Fright Night Night

Lili’s pick: Fright Night (2011)

Lanie’s pick: Fright Night (1985)

As vampire lovers, as lovers of camp, we had to view these films—especially because I had never actually seen the original! Our mom even joined us for this Double Feature Thursday, an unprecedented event for a woman who is in bed by 9pm, and we had a blast. The OG is full of all of the 80s horror buffoonery you could ask for, and Chris Sarandon is undeniably sexy as the vampire next door. The remake is so well made that it hardly deserves the title of remake. I would even venture to say that the 2011 film is superior to the original, which is oh-so rare. It inhabits that same space of goofy teenage boy humor the first film operated within, while remaining incredibly smart—not to mention the fact that with the modern-day improvements of special effects and makeup, the vampire next door is even more terrifying. Seeing Anton Yelchin on screen makes always me weep, but this will forever be one of my favorite movies he graced us with because we get to see every side of his talent: his humor, his tenderness, and something else intangible and ephemeral that just makes him and every performance of his special.