62
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Slant MagazineSlant MagazineWhat makes Fright Night such a hoot to this day, on top of the great performances, is the deft blending of humor and suspense that Holland manages to build in his story.
- 75Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittDirected by Tom Holland, who serves up the oldest horror-yarn clich'es with a straight face, keeping the action good-natured and even humorous until the gory climax.
- 75TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineA minor classic of the genre, this is a memorable addition to the vampire tradition in the horror film.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertFright Night is not a distinguished movie, but it has a lot of fun being undistinguished.
- 70Time OutTime OutA farrago of cartoonish exaggeration (mouthfuls of fangs, razor-sharp talons and eyes like burning coals), knowing humour and '80s camp, it shouldn't even begin to work, and yet, strangely, it does, sort of, thanks to the assured handling of writer/director Holland, and two performances in particular - Geoffreys as Charley's pal Evil, and McDowall as the timid vampire killer.
- 63Miami HeraldBill CosfordMiami HeraldBill CosfordThe movie is bloody and gruesome and quite harmless, just the way they made them "in the good old days." [02 Aug 1985, p.C7]
- 60The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinThough Mr. Holland's handling of his stars is successful enough to establish him as a newcomer with promise, his material here is uneven and often flat.
- 50Washington PostRichard HarringtonWashington PostRichard HarringtonFright Night is really "Fright Lite," a film promising more than it delivers, and even that delivery is so late in the game that you may want to arrive fashionably late and skip what passes for plot development and concentrate on Richard Edlund's special effects. [05 Aug 1985, p.B3]
- 40Washington PostRita KempleyWashington PostRita KempleyA chiller that, except for the last half hour of ghoulish effects, is undeadly dull. [02 Aug 1985, p.23]