FRIGHT NIGHT (1985) 40th ANNIVERSARY – Revisiting the '80s Vampire Horror Classic!!!

FRIGHT NIGHT (1985) d. Tom Holland (USA)
FRIGHT NIGHT PART II (1988) d. Tommy Lee Wallace (USA)
FRIGHT NIGHT (2011) d. Craig Gillespie (USA)
FRIGHT NIGHT 2 (2013) d. Eduardo Rodriguez (USA)

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Written and directed by Tom Holland, 1985’s Fright Night is a genre-blending horror-comedy that combines classic vampire lore with 1980s suburban paranoia. The story follows teenager Charley Brewster, who suspects his suave new neighbor, Jerry Dandrige, is a vampire. When his girlfriend Amy and best friend Ed dismiss his fears, Charley turns to horror host Peter Vincent to save the day... and the night.

CUTTING CLASS (1989) UHD Blu-ray Review

CUTTING CLASS (1989) d. Rospo Pallenberg (USA)

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Welcome to Episode #9 of THE STACK!

Tonight, we'll take a look at the late-to-the-party slasher, Cutting Class, best-known today for its inclusion of a certain future Hollywood superstar named Brad Pitt, now available from MVD as part of their 4K Laserdisc Rewind Collection. In addition to Mr. Pitt, the film also stars Jill Schoelen (The Stepfather), Donovan Leitch (The Blob), Roddy McDowall (Fright Night), and Martin Mull.

Interview with CLASS OF 1984 director Mark L. Lester!!!

From his directorial debut in 1971 to his most recent exploits on the SyFy Channel, Mark L. Lester has covered a lot of cinematic ground. Even if you don’t recognize the name right off, you know the movies: Roller Boogie, Class of 1984 (and its pseudo-sequel Class of 1999), Firestarter, Commando, Showdown in Little Tokyo. He’s worked with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Drew Barrymore, Linda Blair, George C. Scott, Pam Grier, Dolph Lundgren, Brandon Lee, and countless others. Somehow, through it all, he’s managed to keep his sense of humor and perspective, remaining an incredibly affable and accessible gent.

On the eve of Shout! Factory’s release of the Collector’s Edition Blu-ray of Class of 1984, Lester took a brief time out from his crazy schedule to chat about juvenile delinquents, killer androids, fiery catapults, and the dream team of McDowell and McDowall.

CLASS OF 1984 (1982) Blu-ray Review

Class of 1984 (1982) d. Mark L. Lester (Canada)

Andrew Norris (Perry King), vibrant young music teacher and expectant father, leaves his sleepy Nebraska assignment for the big (unnamed) city, and immediately finds himself in the middle of a war between students and faculty. Of course, it's not the entire student body that's gone bad, just a quintet of bad apples spoiling the bunch, radiating bad karma, intimidation, disdain for order, and violent tendencies in their vicious, entitled wake. Their leader, the charismatic Peter Stegman (Timothy Van Patten), is the worst of the bunch, knowing which strings to pull, which loopholes to use. When Norris pushes for change from his fellow educators, he's met with rueful glances or flat-out "go along to get along" directives. (His closest friend, Terry Corrigan (Roddy McDowall) packs a pistol, a flask of whiskey, and a protective armor of apathy to get through the day and isn't afraid to use any of them should the occasion call for it.) Through a series of harrowing personal attacks, the conflict between Stegman and Norris escalates past the point of detention or a trip to the principal's office - this time, the report cards will be written in blood.

THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE (1973) Blu-ray Review

Legend of Hell House, The (1973) d. John Hough (UK)

In the pantheon of top-notch haunted house movies, this fine, moody offering ranks just below Robert Wise’s outstanding The Haunting, to which it owes a great debt. The familiar premise concerns a team of spiritual sleuths – a scientist, his wife, and two mediums – assigned to investigate Belasco House (aka “Hell House”) to prove (or disprove) the notion of life after death. However, unlike the ambiguity of Shirley Jackson’s story or the subsequent 1963 film version, Richard Matheson’s screenplay (adapted from his 1971 novel Hell House) elects to make the existence of the malevolent presence within the so-called “Mount Everest of haunted houses” undeniably explicit. According to Matheson, his personal dictate was “I’m going to do a haunted house story where you damn well know it’s haunted and there’s no question in your mind.”