I will be quick and to the point. I had to put this out once I read the very first review posted on IMDb. I agree with him on nearly everything. This is worth every penny and was worth the wait. It is not sold in the U.S. as of Feb.2017 so I had to order direct from the U.K. but still very quick and it is a great documentary. Well done and looks great. Everything the other guy said but I have one thing that just didn't work for me that he loved. The actor doing his take on Peter Vincent and popping up way to often than needed through out the set. No one can do Peter Vincent better than Roddy I am sure we all agree to that but this actor Simon Bamford, to me was an annoyance rather than entertaining. If his acting was over the top on purpose he still wasn't entertaining. If not for the showstopping segues into each different segment with this Faux Peter this set would get a 10. As it is, it still gets a 8 and is highly recommended. Maybe someone should make a drinking game for when Faux Peter comes on the screen you take a shot. If they do make one...you'll be drinking a lot but maybe he'll be more fun to watch that way. Still 8/10.
6 Reviews
Entertaining, fascinating and long
dregj11 July 2022
The interviews are all great, the actors and crew all have such enthusiasm for the work. They share some great behind the scenes' information on their method and how the films came together.
I really enjoyed this documentary BUT It's a bit too long even for a hardcore fright night fan and the sequences with the Peter Vincent Impersonator are too numerous and stay long past their welcome. The novelty of him at the start begins to wear after a couple of hours of the same over enunciated hammyness.(maybe skip past those parts)
I really enjoyed this documentary BUT It's a bit too long even for a hardcore fright night fan and the sequences with the Peter Vincent Impersonator are too numerous and stay long past their welcome. The novelty of him at the start begins to wear after a couple of hours of the same over enunciated hammyness.(maybe skip past those parts)
Insanely Entertaining and Fun Doc
jasonisageek17 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
With the success of Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser 1 & II, the documentary filmmakers set their sights on their next project, this time dealing with the Fright Night franchise, specifically Fright Night (1985) and Fright Night Part II (1988). When the company announced that they would be starting a new Kickstarter campaign to fund the project, I immediately put down my pre-order for the Blu- ray/DVD combo. That seems like it was at least over a year ago, and for all I know, maybe it was? Last week I finally received it in the mail and I'm here to tell you, it was well worth the wait.
You're So Cool Brewster! The Story of Fright Night was such a blast from start to finish. I'll admit, I was a bit worried since I personally found Leviathan to be on the boring side. But whether there was some unanimous feedback that shared my sentiment, or if the filmmakers themselves made this decision on their own and wanted to try a different approach, it worked. This one is so much fun, lively and engaging, and my fears were put to rest after about 2 minutes.
One of the best things about this that you'll notice immediately is that they integrate little segments of a Peter Vincent impersonator (Simon Bamford) to announce each segment. It's a bit jarring at first, because this guy is so hammy that it's more of a caricature rather than an impersonation, but you end up starting to enjoy them because ultimately, they're pretty funny, clever and he's having such a great time doing it. When it was all over, I enjoyed these little bits so much that I told my wife that I wish they would make a show just on his character because it so much fun and legitimately funny.
If you're a fan of the film series, then this documentary is a gold mine of information and behind the scenes stuff. I'm telling you, at over 3 hours long, I could have kept going on for many more. Whether they tackled the writing process, or how Tom Holland fought to get the directing gig, or the now legendary score by Brad Fiedel, to the practical effects work, they do such an amazing job at keeping it fun and never gets tedious. They literally touch on every single aspect of making this, including the casting and even the poster art (!!), which is an experience that just keeps on giving and giving.
When it comes to it's much debated sequel from director Tommy Lee Wallace (Halloween III), it's just as detailed, fascinating and informative. I personally always found the reveled sequel to be my favorite. While logically I know that the first film is a better film, I've always felt that the sequel is a much more fun experience and doesn't get the credit or recognition it deserves.
In regards to the sequel, they do ultimately touch on why the film never got a theatrical release, and why it never really struck a chord with the fans of the first film. And while the topic of it's insanely limited DVD release is mentioned, it's never made clear why we still haven't gotten an authentic true blue widescreen release with all the bells and whistles.
I have to give the documentary crew credit. They really went all-out with this one, getting nearly every single person involved in the cast of both films to do an interview. It was fascinating seeing them recall their experience, how fond they were of the film, the director and their coworkers, and how they each brought little aspects of their own to each character.
The DVD/Blu Ray combo also offers a healthy dose of Special Features, so trust me when I say you will want to make an entire day of this. This easily ranks as one of the best Behind-The-Scenes Franchise documentaries I've seen. They set their sights on making an entertaining one, and ultimately ended up making one of the best. Be prepared, because if you don't already own them, this will automatically want to make you track down the 2 films and soundtracks.
www.robotGEEKSCultCinema.blogspot.com
You're So Cool Brewster! The Story of Fright Night was such a blast from start to finish. I'll admit, I was a bit worried since I personally found Leviathan to be on the boring side. But whether there was some unanimous feedback that shared my sentiment, or if the filmmakers themselves made this decision on their own and wanted to try a different approach, it worked. This one is so much fun, lively and engaging, and my fears were put to rest after about 2 minutes.
One of the best things about this that you'll notice immediately is that they integrate little segments of a Peter Vincent impersonator (Simon Bamford) to announce each segment. It's a bit jarring at first, because this guy is so hammy that it's more of a caricature rather than an impersonation, but you end up starting to enjoy them because ultimately, they're pretty funny, clever and he's having such a great time doing it. When it was all over, I enjoyed these little bits so much that I told my wife that I wish they would make a show just on his character because it so much fun and legitimately funny.
If you're a fan of the film series, then this documentary is a gold mine of information and behind the scenes stuff. I'm telling you, at over 3 hours long, I could have kept going on for many more. Whether they tackled the writing process, or how Tom Holland fought to get the directing gig, or the now legendary score by Brad Fiedel, to the practical effects work, they do such an amazing job at keeping it fun and never gets tedious. They literally touch on every single aspect of making this, including the casting and even the poster art (!!), which is an experience that just keeps on giving and giving.
When it comes to it's much debated sequel from director Tommy Lee Wallace (Halloween III), it's just as detailed, fascinating and informative. I personally always found the reveled sequel to be my favorite. While logically I know that the first film is a better film, I've always felt that the sequel is a much more fun experience and doesn't get the credit or recognition it deserves.
In regards to the sequel, they do ultimately touch on why the film never got a theatrical release, and why it never really struck a chord with the fans of the first film. And while the topic of it's insanely limited DVD release is mentioned, it's never made clear why we still haven't gotten an authentic true blue widescreen release with all the bells and whistles.
I have to give the documentary crew credit. They really went all-out with this one, getting nearly every single person involved in the cast of both films to do an interview. It was fascinating seeing them recall their experience, how fond they were of the film, the director and their coworkers, and how they each brought little aspects of their own to each character.
The DVD/Blu Ray combo also offers a healthy dose of Special Features, so trust me when I say you will want to make an entire day of this. This easily ranks as one of the best Behind-The-Scenes Franchise documentaries I've seen. They set their sights on making an entertaining one, and ultimately ended up making one of the best. Be prepared, because if you don't already own them, this will automatically want to make you track down the 2 films and soundtracks.
www.robotGEEKSCultCinema.blogspot.com
Excellent Documentary
Michael_Elliott10 July 2017
You're So Cool, Brewster! The Story of Fright Night (2016)
**** (out of 4)
If you're a fan of FRIGHT NIGHT then you'll certainly love this documentary no matter which version you watch. The original version apparently runs 217-minutes and discusses not only the original film but also the sequel and remake. There's an alternate version clocking in at 140-minutes and this version can be seen on Shudder at the time of me writing this and it only covers the original film and a few minutes of the sequel.
With that said, the 140-minute version that I watched was certainly highly entertaining and contained just about anything you'd want to know about the film. The director Tom Holland and the majority of the cast and crew are on hand to discuss the making of the film and how everything came to be.
It seems the new trend is to take movies and make documentaries on them that last longer than the film itself. That's the case here as this here is another mammoth documentary that covers every aspect of the production and there's no question that you're going to learn just about everything you wanted. I really loved the various discussions dealing with the pre-production and how everything came into place including the casting of the film.
There's also a lot of great talk about the various special effects that were used in the film and we get a very detailed look at their creation, what they were trying to do and what they did to achieve the look. These stories are among the highlights of the documentary as well is the discussion on the alternate ending that the studio had them get rid of.
As I said, I've only seen the 140-minute version but I honestly can't wait to see the longer one. If you're a fan of the film then you're certainly going to love this.
**** (out of 4)
If you're a fan of FRIGHT NIGHT then you'll certainly love this documentary no matter which version you watch. The original version apparently runs 217-minutes and discusses not only the original film but also the sequel and remake. There's an alternate version clocking in at 140-minutes and this version can be seen on Shudder at the time of me writing this and it only covers the original film and a few minutes of the sequel.
With that said, the 140-minute version that I watched was certainly highly entertaining and contained just about anything you'd want to know about the film. The director Tom Holland and the majority of the cast and crew are on hand to discuss the making of the film and how everything came to be.
It seems the new trend is to take movies and make documentaries on them that last longer than the film itself. That's the case here as this here is another mammoth documentary that covers every aspect of the production and there's no question that you're going to learn just about everything you wanted. I really loved the various discussions dealing with the pre-production and how everything came into place including the casting of the film.
There's also a lot of great talk about the various special effects that were used in the film and we get a very detailed look at their creation, what they were trying to do and what they did to achieve the look. These stories are among the highlights of the documentary as well is the discussion on the alternate ending that the studio had them get rid of.
As I said, I've only seen the 140-minute version but I honestly can't wait to see the longer one. If you're a fan of the film then you're certainly going to love this.
You're So Cool, Brewster! The Story of Fright Night: 50% isn't bad right?
Platypuschow14 January 2018
I really enjoyed Fright Night (1985) I consider it a true cult classic that has aged extremely well, it's sequel however I found went the other way entirely and I try to forget about its existence.
This extremely difficult to get hold of documentary covers both movies and stands at around 3hr 40 minutes which is pretty hefty. I'd say each movie get's about 50% of the time and that's where the problem lies.
I really enjoyed the first half, the interviews were brilliant and the story of the movies creation was arguably the best I've ever seen. Play by play, scene by scene it told the story of Fright Night almost as well as the movie itself and was a joy to behold.
Then the second half kicked in, and it all fell apart. I'm bias I know, because of my dislike for the second film but almost 2hrs of interviews and stories about a film that poor was painful.
If you enjoyed Fright Night I'd heartily recommend this to you as it really is excellent, but if you are of the same mind as me that the sequel was a pathetic cash grab then turn it off about half way.
The Good:
Highly indepth
Great interviews
Brilliant behind the scenes stories
The Bad:
Second half was pretty lame
Things I Learnt From This Movie:
Charlie Sheen was nearly Charlie!
William Ragsdale had a broken foot for most of the film
Some props from Fright Night had been used in Ghostbusters (1984)
This extremely difficult to get hold of documentary covers both movies and stands at around 3hr 40 minutes which is pretty hefty. I'd say each movie get's about 50% of the time and that's where the problem lies.
I really enjoyed the first half, the interviews were brilliant and the story of the movies creation was arguably the best I've ever seen. Play by play, scene by scene it told the story of Fright Night almost as well as the movie itself and was a joy to behold.
Then the second half kicked in, and it all fell apart. I'm bias I know, because of my dislike for the second film but almost 2hrs of interviews and stories about a film that poor was painful.
If you enjoyed Fright Night I'd heartily recommend this to you as it really is excellent, but if you are of the same mind as me that the sequel was a pathetic cash grab then turn it off about half way.
The Good:
Highly indepth
Great interviews
Brilliant behind the scenes stories
The Bad:
Second half was pretty lame
Things I Learnt From This Movie:
Charlie Sheen was nearly Charlie!
William Ragsdale had a broken foot for most of the film
Some props from Fright Night had been used in Ghostbusters (1984)
JUST OKAY - (5 stars out of 10)
BJG-Reviews11 November 2022
The stage curtains open ...
Being a big fan of the original "Fright Night" (1985), I gladly jumped into this documentary on the making of the movie despite it's incredible length of 3 hours and 37 minutes. We got to revisit one of the best vampire movies ever made with highlights, interviews, the special effects that went into it, the marketing for it, the music, and it's cultural impact.
The film starts with the great vampire killer himself, Peter Vincent (played here by Simon Bamford), as he takes us back to the set of the TV Show, Fright Night and reminisces about the old days of the film which then opens up with interviews from the original film's cast members, director, and other noteworthy people behind the camera. We get to see what William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Chris Sarandon, Stephen Geoffries, Jonathan Stark, Art Evans and Tom Holland look like these days. We are also given a very nice nod to Roddy McDowall who passed away in 1998.
Everything in this documentary is covered. How Tom Holland came up with the idea for the movie, how it was casted, how it was filmed and edited, how the music was created and incorporated, how they did all of the creature special effects and so on and so on and so on. We also got some insights into the sequel, with interviews from its cast members, director and special effects crew as well. And then, at the very end, they spend a little time talking about the 2011 re-make. They literally covered all of the bases here.
The problem I had with this was that it was far too long. Also, one thing that I have enjoyed with other similar documentaries on other movies, were fan and critic reactions and memories. For instance, with the Friday the 13th documentary, "His Name Was Jason - 30 Years of Friday the 13th", we got interviews from other film directors and celebrities who had no actual part in the filming - and I really enjoyed those outside viewpoints. This documentary gives us none of that. Also, in that Friday the 13th documentary, they covered all of the series films inside of only about 90 minutes. This Fright Night documentary was 2 hours longer than that.
By the time I finished watching this, I was so done with it. I was Fright Night'd out. It was too much. If you have roughly 4 hours of time to burn, and you are a fan of the films, you would like this. It is as in depth as they come. I am still a very big fan of the original movie. The sequel and resulting re-make and it's sequel, I honestly could do without. I give this one a nod at only 5 stars out of 10. It was worth watching, but very long - and nothing I'd watch again. I will queue up the movie instead and re-live my own memories.
Being a big fan of the original "Fright Night" (1985), I gladly jumped into this documentary on the making of the movie despite it's incredible length of 3 hours and 37 minutes. We got to revisit one of the best vampire movies ever made with highlights, interviews, the special effects that went into it, the marketing for it, the music, and it's cultural impact.
The film starts with the great vampire killer himself, Peter Vincent (played here by Simon Bamford), as he takes us back to the set of the TV Show, Fright Night and reminisces about the old days of the film which then opens up with interviews from the original film's cast members, director, and other noteworthy people behind the camera. We get to see what William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Chris Sarandon, Stephen Geoffries, Jonathan Stark, Art Evans and Tom Holland look like these days. We are also given a very nice nod to Roddy McDowall who passed away in 1998.
Everything in this documentary is covered. How Tom Holland came up with the idea for the movie, how it was casted, how it was filmed and edited, how the music was created and incorporated, how they did all of the creature special effects and so on and so on and so on. We also got some insights into the sequel, with interviews from its cast members, director and special effects crew as well. And then, at the very end, they spend a little time talking about the 2011 re-make. They literally covered all of the bases here.
The problem I had with this was that it was far too long. Also, one thing that I have enjoyed with other similar documentaries on other movies, were fan and critic reactions and memories. For instance, with the Friday the 13th documentary, "His Name Was Jason - 30 Years of Friday the 13th", we got interviews from other film directors and celebrities who had no actual part in the filming - and I really enjoyed those outside viewpoints. This documentary gives us none of that. Also, in that Friday the 13th documentary, they covered all of the series films inside of only about 90 minutes. This Fright Night documentary was 2 hours longer than that.
By the time I finished watching this, I was so done with it. I was Fright Night'd out. It was too much. If you have roughly 4 hours of time to burn, and you are a fan of the films, you would like this. It is as in depth as they come. I am still a very big fan of the original movie. The sequel and resulting re-make and it's sequel, I honestly could do without. I give this one a nod at only 5 stars out of 10. It was worth watching, but very long - and nothing I'd watch again. I will queue up the movie instead and re-live my own memories.
See also
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