This follow-up to the minor 1985 hit FRIGHT NIGHT is everything that a sequel shouldn't be. It basically copies the plot from the first film, tries to be cool and funny and ends up being pathetic, and lends absolutely nothing new to the plot. Interesting plot developments - that the vampire is the sister of the vampire in the first film - are brushed aside to make way for some tacky "romantic" moments and endless scenes of stupid '80s vampires trying to be hip... culminating in a new genre low, when a rollerskating vampire appears on screen. Frankly, screen vampires have never been scary since, even though there have been a couple of good efforts. This is one of the films which helped ruin their credibility and power back in the cheesy '80s.

The film does have one saving grace, and his name is Roddy McDowall. McDowall once again puts in a brilliant performance which lifts the film as a whole and stops it being totally worthless; his Peter Vincent character brings much-needed class, wit, humour, and a likability to the film which makes it very easy to sit through. William Ragsdale gives a passable turn but his character is slightly irritating this time around (due to his confused, disbelieving nature). Elsewhere, Julie Carmen camps it up as the chief villainess and is, frankly, terrible. Jon Gries plays a stupid "comedy" werewolf/vampire creature and desperately wants to be like Stephen Geoffreys in the first film, but doesn't come close. The only other character of interest is the underused Brian Thompson, who is a typical "heavy" in this film but has fun with a quirk which sees him quoting Latin and eating butterflies.

Much of this film is terrible and nothing really goes anywhere. The new characters are modelled rather too closely on ones in the first film and the spark of vitality is missing. While the makeup effects look nice, the actors wearing them gurn and overact so much that it makes the vampires hard to watch. As if the transsexual rollerskating vampire wasn't enough. However, there are three special effects which are really quite good, and each involves a main vampire dying. The first sees Brian Thompson's internal organs spill out of his stomach, mixed in with a healthy quota of maggots - Fulci would have been proud. The second sees the transsexual vampire die in a variation of the standard Hammer Dracula deaths, ie. it slowly dissolves. Here, it turns translucent via some nifty early computer effects which are impressive. The final, and best, death is an extended one and is saved for the chief vampire, of course. She basically burns via a nifty ray of sunshine from a mirror and turns into a blubbery skeleton - nice! Otherwise, apart from these short schlocky moments and McDowall's fine turn, FRIGHT NIGHT PART 2 is a worthless affair.

It's 3 years later. Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) has come out of psychotherapy believing he imagined the vampires. He reluctantly meets up with Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall) who tries to convince him and his girlfriend Alex (Traci Lind) of their adventures. Mysterious strangers Regine, Louie, Belle and Bosworth move into Vincent's building. Regine has a revenge plan for Charley after he killed her brother Jerry Dandrige in the original.

It's great that Ragsdale and McDowall have returned for the sequel. They are the only pillars holding up this movie. The franchise is nothing more than a B-horror movie at this point. It doesn't have the same 'Rear Window' aspect of the original. It's not compelling. It's not well filmed. It's a disappointment.

Coming right after "The Lost Boys" and three years after the original, this vampire movie deals with a larger number of vampires, although the number of teenagers (led by William Ragsdale) who contacted aging horror star Roddy McDowall in the original to help them deal with one, but when you've got a larger number of lost boys and girls, it is going to be more difficult. The personalities of the group of Mr. And Ms. Toothy are very eclectic, basically turning them into rock stars although leading biter Julie Carmen describes herself as a performance artist and one is a combination of Michael Jackson and Prince with a bit of Liberace thrown in, and another is similar to Sean Penn's Spiccoli from "Fast Times" although it is never specified of he only attacks Marijuana users so he can get his fill of plasma and the joy stick in just one bite. Traci Lin has taken over as Ragsdale's girlfriend but isn't as appealing as Amanda Bearse.

The sequel is actually a bit more violent than the original one, and the attacks are shocking and lot more gory with excessive blood that only came extensive as a conclusion of the first. McDowell is also a bit more flamboyant in this one, so that does have an impact on his performance as his characterization has changed. It's still quite entertaining if just a lesser point on my rating scale. This was the end of the original franchise due to back office tragedy concerning the producer, but honestly, the idea of a third doesn't thrill me. We ended up with a remake of the original, an okay decision, because it puts public interest back on the first two, but in the end, this one is entertaining even though it's entirely predictable and overdone with noisy sound effects and a lot more over the top in its atmosphere.