Sequels to legacy horror movies are so hot right now. Following on from the likes of 2018’s Halloween and the upcoming Candyman, next on the list of unexpected sequels is Fright Night 2, with the original Fright Night writer Tom Holland (no relation to Spider-Man) recently letting slip that he has been hard at work on bringing a follow-up to the 1985 vampire classic to life.
“I’m still trying, I’m writing a sequel to Fright Night now… I’m calling it Fright Night 2: Resurrection. Well, it’s the only way to protect myself: If you wanna see something done right, do it yourself…Of course, Charlie’s back, and so is Evil Ed. I’m bringing back everybody I can. I’m calling it Resurrection because we’ve got to resurrect Billy Cole and Jerry Dandridge. And now I’ll say no more.”
Released in 1985, Fright Night follows teenager Charley Brewster, a horror-film junkie. When a reclusive new neighbor named Jerry Dandridge moves next-door, Brewster becomes convinced he is a vampire, though, of course, nobody believes him. However, after strange events begin to occur, Charlie has no choice but to turn to the only person who could possibly help, washed-up television vampire killer Peter Vincent.
Written and directed by Tom Holland in his directorial debut, Fright Night stars Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Roddy McDowall, Amanda Bearse, Jonathan Stark, Dorothy Fielding, Stephen Geoffreys, and Art Evans. The movie received positive reviews and his since gone on to be considered a cult horror classic, as well as one of the genres most definitive vampire tales.
Fright Night has already spawned a sequel once before, 1988’s Fright Night 2, which once again focused on Charley Brewster who, now a college student, encounters a group of vampires led by a beautiful woman who is seeking him out. Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, the sequel was met with negative reviews, and currently holds just 30% on Rotten Tomatoes.
As well as revealing the sequel’s title, Fright Night 2: Resurrection, Holland reveals a few little details about this approach to the movie, before cutting himself off and revealing nothing more. Something that has been previously revealed though is that the sequel will also follow in the ominous footsteps of Halloween and ignore the sequel that was released back in 1988.
A third movie that would have been a direct follow-up to Fright Night 2 was planned way back in 1990, but studio discussions over the popularity of the franchise led to the movie being cancelled. Well, Holland believes that now is the right time for a sequel. “It feels to me that Fright Night is hotter now than it’s ever been,” he said. “All I know is that people love that movie, it’s heartwarming. I mean, it’s a family movie. That’s what’s amazing about Fright Night.”
Holland seems pretty confident that his Fright Night sequel will come to fruition and considering that it ticks many of the boxes that are now so popular with the horror genre, he just might be right. Holland made these comments while talking with Syfy.
