by Jinzo Ningen » Thu Sep 22, 2005 9:41 am
"Night Fright!" may well be my favorite bad movie of all time. I taped it 20+ years ago off a late-late TV broadcast, on a no-name VHS tape. Curiously, despite a whole lotta viewings, that old tape has help up remarkably well. When I discovered NF! was on DVD this summer... well of course I just HAD to have it. At only $5, it's a cheap investment. And low-buck fun, to be sure. It never fails to get a lot of laughs whenever I introduce new friends to it.
Besides, any movie with John Agar is worth a look. Admittedly, I've grown to enjoy Bill Thurman's performance too. He's another low-budget actor who's always fun to watch. Speaking of which, several of Larry (Mars Needs Women) Buchanan's regular 'no-talent' thesps are on hand. I believe that NF! director James Sullivan was one of Larry's assistants on some (or all) of his infamous "AIP-8."
In addition to having the best of Buchanan badness, it has a hefty helping of Ed Wood-esque putridity thrown in, too. Gotta love that constant "it's daytime, it's nighttime, it's daytime" flip-flopping throughout the film. Dig those groovy 30 year-old high schoolers! Check out hotty babe "Darlene," a girl wearing so much eyelash make-up that she can barely keep her eyelids from fusing shut.
I love the attempt at Hitchcock-ian edits and so forth. Cool, even though they are wasted in such a deliciously rotten film. And then there's the monster. If Lt. Worf and Bigfoot had a love child, this fella would be it!
I had read that NF! was actually a remake of the earlier "Demon from Devil's Lake" in an old copy of FILMFAX. I always hoped to discover a copy of that film from an obscure archiver outfit like Sinister Cimema, but of course I never did. I am saddened now to hear that it may well be forever lost. I would have liked to have seen it. Maybe someday it'll surface. Stranger things have happened.
Anyhow, I'm delighted to see a film that's long been a "guilty pleasure" of mine getting some recognition! Now which is the best 'worst' for me? Hmmmm... "Night Fright!" or Larry Buchanan's "It's Alive!"??? Boy oh boy! That's a tough call.
-JN