Fright Night II
Encyclopedia
Fright Night Part II is the 1988 sequel to Fright Night
. William Ragsdale
and Roddy McDowall
both reprised their roles from the first movie. The sequel was directed by Tommy Lee Wallace
. Composer Brad Fiedel also returned with another distinct synthesizer score
. It grossed $2.9 million domestically.
. Charley (William Ragsdale
) now believes that Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon
), was nothing but a serial killer posing as a vampire. As a result, he comes to believe that vampires never existed, until Regine Dandridge (Julie Carmen
) arrives, intent on seducing Charley into vampirism so she can punish him eternally for destroying her brother.
Charley, along with his new girlfriend, Alex Young (Traci Lind
), go to visit Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall
), who is again a burnt-out vampire killer on Fright Night much to the chagrin of Charley. While visiting Peter's apartment Charley sees four coffins being taken into a car. On the way out from Peter's apartment, Charley sees four strange people walk past him, into an elevator. Charley instantly becomes drawn to one of the four, the alluring Regine (Julie Carmen
).
Charley drives Alex back to her dorm room and begins to make out with her, only to pull away and see Regine staring back at him. An upset Alex storms off, not realizing that something is following her. Another girl leaves the dorm as Alex enters, and she is followed and killed by one of Regine's vampires, Belle. Alex, meanwhile, is unaware that Louie, another of Regine's group, is scaling up the wall outside her window, but he is startled and falls when Alex inadvertently slams her window shut on his hands. Bozworth (Brian Thompson
), a bug-eating servant of regine, makes fun of Louie before consuming some bugs.
Later that night Charley dreams that Regine comes to visit him, only to turn into a vampire and bite him. The next day Charley talks to his psychiatrist (Ernie Sabella
) who assures him that what he dreamed was only natural. Alex finds Charley bowling, per doctor's orders, and Charley agrees to go to the symphony with her. On his way there however he sees his friend Richie (Merritt Butrick
) with Regine and opts to follow him. Charley climbs up to a fire escape outside of Regine's apartment, only to be horrified when he sees Regine and Belle attack and drain Richie's blood. Charley runs off to find Peter, and the two of them arm themselves with crosses and crash Regine's party.
There, Charley finds Richie, but is shocked to find him alive and well, with no bite marks on his neck. Regine makes her entrance, doing an erotic dance with a mesmerized Charley. She introduces herself to Peter and Charley, and claims to be a performance artist in town for some shows. Satisfied that what he thought was Regine attacking Richie was nothing but an act, Charley leaves when he remembers his date with Alex. Peter elects to stay behind and while looking around, he notes that there are people in the corners of the room biting others on the neck. Noting the odd behavior, he draws his pocket mirror and finds that Regine and Belle, who are dancing in the middle of the dance floor, cast no reflections.
Storming out of the party, Peter runs into Regine waiting for him outside. As he runs down the stairwell Peter again comes face-to-face with Regine, who reveals She is a vampire, the sister of Jerry Dandridge, and has come to take her revenge on both Charley and Peter. Peter runs back home and hides, resolving to tell Charley in the morning what has just transpired. Charley, meanwhile, blows off his date with Alex, returns home and falls asleep, only to be visited by Regine, who bites him on the neck while he sleeps.
Charley, content with the explanation that Regine is a performance artist once again is in denial. He begins to discuss the situation with Alex when Peter arrives to try to warn the couple about Regine but neither believe him. Peter states that he has warned them and runs back to his home, packs his belongings and departs.
Meanwhile, Charley has started to show signs of being a vampire as he is becoming sensitive to garlic and sunlight. After failing to talk to his psychiatrist, he overhears a news report about Richie's body being discovered the previous night. Now believing that everything is real, Charley goes to see Peter, only to find that Peter has gone.
Louie is once again stalking Alex. Louie reveals his true nature to Alex and Charley and stalks them in the school library, only to flee after Alex injures him by cramming wild roses into his mouth. Alex and Charley are then arrested by campus police.
Peter, meanwhile, is also arrested after he shows up on the set of Fright Night and attempts to kill its new host, Regine, on live TV. Everyone thinks he's lost his sanity as he says, "I have to kill the vampire"; and he ends up in a state hospital.
Alex is bailed out by Charley's shrink and goes to post bail for Charley, only to find that he has already been bailed out by Regine. Alex and Dr. Harrison head to the state hospital when the doctor reveals that he is in fact a vampire. He tries to bite Alex only for her to turn the tables on him and run him through with a piece of wood. She then assumes his identity as a doctor. At the hospital, a commotion allows Alex and Peter to escape.
Alex and Peter head to Regine's lair in order to save Charley. They find a disoriented Charley, who is slowly turning into a vampire. They rescue him from an undead Richie, and in the process manage to kill Belle, Bozworth and Louie before confronting Regine. She attempts to escape into her coffin, but finds that Charley has lined it with Communion wafers
. Regine knocks Alex unconscious and attempts to turn Charley into a vampire, but Peter manages to destroy her with sunlight.
The following day, Charley and Alex discuss the previous day's events, with Alex joking that if she wrote a book about it, no one would ever believe them. They know that there are no more vampires, but acknowledge that they can never be 100% certain. They embrace each other, and a bat can be heard flying away.
However, International Video Entertainment (IVE, now known today as Lions Gate Home Entertainment) released the film on videocassette as a coffin-shaped VHS cover and it has become a cult film
. It was released on DVD
by Artisan Entertainment
on August 19, 2003, though the DVD soon went out of print
. Despite the fact that the DVD was a bare bones edition with a fuzzy 1.33:1 pan-and-scan transfer, it has nonetheless become a rare and expensive item.
Fright Night
# "Fright Night" – 3:45# "You Can't Hide from the Beast Inside" – 4:14# "Good Man in a Bad Time" – 3:41# "Rock Myself to Sleep" – 2:57# "Let's Talk" – 2:52# "Armies of the Night" – 4:34...
. William Ragsdale
William Ragsdale
Robert William Ragsdale is an American actor.-Life and career:Ragsdale was born in El Dorado, Arkansas. He attended Hendrix College, where he appeared in plays with Sling Blade actress and fellow Arkansan Natalie Canerday....
and Roddy McDowall
Roddy McDowall
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
both reprised their roles from the first movie. The sequel was directed by Tommy Lee Wallace
Tommy Lee Wallace
Tommy Lee Wallace is an American film producer, director and screenwriter.He is best known for directing Halloween III: Season of the Witch and It.-Early life:...
. Composer Brad Fiedel also returned with another distinct synthesizer score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
. It grossed $2.9 million domestically.
Plot
Fright Night Part II begins after the events in the original Fright NightFright Night
# "Fright Night" – 3:45# "You Can't Hide from the Beast Inside" – 4:14# "Good Man in a Bad Time" – 3:41# "Rock Myself to Sleep" – 2:57# "Let's Talk" – 2:52# "Armies of the Night" – 4:34...
. Charley (William Ragsdale
William Ragsdale
Robert William Ragsdale is an American actor.-Life and career:Ragsdale was born in El Dorado, Arkansas. He attended Hendrix College, where he appeared in plays with Sling Blade actress and fellow Arkansan Natalie Canerday....
) now believes that Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon
Chris Sarandon
Chris Sarandon is an American actor who was married to actress Susan Sarandon between 1968 and 1979. He is best known for playing Prince Humperdinck in the film The Princess Bride, the vampire Jerry Dandridge in Fright Night and Detective Mike Norris in the first entry of the Child's Play series,...
), was nothing but a serial killer posing as a vampire. As a result, he comes to believe that vampires never existed, until Regine Dandridge (Julie Carmen
Julie Carmen
Julie Carmen is an American actress, dancer and a licensed psychotherapist.She came to prominence onscreen in the 1980s, winning the Venice Film Festival Best Supporting Actress Award for her role in John Cassavetes' film, Gloria. Her acting training was with Sanford Meisner at Neighborhood...
) arrives, intent on seducing Charley into vampirism so she can punish him eternally for destroying her brother.
Charley, along with his new girlfriend, Alex Young (Traci Lind
Traci Lind
Traci Lind is an American film actress who is known for playing Alex Young in Fright Night II and Missy McCloud in My Boyfriend's Back. She also starred in The Road to Wellville and The End of Violence. She was billed in Fright Night II as Traci Lin...
), go to visit Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall
Roddy McDowall
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
), who is again a burnt-out vampire killer on Fright Night much to the chagrin of Charley. While visiting Peter's apartment Charley sees four coffins being taken into a car. On the way out from Peter's apartment, Charley sees four strange people walk past him, into an elevator. Charley instantly becomes drawn to one of the four, the alluring Regine (Julie Carmen
Julie Carmen
Julie Carmen is an American actress, dancer and a licensed psychotherapist.She came to prominence onscreen in the 1980s, winning the Venice Film Festival Best Supporting Actress Award for her role in John Cassavetes' film, Gloria. Her acting training was with Sanford Meisner at Neighborhood...
).
Charley drives Alex back to her dorm room and begins to make out with her, only to pull away and see Regine staring back at him. An upset Alex storms off, not realizing that something is following her. Another girl leaves the dorm as Alex enters, and she is followed and killed by one of Regine's vampires, Belle. Alex, meanwhile, is unaware that Louie, another of Regine's group, is scaling up the wall outside her window, but he is startled and falls when Alex inadvertently slams her window shut on his hands. Bozworth (Brian Thompson
Brian Thompson (actor)
Brian Thompson is an American actor. His distinctive square-jaw profile, powerful voice, and imposing stature has led him to be typecast as a villain in many action films and TV series, and a some comedies: Joe Dirt, The Three Amigos, Weird Science, Key West, and Life Stinks.-Career:Thompson has...
), a bug-eating servant of regine, makes fun of Louie before consuming some bugs.
Later that night Charley dreams that Regine comes to visit him, only to turn into a vampire and bite him. The next day Charley talks to his psychiatrist (Ernie Sabella
Ernie Sabella
Ernest "Ernie" Sabella is an American actor, who is best known for his role as the official voice of Pumbaa from the The Lion King.-Life and career:...
) who assures him that what he dreamed was only natural. Alex finds Charley bowling, per doctor's orders, and Charley agrees to go to the symphony with her. On his way there however he sees his friend Richie (Merritt Butrick
Merritt Butrick
Merritt R. Butrick was an American actor, known for his roles on the 1982 teen sitcom Square Pegs, in two Star Trek feature films, and a variety of other acting roles in the 1980s.-Early life and career:...
) with Regine and opts to follow him. Charley climbs up to a fire escape outside of Regine's apartment, only to be horrified when he sees Regine and Belle attack and drain Richie's blood. Charley runs off to find Peter, and the two of them arm themselves with crosses and crash Regine's party.
There, Charley finds Richie, but is shocked to find him alive and well, with no bite marks on his neck. Regine makes her entrance, doing an erotic dance with a mesmerized Charley. She introduces herself to Peter and Charley, and claims to be a performance artist in town for some shows. Satisfied that what he thought was Regine attacking Richie was nothing but an act, Charley leaves when he remembers his date with Alex. Peter elects to stay behind and while looking around, he notes that there are people in the corners of the room biting others on the neck. Noting the odd behavior, he draws his pocket mirror and finds that Regine and Belle, who are dancing in the middle of the dance floor, cast no reflections.
Storming out of the party, Peter runs into Regine waiting for him outside. As he runs down the stairwell Peter again comes face-to-face with Regine, who reveals She is a vampire, the sister of Jerry Dandridge, and has come to take her revenge on both Charley and Peter. Peter runs back home and hides, resolving to tell Charley in the morning what has just transpired. Charley, meanwhile, blows off his date with Alex, returns home and falls asleep, only to be visited by Regine, who bites him on the neck while he sleeps.
Charley, content with the explanation that Regine is a performance artist once again is in denial. He begins to discuss the situation with Alex when Peter arrives to try to warn the couple about Regine but neither believe him. Peter states that he has warned them and runs back to his home, packs his belongings and departs.
Meanwhile, Charley has started to show signs of being a vampire as he is becoming sensitive to garlic and sunlight. After failing to talk to his psychiatrist, he overhears a news report about Richie's body being discovered the previous night. Now believing that everything is real, Charley goes to see Peter, only to find that Peter has gone.
Louie is once again stalking Alex. Louie reveals his true nature to Alex and Charley and stalks them in the school library, only to flee after Alex injures him by cramming wild roses into his mouth. Alex and Charley are then arrested by campus police.
Peter, meanwhile, is also arrested after he shows up on the set of Fright Night and attempts to kill its new host, Regine, on live TV. Everyone thinks he's lost his sanity as he says, "I have to kill the vampire"; and he ends up in a state hospital.
Alex is bailed out by Charley's shrink and goes to post bail for Charley, only to find that he has already been bailed out by Regine. Alex and Dr. Harrison head to the state hospital when the doctor reveals that he is in fact a vampire. He tries to bite Alex only for her to turn the tables on him and run him through with a piece of wood. She then assumes his identity as a doctor. At the hospital, a commotion allows Alex and Peter to escape.
Alex and Peter head to Regine's lair in order to save Charley. They find a disoriented Charley, who is slowly turning into a vampire. They rescue him from an undead Richie, and in the process manage to kill Belle, Bozworth and Louie before confronting Regine. She attempts to escape into her coffin, but finds that Charley has lined it with Communion wafers
Sacramental bread
Sacramental bread, sometimes called the lamb, altar bread, host or simply Communion bread, is the bread which is used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist.-Eastern Catholic and Orthodox:...
. Regine knocks Alex unconscious and attempts to turn Charley into a vampire, but Peter manages to destroy her with sunlight.
The following day, Charley and Alex discuss the previous day's events, with Alex joking that if she wrote a book about it, no one would ever believe them. They know that there are no more vampires, but acknowledge that they can never be 100% certain. They embrace each other, and a bat can be heard flying away.
Cast
- William RagsdaleWilliam RagsdaleRobert William Ragsdale is an American actor.-Life and career:Ragsdale was born in El Dorado, Arkansas. He attended Hendrix College, where he appeared in plays with Sling Blade actress and fellow Arkansan Natalie Canerday....
as Charley Brewster - Roddy McDowallRoddy McDowallRoderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
as Peter Vincent - Traci LindTraci LindTraci Lind is an American film actress who is known for playing Alex Young in Fright Night II and Missy McCloud in My Boyfriend's Back. She also starred in The Road to Wellville and The End of Violence. She was billed in Fright Night II as Traci Lin...
as Alex Young - Julie CarmenJulie CarmenJulie Carmen is an American actress, dancer and a licensed psychotherapist.She came to prominence onscreen in the 1980s, winning the Venice Film Festival Best Supporting Actress Award for her role in John Cassavetes' film, Gloria. Her acting training was with Sanford Meisner at Neighborhood...
as Regine Dandrige - Jon GriesJon GriesJonathan Francis "Jon" Gries is an American actor, writer and director. He is also credited under the names Jon Francis and Jonathan Gries. He is known for his role in Napoleon Dynamite as Uncle Rico, and more recently as recurring character Roger Linus on Lost...
as Louie - Russell Clark as Belle
- Brian ThompsonBrian Thompson (actor)Brian Thompson is an American actor. His distinctive square-jaw profile, powerful voice, and imposing stature has led him to be typecast as a villain in many action films and TV series, and a some comedies: Joe Dirt, The Three Amigos, Weird Science, Key West, and Life Stinks.-Career:Thompson has...
as Bozworth - Merritt ButrickMerritt ButrickMerritt R. Butrick was an American actor, known for his roles on the 1982 teen sitcom Square Pegs, in two Star Trek feature films, and a variety of other acting roles in the 1980s.-Early life and career:...
as Richie - Ernie SabellaErnie SabellaErnest "Ernie" Sabella is an American actor, who is best known for his role as the official voice of Pumbaa from the The Lion King.-Life and career:...
as Dr. Harrison - Josh RichmanJosh RichmanJosh Richman is an American actor, writer, producer and director. He is best known for his work with Guns N' Roses.- Career :His first acting job was a minor role in the science fiction television show V: The Series....
as Fritzy - Blair TefkinBlair TefkinBlair Tefkin is an American actress and singer-songwriter.She may be best known for her role as Robin Maxwell on the 1983 science fiction miniseries V, the 1984 sequel V: The Final Battle, and V: The Series...
as Bernice
Reception
Unlike the first film, the sequel saw a very limited release in the US by distributor New Century/Vista and producer The Vista Organization. The film was only released on 148 screens and brought in only $548,231 on its opening weekend. Its domestic gross was $2,983,784.However, International Video Entertainment (IVE, now known today as Lions Gate Home Entertainment) released the film on videocassette as a coffin-shaped VHS cover and it has become a cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
. It was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
by Artisan Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment Inc. was a privately held independent American movie studio until it was purchased by a Canadian studio, Lionsgate, in 2003. At the time of its acquisition, Artisan had a library of thousands of films developed through acquisition, original production, and production and...
on August 19, 2003, though the DVD soon went out of print
Out of print
Out of print refers to an item, typically a book , but can include any print or visual media or sound recording, that is in the state of no longer being published....
. Despite the fact that the DVD was a bare bones edition with a fuzzy 1.33:1 pan-and-scan transfer, it has nonetheless become a rare and expensive item.