10. Fright Night (1985)
What’s cool about Fright Night is that the main character, teenage Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale), loves horror films and is completely obsessed with vampire mythology, which the movie both lovingly lampoons and infects with genuine frights. Charley is convinced his neighbor is a vampire and recruits an over-the-hill vampire killer to help defeat him. A highlight of the movie is the practical special effects, making the hellish creatures so well-made and finely detailed that they feel real. The movie cleverly interweaves monster movie tropes while riffing on neighborhood surveillance and suburban conformity, balancing just the right amount of camp and chills.
