Last year, when we first began planning out what we wanted to do with DEADLY Horror & Sci-Fi Magazine, the very first thing I put on our editorial calendar was a celebration of Tom Holland’s Fright Night for our August 2015 issue so that I could pay tribute to one of my very favorite films of all time in honor of its 30th anniversary.
Sometimes a movie comes along and changes your life and, for me, that film was Fright Night. Growing up as a horror fan, I often felt like the kid that was often misunderstood and so when I discovered Holland’s directorial debut on VHS in 1986, it had a profound impact on me because deep down, I was Charley Brewster. I was also a kid being raised by a single mom, that had a profound love of horror movies and a genuine affection for the hosts who brought them into my home week in and week out.
For one reason or another, I found comfort over the years in watching Charley battle against the evil that moved next door to him, in the form of Jerry Dandridge and Billy Cole, and seeing him wage war alongside his idol Peter Vincent to rescue the ever-lovely Amy Peterson from the clutches of a cunning and charismatic vampire. In fact, my love for Fright Night even got me in trouble in second grade when my teacher Mrs. Reigner was troubled that I drew a picture from the film for our end-of-the-year reports and then called my mom in for a meeting to discuss what I had done.
As a youngster, I could never have imagined that I’d ever have the opportunity to write about Fright Night, which has made the last few months an amazing experience. Being able to speak to so many talented folks on behalf of our 30th Anniversary Celebration of Holland’s modern masterpiece has been a dream come true for this writer.
I’m also pleased to announce that, for the first-time ever, we’ll be giving away the special edition of our digital publication free to everyone, as I thought that would truly be the best way to celebrate a film that has remained a favorite to so many other horror fans out there as well.
Here’s a look at the cover of August’s DEADLY Horror & Sci-Fi Magazine and be sure to check back for the full issue, where we celebrate Fright Night, its legacy, and all the amazing people who collaborated on the film and made it so special to all the fans who grew up loving it and those who are discovering it some 30 years later.
Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.
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