Plot
Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) is a huge fan of traditional Gothic horror films. He stays up late at night to watch the horror movie TV series "Fright Night" hosted by Charley's hero, Hammer Horror style actor Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), who played a vampire killer for many years in horror movies.
Charley discovers that his new next door neighbor, Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) is a vampire. Upon coming to this terrible realization, Charley tries to tell his naturally skeptical yet loving mother, and asks his friends for their help. In desperation he calls the police but when he reveals his suspicions to them they believe he has a wild imagination and ignore his claims. That night Charley gets a visit from Jerry himself who offers Charley a "choice" (something he claims to lack himself): "Forget about me and I'll forget about you." Charley tries to use his crucifix on Jerry but the latter stops him and slowly tries to push Charley out the window to his death. Charley stabs Jerry through the hand with a pencil. Enraged, Jerry destroys Charley's car in retaliation and warns Charlie that he plans to do much worse to him later.
Charley turns to Peter Vincent, for help, but Peter dismisses Charley as an obsessed fan. Charley's girlfriend, Amy Peterson (Amanda Bearse), fears for Charley's sanity and safety so she hires the financially destitute Vincent to "prove" that Jerry is not a vampire by having him ingest what they claim is "holy water", but it turns out to only be tap water.
Vincent accidentally discovers Jerry's true nature after glancing his lack of a reflection in his pocket mirror, which causes him to accidentally drop and smash the mirror. With this terrifying knowledge Peter flees but Jerry learns of Peter's discovery after finding a piece of his pocket mirror on the floor.
Jerry hunts down and turns Charley's friend, Edward "Evil" Thompson (Stephen Geoffreys), into a vampire. Evil then visits Peter and tries to attack him, only to be warded off when injured by a crucifix. Meanwhile, Jerry chases Charley and Amy into a club. While Charley is trying to call Peter for help, Jerry hypnotizes and abducts Amy, who bears a resemblance to Jerry's lost love (whom Jerry has a painting of). With nowhere left to turn, Charley attempts to gain Peter's help once more.
Peter, frightened from having dealt with Evil, initially refuses, but then reluctantly resumes his "Vampire Killer" role as Charley approaches his neighbor's house. The two are able to repel Jerry's attack using a crucifix, though only Charley's works, since he has faith in its spiritual power. Billy Cole (Jonathan Stark), Jerry's live-in carpenter and daytime protector, appears and knocks Charley over the banister and to the ground. Peter flees to Charley's house, finding that Mrs. Brewster is at work, and is attacked by Evil Ed, who takes a wolf form. Peter apparently kills Evil after staking him through the heart. An unconscious Charley is taken to Amy who has been turned into a vampire by Jerry. Peter says the process can be reversed, but only if they kill Jerry before dawn.
Charley and Peter are then confronted by Billy, whom Peter shoots, on the assumption that Billy is human due to having a reflection and appearing during daytime. This theory proves to be incorrect, as Billy rises again and is only killed when staked through the heart by Charley. Jerry appears, but Peter is able to lure the overconfident vampire in front of a window using a crucifix (which now works against Jerry in the hands of Peter, due to Peter's renewed faith in its abilities). Just before the morning sun lights him ablaze. Jerry turns into a bat and attacks Peter and Charley (biting Charley in the process) before fleeing, wounded, to his coffin in the basement. Charley and Peter go in pursuit of Jerry; Peter breaks open Jerry's coffin and tries to stake him through the heart whilst Charley has to fight off Amy, who has completed her transformation. By breaking the blacked-out windows in the basement, Peter and Charley are able to expose Jerry to the sunlight and kill him. Jerry's death leads Amy to become human once more, and the three embrace.
A few nights later Peter returns to his Fright Night TV series and announces a break from vampires, instead selecting to present an alien invasion movie, watched in Charley's bedroom by Charley and Amy. The last shot shows two red eyes appearing from the darkness of Jerry's house, followed by Evil laughing sarcastically "Oh, you're so cool, Brewster!", indicating that he had survived his fight with Vincent.
Read more about this topic: Fright Night
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