang marks...
http://www.petitiononline.com/part3/petition.html

DVD petitions...

I've just created seperate online petitions for possible "special edition" DVD re-issues, so please pay a visit and leave your mark.

"Fright Night" Special Edition DVD petition...
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/fright85/petition.html

"Fright Night, Part 2" Special Edition DVD petition...
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/fright88/petition.html

Please spread the word, fellow FRIGHT fans!
And, let the internet saturation begin!

Okay, the mission statement...

As promised! The purpose of this blog is to help generate interest in revisiting "Fright Night" and it's sequel, "Fright Night, Part 2" in a definitive presentation of sorts. Wouldn't it be great to see deluxe editions of these films on DVD and/or Blu-Ray? I can honestly tell you that I would pay blood (no pun intended, unless you want there to be) to see these films receive their definitive due.

My wish list for special features to either film:
- Director commentary
- Cast commentary
- Retrospective documentary
- On-the-set home movies
- Any and all initial publicity featurettes
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spots
- Outtakes or alternate and deleted scenes
- Blooper reel
Any other bells & whistles welcome!

Also... (fingers crossed in a perfect world which resides somewhere in my mind) a "Fright Night III" would be swell. Wink!

A tangent leading up to a mission statement...

I wish I could remember the exact date of my initial viewing of Tom Holland's "Fright Night". What I do recall is that it was 1986. Having seen the TV spots during the film's theatrical run the previous year, and having heard all the school bus chatter from older classmates about how cool this film was, I eagerly anticipated the film's home video release. After a quick trip to Video Circle, I found myself popping the rental videocassette into my family's Montogomery Ward VCR. Approximately 106 minutes later, (Special thanks to RCA/Columbia Home Video for throwing in a commercial for the forgettable sex comedy, "Screen Test," after the film's end credits) I became an instant fan.

The truth is that I was a "Fright Night" fanboy long before the film was made, simply because I already loved the horror genre and could have been the 9-year-old equivalent to Charley Brewster. Alright, that's a total reach.

Anyhow, my point is that this film affected me. From beginning to end, "Fright Night" is perfect fun. Here is a film which succeeds at balancing both the classic and then-contemporary approach to the horror genre, while maintaining a timeless appeal. Not to mention the terrific story, direction, performances, cinematography, special effects, music, et cetera. A prime testament to the genre and yet another example that "They sure don't make 'em, like they used to".