Welcome to Fright Night…for real!
2016 has been full of horror blows, as it seems we’ve lost a genre icon at the rate of about one per month. One of the few positive horror events in my 2016 happened to be the day that I pre-ordered a little project called You’re So Cool Brewster! The Story of Fright Night. The release was delayed several times, but it was for good reason since the producers wanted to make sure their product was as polished as it could possibly be. Long story short – my Blu-ray arrived earlier this week, and let me just say that it was well worth the wait!
Tom Holland’s Fright Night was a staple of my youth and 80’s horror upbringing. To this day the film ranks as my all-time favorite vampire movie, and being able to meet the cast over the years at horror conventions has been a crowning achievement for me. Needless to say, I consider myself to be a Fright Night fan of the highest order, and any documentary covering something so important to me had damn well do the franchise justice.
It does, and it does it in spades.
You’re So Cool Brewster! The Story of Fright Night is a joint project by Dead Mouse Productions Ltd., Cult Screenings UK Ltd. and horror maestro Tom Holland. The documentary is hosted by a fictional character from the movie, Peter Vincent, “The Great Vampire Killer.” The character is portrayed by Simon Bamford, who you’ll recognize (by name only) as having played Butterball in the first two Hellraiser films. His performance is fantastic, and it makes the Peter Vincent segue segments just as entertaining as the rest of the documentary.
At nearly 6 hours of total footage, You’re So Cool Brewster! The Story of Fright Night provides a ton of material, including exclusive interviews with both cast and crew. You’ll hear from the original film’s writer and director Tom Holland, Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Stephen Geoffreys, Amanda Bearse and Jonathan Stark. You’ll also see interviews with the film’s amazing special effects team, headlined by Richard Edlund and Steve Johnson.
As if all that wasn’t enough, You’re So Cool Brewster! The Story of Fright Night also boasts a plethora of material on the ill-fated Fright Night 2, including interviews with director Tommy Lee Wallace and actors Julie Carmen, Brian Thompson and Jon Gries.
Perhaps the most substantial, and in my opinion heartwarming, aspect of the documentary is how it acts as a tribute to the late actor Roddy McDowell. As several of the cast and crew mention throughout the interviews, “He would have loved to be a part of all this!”
A multitude of bonus features add to the experience, including exclusive featurettes, trailers, rare photographs, artwork and much more. A faux Peter Vincent film poster and 8-page comic book rounds out the package that comes with You’re So Cool Brewster! The Story of Fright Night.
Fright Night is staple in the 80’s horror genre, and the film has stood the test of time for the last 30 years. A documentary hoping to act as a tribute to such a powerful piece of art is a pretty tall order. You’re So Cool Brewster! The Story of Fright Night absolutely delivers, and I give this film a resounding 5 out of 5 stars!
You can purchase a copy directly from the producers at CultScreenings.