Following the early 1980s revival of the werewolf movie, which had a lot to do with the fact that special effects technology had at last advanced to the point where convincing man-into-monster transformations could be depicted, it was inevitable that the vampire would receive similar treatment.
Kim Newman, in his book Nightmare Movies: A Critical History of the Horror Movie From 1968
The late 1970s was not a good time for the vampire movie. Lavish, big star, big budget re-workings of old properties like John Badham's Dracula and Werner Herzog's Nosferatu (both 1979) were poorly received by both critics and audiences. The George Hamilton starring parody Love at First Bite was a bigger box office hit than either of them.
The werewolf films of the early 80s pointed the way forward for the vampire film, with their blend of comedy and high tech effects. It was a blend none of the 80s vampire films got right, as they came at a time when the horror genre as a whole was being dragged down into too much badly executed gore and teen humour. Fright Night (1985) - the first attempt to make a vampire equivalent to The Howling or An American Werewolf in London - probably comes the closest to getting the balance right. It at least shares with the werewolf films a true affection for the genre films of old. In the excellent book quoted above Kim Newman suggests Fright Night would be a John Hughes film if a vampire didn't move next door to Charlie Brewster. I think the film is more retro than that - if Chris Sarandon's suave vampire didn't move in next door, the teens played by William Ragsdale, Stephen Geoffreys, and Amanda Bearse would be living in a 1950s teen comedy.
The following year's Vamp plays a bit more like a post Animal House frat boy comedy, but is mainly distinguished by being the only time uberdiva Grace Jones has found a film role which suits her unique persona. Then 1987 saw the same basic storyline (a youth from a single parent home seduced into becoming part of a gang of vampires) played out in two radically different movies, each ending with both the youth and the vampire girl who lured him to the dark side cured of their vampirism and looking forward to a life in the sunshine.
The Lost Boys (Jamie Gertz introduces teen hunk Jason Patric to her gang of vampire pals - Kiefer Sutherland, Billy Wirth, Alex Winter - before he ends up returning with her to his loving mom Dianne Wiest and younger brother Corey Haim) is the best example of what a dead end grafting the vampire movie to the 80s teen comedy turned out to be, despite being the biggest financial success. Near Dark (Jenny Wright introduces teen hunk Adrian Pasdar to her gang of vampire pals - Lance Henricksen, Jennette Goldstein, Bill Paxton - before he returns with her to loving dad Tim Thomerson and younger sister Marcie Leeds) finds a more interesting blend of teen vampire film, modern western, and pretentious art film. Where The Lost Boys is all wannabe Tony Scott slickness, glowing contact lenses, and a bunch of 'hip' songs designed to sell the soundtrack album, Near Dark has low budget energy and The Cramps' cover of 'Fever' playing on the soundtrack as Lance Henricksen and his gang memorably slaughter the patrons of a lonely Texas bar. Despite their differences, both films share the same signature shot: the gang of vampires walking into view, backlit, on top of a hill.
Fright Night spawned a less effective sequel in 1988. William Ragsdale was back as Charlie Brewster, but Amanda Bearse had her regular TV gig on Married with Children and Stephen Geoffreys declined to reprise his role as Charlie's best friend 'Evil' Ed. Their presence - especially that of Geoffreys - is missed. Bearse's TV work led her to directing sitcoms, which she has done steadily ever since. And Geoffreys started popping up in hardcore gay porn films in 1990, which must represent one of the strangest career paths on record - from a 1984 Tony Award nomination to hitting 'Promising New Faces' lists of 1985 to wearing a trademark red bandana whilst riding cock in films with titles like Guys Who Crave Big Cocks and Uncut Glory. Knowledge of where Geoffreys was headed adds extra poignancy to the scene in Fright Night where 'Evil' Ed tearfully succumbs to vampire Jerry Dandrige's appeals to him as a fellow outsider.
Stephen Geoffreys in an affecting scene from Fright Night.
In any case, Fright Night II came and went without causing as much as a ripple, joining a bunch of other low budget vampire films misguidedly trying to emulate the box-office success of The Lost Boys. And that was how the decade ended for the vampire film, with The Lost Boys remaining the only one that audiences went to in significant numbers (although the box office for Fright Night was decent if unspectacular), and the rest becoming DTV fodder. Big budget Gothic would be in vogue again - briefly - with Francis Coppolla's Dracula (1992) and Neil Jordan's Interview With the Vampire (1994) before franchises depicting massive secret societies of vampires (the Blade and Underworld films) became the norm.
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