A repost from S_D1 for Halloween.. Welcome to FRIGHT NIGHT!
"Lock your doors and windows tight Cos soon you're gonna see I'm right"
Okay, for those of you who that didn't mean anything, well, it means you're probably never enjoyed one of the the best damn vampire flicks of all time.
Fright Night came out in 1986, and starred Chris Sarandon as the sexiest vampire since Langella, William Ragsdale as the plucky (if outclassed) hero Charlie Brewster, Amanda Bearse (Who went on to star in "Married with Children") as the plucky hero's main squeeze Amy, Stephen Geoffreys as plucky heroes weird best friend (Evil Ed, about whom more in a future Fright Night post) and Roddy McDowall in magnificent, career-best form form as the over-the-hill horror actor turned late night horror-host who finds himself drawn into the REAL world of vampires. You can see the theatrical trailer here.
Seriously if you've never seen it, you really need to, that's not an opinion, that's an objective fact! (The sequel, Fright Night 2 isn't quite as good, but does include a dance performance from Julie Carmen as Regine which had me seriously reappraising my attitude towards the sex appeal of women.)
Given that there were TV spin off's for A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th (okay, a name only spin off in that case, but it was still using the name) it's perhaps a little odd that "Fright Night", which was constructed around a TV horror anthology, never got a TV spin off, but in the 1980's NOW comics published a comic using the concept (They did many movie and TV licenses at the time, from The Real Ghostbusters, to Speed Racer, to The Terminator to Little Monsters).
Basically Fright Night was the continuing adventures of Charlie Brewster and Peter Vincent as they continue on in a world where they now know that monsters are real. But since they HAD the horror anthology notion built in, they occasionally took time out to do single issues stories which were episode of the Fright Night show... Such was the case in issue 13... PUP PET (BTW if you're squeamish about animals, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED)
The art style was most unusual for the era, cartoony, sketchy, but in full. almost painted colour. Sometimes the sketchiness doesn't do it favours, but I think it works overall.
ROLL TAPE
It's Saturday in the Suburbs, and Connor, the guy in the wheelchair is chatting with neighbours Gene and Russ...
As they've only found a couple of sites where blood and mutilated animal parts have been found, no ones buying that explanation.
Interesting note coming up, Connor is the one in the wheelchair, but it's his wife that died in 'Nam. Since Vietnam wasn't part of my childhood memories, I couldn't have told you how many women served in Vietnam, then I found this online.
Jenny is not a happy little girl... most of the time..
But she sure is imaginative... Awww....
Jenny decides not to show, but tell, about just one of her pets, figuring it couldn't hurt to explain about her puppy. Her teacher is pleased that her Dad has releented and let her have a pet.
Later after school Jenny and her dad go shopping..
Luckily, they walk right past the pet store without the matter being brought up, and later Jenny visits the basement again to play with her friends...
To cheer her up, they suggest she gets herself a new pet..
Later on, Miss Wainwright visits Connor and Jenny's house, and wanders in, only to find there's no one there...
Given she's her teacher, that seems like a reasonable thing to ask of her pupil.
I think you can probably guess where this is going...
I think the blissfully happy smile as she hugs the rotting dog is possibly THE most hideous image in this whole story.
Jenny, trying to be nice, even asks Miss Wainwright if she'd like to hold her NEW pet!
"Well, SHE'S no fun, she just fell right over", say the animals to Jenny!
A newly returned Connor calls down for some help unpacking his groceries.
DANG! On any number of levels... Connor loses a chance at happiness, and Jenny incorporates even THIS horror into her fantasy life...