Fright Night (1985) Original Motion Picture Score [Remastered] [CD]

Intrada announces a 40th-anniversary edition of Brad Fiedel’s popular score to Fright Night (1985). The score from Columbia Pictures’ darkly humorous horror film proved challenging to release the first time around: first-generation masters were incomplete and the full score was taken from second-generation masters. In the intervening years, the first generation masters were discovered, allowing album producer Edwin Wendler to produce an all-new master of the complete score in film order in brilliant sound. It’s the definitive presentation of Brad Fiedel’s music Intrada had always wished to issue, including an additional 17 minutes of previously unreleased score. The album was mastered by Doug Schwartz with updated cover design by Stéphane Coëdel and updated notes by Daniel Schweiger.

Fiedel crafted a score that was both state-of-the-art and old school—imbuing the hip villain with the stuff of supernatural legend. While Fiedel followed the story from a humorous beginning to an unexpectedly shocking climax, Fright Night’s experimental jolts were also firmly bound by the same melodic laws of a classic Hammer film–-filled with themes and motifs that paint The Vampire as an eternal creature of seduction. A highlight of the score is the main theme that introduces vampire Jerry Dandridge with a swaying, hypnotic rhythm, enticing Charlie to peep on his neighbor and the beautiful call girl he’s undressing. It’s a sensual build worthy of a rock god and his conquest.

Fright Night tells the tale of a Charlie, a teenage boy who enlists the help of TV host Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall) in a real-life battle with the undead, featuring a horror homage that would become its own trendsetter—pitting the duo against a ladykilling, Yuppie bloodsucker who just moved in next door.

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