I recall the tagline to this was "your sister is a vampire" which is a play off of "your mom wears combat boots" I think...I hope.
This movie is horrid. And oddly enough, really hard to find on DVD (a little easier on VHS).
This takes place 3 years after they threw Jerry Dandridge into a fire pit (of presumably Hell) and now, Charley Brewster (return from William Ragsdale) is in college and going through therapy. He's removed from the famous vampire killer Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowell) who the therapist believes is a bad influence. And that the events of the first movie were a bad illusion...apparently that both people could see. I mean, they spend some serious time over convincing us they are no vampires. Until Regine (Julie Carmen) shows up. A sleek Euro looking woman who can drive around a college campus in a limo unnoticed. Yep, it's that dumb. And now has her eyes on Charley. Why? Revenge, of course. But we're the ones suffering through this God-awful mess. Her plans is to turn Charley into her lapdog of Hell (presumably) and make him suffer for what he did to her brother, who seems like such a distant memory at this point.
Added to this, is a college girlfriend now, Alex (Traci Lind). She actually is MORE savvy than he is. Even though, you know, he took down one of the minions of the devil in the previous movie. Alex drags Charley around, and does more in this movie than any secondary character really should. She's irritating, not because of her acting, but because she exists to give you that will-they-or-won't-they kill her aspect, which was stupid in the 80's, stupid now.
And poor Roddy McDowell. The template of this movie is identical to the original. At first, a skeptic again...AGAIN!...and due to discovering the vampires do exists...again. AGAIN! Nothing new here. The mirror gag, sunlight, garlic. Fuck, if I survived the first vampire attack, I'd go through life, with a stake in the hand and a crucifix up my ass. For some unknown reason, they've both reset back to before the first movie ever began. In fact, you lop off the first ten minutes, this wouldn't be a sequel other than the mention of a brother these two knuckleheads killed. And that could've been anyone.
The absence of Evil Ed makes this just go to the basement (literally). It's no fun. He's annoying weirdo in the first movie. The annoying weirdo in this one is just a weirdo. Seemed more like what Hollywood considers a weirdo. In life, he'd just be an over-aged goof who hangs out on college campuses.
Awful movie.
Oh, I disagree, sir! This film kicked off the all-night horror marathon at the New Bev last October and was a total crowd pleaser. Yes, there's no Evil Ed this time around, but he's got a perfect replacement in the form of Regine's evil entourage, including the always-awesome Jon Gries (his scenes alone are worth the price of admission). I'll also contend that Alex is much more proactive than Amanda Bearse's Amy; it's up to Alex to rescue both Peter and Charley in the third act - a perfect reversal from the first film. Sure, the premise isn't as fresh as FRIGHT NIGHT's "vampire next door" story, but FRIGHT NIGHT Pt. II is a fun time and a very worthy sequel.
ReplyDeleteso let me get this straight, an all-night horror movie marathon started with this movie? I guess you can shit in the bed to get your focus off the vomit on the pillow.
DeleteHaha...not at all - the crowd loved it. The New Bev found a beautiful 35mm print (in its intended aspect ratio), which I've heard is A) a massive improvement over the 4x3 version, and B) extremely hard to find.
ReplyDeleteLess impressive that night was the regional horror film, SCREAMS OF A WINTER NIGHT, which had everybody checking their watches between naps.
THAT...I would definitely give it. A print of that movie would've been awesome to watch, as it was shot 'scope. I probably missed the nuance watching the garbage 4x3.
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