Fright Night Part II
by Tommy Lee Wallace
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Jon Gries, Julie Carmen, Roddy McDowall, Traci Lind, William RagsdaleDirector: Tommy Lee Wallace
Writer: Tommy Lee Wallace
Producer: Herb Jaffe
Producer: Jeffrey Sudzin
Producer: Miguel Tejada-Flores
Writer: Miguel Tejada-Flores
Writer: Tim Metcalfe
Writer: Tom Holland
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 104 minutes
Published: 2003-08-01
DVD Release Date: 2003-08-19
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Live / Artisan
Movie Reviews of Fright Night Part II
Movie Review: Highly Enjoyable for a Sequel
Summary: 5 Stars
Usually the "unplanned" sequel of a hit movie suck inasmuch as the producers found an unexpected hit and try to shake the money tree for a bit more.
This is not true for Fright Night part 2. The sequel (based on the surprise hit of 1985) has a well thought out and believably based plot (at least for a vampire tale) and story line. In this case Regine is looking for vengeance in the destruction of her brother Jerry Dandridge in the previous film. She plans to exact this by turning Charlie Brewster (now in college) into a vampire himself and torturing him through eternity. While she reserves Charlie for herself, she has a troupe of other beasties and baddies which follow her around and generally cause mayhem wherever they go. These provide mostly for comic relief. The male sidekick catches bugs and just before devouring them gives the scientific name for each. Others may not appreciate the inserted humor, but I found that it added to the story. Sort of like the creator saying, "Hey, this is just make believe, let's have some fun". My favorite was the young guy w/ the sideburns who plays a hip vampire and tries to `make it' with Charlie's new girlfriend, Alex. One feels that he just recently became one of the undead and still wants to savor the life he once had (in a very clumsy way). Another reviewer says he came off as a dork. I personally think this is the impression he was intended to give.
Julie Carmen gave a very nice performance as Regime. And of course, we have Roddy McDowell back as Peter Vincent, Vampire Killer. Once again, director Tommy Lee Wallace has done wonders with the effects and make-up.
Others have commented on the generally poor quality of the DVD by Artisan. I am re-watching the disc now and do not consider the picture grainy or dark. Quality seems to be on par with most other DVD's I've seen (and I've seen a bunch of 'em). True, the DVD lacks any extras and the picture is full screen; but that is not a primary consideration in the quality of the product so far as I am concerned. The music that accompanies is haunting and appropriate.
All things given, I believe that fans of the original Fright Night will definitely enjoy this unsung gem. Maybe not an academy award winner for horror flicks, but certainly entertaining and worth having in any gothic horror collection.
Definitely Recommended (ages 10 and up)
~P~
Summary of Fright Night Part II
If I rated the movie alone, I'd give it five stars. Unfortunately, I have to warn anyone who wants to buy this DVD format from Artisan. I own over 150 DVD's and I've never come across such a sad excuse for a DVD. The picture quality is HORRIBLE! If you look closely, you can see that it was taken from a tape source, and not the original. Plus, Artisan claims on the back of the box that it is formatted from its "original" aspect ratio, and that it was shot in full screen. That is a blatant lie. It was shot in letterbox widescreen, just as the first film was. You can even tell when you watch it that it has been cropped to death, and at certain moments the screen moves from right to left to catch what's missing. The audio is 2.0 Dolby surround, which is fine. However, when you turn the volume up to hear the more quiet parts of the film, you hear tape hiss. Beware of Artisan releases on DVD. Their transfers are usually like this. I have a few other older films released by them, and they're pretty poor in the quality department. It is a great film however, and is worth having no matter what. I guess this DVD is better than not having it...Almost.Similar DVD Movies
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