“W
HO WOULDN’T WANT TO PLAY SOMEONE WHO’S ALL-POWERFUL, LIVES FOREVER, AND IS IRRESISTIBLE?” REMARKS CHRIS SARANDON OF HIS MEMORABLE TURN AS JERRY DANDRIGE IN TOM HOLLAND’S FRIGHT NIGHT.
It’s an observation that may seem like a no-brainer in hindsight, but at the time
he was offered the role of the vampire-next-door, Sarandon – who had previously received an Oscar nomination for his performance opposite Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon, appeared alongside screen luminaries such as Ava Gardner, Burgess Meredith and John Carradine in The Sentinel, and split celluloid with Rutger Hauer, John Hurt, Dennis Hopper and Burt Lancaster in Sam Peckinpah’s The Osterman Weekend – was understandably apprehensive about starring in a campy horror- comedy with a first-time director calling the shots. “Before reading [the script], I was wary of playing a vampire,” says the actor,
now 69. “I wasn’t sure this was the right career move, et cetera. Bullshit, really, because as soon as I read the script I was hooked. I thought it was brilliantly writ- ten and conceived, and immediately asked to meet with Tom and the producers.” As it turned out, the project couldn’t have been in better hands. Coming from
an acting background himself, Holland was both open-minded and in control, de- scribing the movie to Sarandon shot-by-shot during that initial meeting before the pair began constructing Jerry’s back story. “His openness and willingness to collaborate was exemplary,”
says Sarandon of Holland, with whom he remains friends to this day. “We also rehearsed, which for a movie like [Fright Night] is almost unheard of. We were encouraged to create charac- ter biographies, and we tried out ideas, many of which be- came part of the movie.” Immersing himself in classic bloodsucker cinema
such as Nosferatu, Dracula (1931) and Roman Polan- ski’s The Fearless Vampire Killers, Sarandon also conducted his own “bat research,” con- tributing one particular affectation to his char- acter that he says Hol- land absolutely loved: Jerry’s love of fruit. “I discovered that most bats
are not vampire bats but fruit- eating, so I thought it would be cool for Jerry to have some fruit bat somewhere in his genetic code,” he explains. “We all were very conscious of paying homage to the old movies without doing it slavishly, sort of turning some of the conventions on their head, having fun with them but not making fun of them.”
The behind-the-scenes fun definitely translated to the screen but while the
lighthearted tone contributed to the success of the finished film, there’s no ques- tion Fright Night’s bar-raising makeup and practical effects – arguably even more effective because they were nestled inside of a comedy – are just as important to the movie’s lasting popularity among horror fans. According to Sarandon, the old-school process behind some of Fright Night’s most complex set pieces, in- cluding the scene where he rises Nosferatu-like from his basement tomb before suffering an explosive sunlight-related death, was occasionally trying. “The makeup sessions for the ‘final Jerry’ were a bitch,” he recalls. “Eight-
hour sessions starting at 4 a.m. so that I could be on set at noon. This went on, I believe, for two weeks. Techniques today would cut down on the time taken, but the result was worth it. Also, the contact lenses were painted glass and couldn’t be worn for more than a half hour at a time. I helped paint and texture my hand appliances to kill the boredom and actually had a ball doing it.”
Whatever the challenges, the effort paid off.
Fright Night went on to become the surprise hit of the summer of ’85 and an important milestone in Sarandon’s career. The role solidified the ver- satile actor as a genre star, leading to a turn as The Creature in a 1987 TV version of Frankenstein and some of his best-known parts in films such as
The Princess Bride, Child’s Play and The Nightmare Before Christmas (as the voice of Jack Skellington). Considering his initial trepidation to sink his teeth
into Fright Night, it would seem the genre proved to be a good fit for Sarandon. While he had no interest in appearing in 1988’s Fright Night Part II (“I would only have done it with the same team and they were not involved…”), the actor says he’s read the “terrific” script for this month’s Fright Night remake and is excited about Colin Farrell slipping into Jerry’s fangs. “I can’t imagine a more per-
fect Jerry Dandrige for today than Colin,” he says. “He has charisma, intelligence, dan- ger and sex appeal. What could be a more perfect combo for the modern Jerry?”
vampires kiss:
Dandrige (Chris Sarandon) casts a spell on Amy.
19RM Jerry
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