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Characters appearing in both films
Charley Brewster
- Portrayed By: William Ragsdale
A young man who is next door neighbors with a vampire.
- Badass Normal: A high school student who takes down an ancient vampire.
- Cassandra Truth: Justified, he flat out tells people that Jerry is a vampire without getting any good proof.
- Genre Savvy: He knows a lot about how vampires work, mostly thanks to his fondness for horror movies.
- Go Mad from the Revelation: variant. Despite the happy ending of the first movie, Part II has him in therapy several years later due to the trauma; his psychiatrist has convinced him that Jerry was a human serial killer, with a 'defense mechanism' in Charlie's mind convincing him that Dandridge was a vampire. It leaves him at a distinct disadvantage against Regine initially, given he has to go through a cycle of self-doubt and paranoia before accepting the truth about her. Regine could have easily killed him the first time they met if she hadn't had been set on an elaborate revenge scheme.
- The Hero: Charley decides to slay the vampire in his neighborhood.
- It's Personal: After Jerry stalks his friends, threatens to kill his mother, and turns both Ed and Amy into vampires, it becomes this.
Peter Vincent
- Portrayed By: Roddy McDowall
A washed up actor who hosts a late night horror movie show.
- Badass Longcoat: Wears one as the host of the eponymous TV series, and dons it later on when hunting Jerry.
- Badass Normal: Not at first, but he eventually becomes a rather competent vampire hunter.
- Becoming the Mask: Starts out as a TV show host who has played a vampire hunter in several movies, and by the end, he's become one in real life.
- Changed My Mind, Kid: He is at first afraid when he finds out Jerry is a vampire, but after killing Ed he teams up with Charley to kill Jerry.
- Cassandra Truth: In the second movie.
- Cool Old Guy: Not at first, but he becomes a real vampire hunter in the end and seems rather old by the time of the film.
- Genre Blindness: In regards to Billy Cole, anyway. He was under the impression that since Cole walks around in the day, he's human. All that really meant is that he wasn't a vampire, as he found out when Cole got up after being shot in the head and kept coming until he was staked.
- Genre Savvy: Comes naturally with having starred in a number of vampire movies. Even though he doesn't believe in vampires at first, he comes around, and he comes fully prepared to deal with the undead menace.
- Heroic BSoD: His encounter with a vampiric Ed just about drives him to skip town and call it quits.
- I Know Mortal Kombat: Playing a vampire killer gives you enough credentials to be one in real life, it seems.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: At first, he starts out as pretty self-serving, only being motivated to help Charley's friends prove Jerry isn't a vampire because they offered to pay him. However, when he learns that Jerry is in fact a real vampire, he understandably freaks out and runs away. However, he soon has a change of heart and helps Charley save Amy and take Jerry down.
- Large Ham: Mostly when he's on TV.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He's mortified when he sees that Jerry casts no reflection and drives off. He gets over it.
- This Is Reality: Has this when he tries to get Charley to abandon his quest.
- "That's just a character I played in a movie! Peter Vincent's not even my real name!"'
- Took a Level in Badass: By the sequel, Peter takes vampire-hunting business seriously.
Characters appearing in Fright Night
Jerry Dandridge
- Portrayed By: Chris Sarandon
A vampire who has decided to move into the suburbs.
- Affably Evil: Jerry is polite, charming, and lucky with the ladies. But he's also a vampire who is responsible for a string of murders, and will kill anyone without remorse in order to protect his dark secret. He becomes more Faux Affably Evil later on when Charley and Peter break into his house, using a shallow and condescending semblance of his hospitable demeanor.
- Ambiguously Bi: His interactions with Evil Ed and Billy Cole slightly give off this vibe. He leans over Billy's shoulder in one scene, possibly indicating that he sees him as something a little more than just The Renfield.
- Badass Boast: Has one of these.
- "Welcome to FRIGHT NIGHT! ...real."
- Badass Longcoat: Wears a blue one around when he's chasing Charley and Amy.
- Big Bad: His murders and attempts to eliminate a witness thereof drive the plot of the first film.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He's as polite and charming as can be. He's also a murderous vampire who's secretly killing people disposable to society to sate his thirst.
- Classical Movie Vampire: Minus his fashion style and being able to eat and drink normal food and beverages, he fits this to a T. Shapeshifting, needing to be invited inside, requires blood, is repelled by faith, it's all there.
- Color Motif: Almost exclusively wears red, grey, and very pale blue, symbolizing how dangerous and lifeless he is.
- Evil Is Hammy: Not at first, when he's pretty mellow, but in the climax, he discards any sense of subtlety he once had.Jerry: Welcome to ... FRRRRRRIGHT NIGHT ... for reeeeal.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Whenever he puts his Game Face on, the pitch of Jerry's voice lowers to the point where it barely sounds human.
- Faux Affably Evil: Generally, before the final act, he's just plain Affably Evil, but even before that, he'd leave a few hints about just how dangerous he is.Jerry: Of course, uh, now that I've been made welcome I'll probably drop by quite a bit. In fact, anytime I feel like it. (Beat) With your mother's kind permission, of course.
- Game Face: When things get serious, he reveals his true vampiric form: red eyes and pointed ears, with a set of fangs on both his lower and upper teeth, and elongated fingernails and sharp claws.
- Holy Burns Evil: Zig-zagged. Crosses, by themselves, do nothing to harm him. The user has to have faith for them to ward him off, and probably even to wound him. He is, however, implied to be burned by holy water.
- Looks Like Orlok: Whenever he puts on his Game Face.
- Monster Lord: His progeny appear to be significantly weaker than he is, being less impervious to holy objects not backed by faith.
- One-Winged Angel: His bat form
, which doesn't look like any normal bat you'll ever see in real life and has aggressively strong fangs more on par with a canine. - Our Vampires Are Different: Not so much, actually. He's a pretty standard Classical Movie Vampire, with his weaknesses, shapeshifting abilities, and coffin-sleeping. The only difference is that he's a bit more tan than your average vampire, and has some pretty normal dietary habits.
- Pragmatic Villainy: He's content to just kill a select few, usually of the variety he doesn't think anyone will miss. Whenever he breaks this pattern, it's because he needs to protect his secret, though he gives Charley a chance to forget about him and go on with his life, and originally had no plans to kill Charley's friends, all presumably because he knew killing anyone outside his preferred targets would just raise suspicion.
- Serial Killer: His arrival in town is marked by a series of murders in which the victims were drained of blood and mutilated.
- Sliding Scale of Undead Regeneration: Subtle, but it's there. After Charley stabs him in the hand, he flees to his house and lets his blood drip in a bowl of water. The next time he's shown, there's no sign of any wounds.
- Stalker with a Crush: Towards Amy, who has an identical resemblance to a past love interest of his.
- Super-Senses: Implied.Billy: (slightly raising his voice to call to Jerry, who's upstairs) HEY JER!
Peter: Perhaps he didn't hear you.
Billy: Oh, he heard me alright. - Super-Strength: He's shown carrying the end of his coffin with one hand, albeit with the help of Billy Cole on the other end.
- Tragic Monster: Downplayed. In one scene he says to Charley that he'll give him "something that he doesn't have, a choice", implying he's cursed with his vampiric nature and he doesn't like killing very much. However seeing with how much sadism he seems to have in stalking and toying with Peter and Charley, this is quite hard to believe.
- Vampires Are Sex Gods: Very much so. While he's stalking Charley and Amy in the club, a few women take special notice of him, one running her hands through his hair. Though he's rather predisposed to hookers, since you know, they're disposable.
Amy
- Portrayed By: Amanda Bearse
Charley's girlfriend who Jerry swiftly falls for.
- Damsel in Distress: Jerry kidnaps and turns her in the last act of the movie, which becomes a quest for Charley to rescue her.
- Nice Girl: Despite her refusal to get intimate with Charley, she is always shown to be kind and caring, even going to check back in on him after a fight when they hadn't spoken in days.
- Nightmare Face: Assumes one towards the very end.
- Oh, Crap!: When she gradually learns that Jerry is a vampire.
- Undying Loyalty: When everyone else thinks Charlie is troubled, she is trying to help him, and unlike Ed, never backs away from him except when Jerry drives her to.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: No explanation was given for her absence in the sequel, note and she is replaced by a girl named Alex. At the beginning of Part II, Charlie has been convinced by his psychiatrist that Jerry Dandridge being a vampire was simply a 'defense mechanism' in his mind due to trauma; perhaps Amy was unable to stay with someone who was now in denial about events she will never be able to have the luxury of denying, due to side effects (like throat scars?) of her aborted transformation?
"Evil" Ed Thompson
- Portrayed By: Stephen Geoffreys
Charley's best friend and fellow high school student.
- Alas, Poor Villain: He is Impaled with Extreme Prejudice by Peter, and slowly transforms back to human form, clearly in immense pain. Even Peter is in tears as he watches the reverse transformation and Ed tries to reach out to him before succumbing to his wounds and apparently becoming human again. It's even more heartbreaking remembering Jerry's words before he turned him.
- Ambiguously Gay: Jerry's speech to him about being an outcast for who he is has this undertone, although it can be interpreted as him simply being a weirdo. It doesn't hurt that Stephen Geoffreys came out of the closet after the movie's release. There's also this interaction he had with Charley:Ed: He got me, Charley! He bit me! You know what you're gonna have to do now, don't you? Kill me. Kill me, Charley... before I turn into a vampire, and... GIVE YOU A HICKEY!
- Berserk Button: Really doesn't like being called "Evil".
- Clipped-Wing Angel: Transforms into a wolf in his second confrontation with Peter. Unlike Jerry's bat transformation, it does him no favors, as he is swiftly staked right as he lunges at Peter, spending the next few minutes writhing on the ground in agony as he changes back to his human form.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: He spends a few minutes dragging himself on the carpet after being staked, all while slowly bleeding to death.
- Dying as Yourself: When he dies, the burn from Peter's cross on his forehead disappears, indicating that with his death, he was released from his vampirism.
- Enemy Mine: In the last released issue of the Fright Night comics, the vampiric Ed makes a provisional alliance with Charley Brewster, Peter Vincent, Anastasia Hinnault and Company to take down a resurrected Jerry Dandridge. However, Ed makes it clear to Brewster that he will get him next time, before parting ways with him.
- Face–Heel Turn: While he was never a very nice person, he only lives up to his nickname and starts working against Charley and co after Jerry turns him.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Charley and Amy don't seem all that fond of him. Justified, given how much of an obnoxious ass he can be.
- Genre Savvy: An interesting example. Ed is quite aware of the usual vampire weaknesses, such as that it takes faith for a vampire to be warded off with a cross, or that they need to be invited into anyone's houses. But he doesn't believe in them one bit, until it's too late for him.
- Holy Burns Evil: Unlike Jerry, who can only be repelled by faith, he can be physically wounded by crosses.
- Jerkass: He was always an asshole to Charley, and never really showed any signs of being a supportive friend. He also apparently finds the notion of a serial killer in town to be hilarious.
- Large Ham: Even before becoming a vampire, his lines deliveries were almost always over-the-top.Ed: (laughing hysterically) Oh, you're so COOL, Brewster!
- Laughably Evil: Even after his Face–Heel Turn upon turning into a vampire, Ed hasn't lost his hammy sense of humor.
- Not Quite Dead: The ending implies that he survived his staking and is now living in what was once Jerry's house.
- Plucky Comic Relief: The whole film always carried an air of comedy to it, but he's the primary source of its humor even after Jerry gets serious.
- Red Right Hand: After Peter burns his face with the cross, Evil is left with a prominent X-shaped scar on his forehead.
- Sad Clown: He is loud and constantly cracking jokes, but it becomes clear he's using it as a mask to hide how lonely and hurt he really is, as well as that he's probably carrying a torch for Charlie.
- Transhuman Treachery: When cornered by Jerry, he's given the choice or either being killed or turned. He takes the latter. When he show up as a vampire, he seem to take alot of pleasure trying to kill Peter Vincent. Best examplifed when he cackles gleefully at the two from the backseat of Jerry's car after Jerry kidnaps Amy and drives off.
- Screams Like a Little Girl: When he's bitten by Jerry.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Part of what made it so easy for Jerry to turn him is that he promised he wouldn't have to worry about being bullied for being different ever again. And really, it explains a lot about why he's such an unpleasant person in general even before that.
Billy Cole
- Portrayed By: Johnathan Stark
Jerry Dandrige's companion and roommate who helps him dispose of bodies.
- Ambiguously Gay: He may or may not be Jerry's lover.
- Ambiguously Human: Before the final act, there was no indication that Billy is anything more than a man in service to Jerry. He could walk in the daylight without a problem, and displayed no real interest in any of his master's vampiric activities beyond bringing girls to his house for him to feed on. Then Peter shot him in the head. Then Cole got back up. Then Peter continued to shoot him. Then Charley drove a stake through his heart, which resulted in the dissolution of his flesh.
- Cold Ham: He may not be as flamboyant or bombastic as Jerry, but he still manages to establish a strong presence with his otherwise mellow tone.
- I'm Melting!: He gets a stake through the chest, and slowly dissolves into a pile of bones and green goop.
- Our Ghouls Are Different: According to
Word of God he's named as one. In Billy's case he looks and acts like a normal human but the end of the film reveals he's immune to bullets and when killed by a stake to the heart melts. - Incoming Ham: "HEY KID! What are you doing?!" Though he remains pretty cold for the rest of the movie.
- The Renfield: Takes care of the house for Jerry during the day and brings him hookers to feed on. However, he doesn't appear to be very interested in being turned. Maybe because he's already practically invincible.
- Troll: When the detective comes to investigate his home with Charley, he throws off the man while using every moment the cop's back is turned to pull faces at Charley.
Characters in Fright Night Part II
Alex Young
- Portrayed By: Traci Lind
Regine Dandridge
- Portrayed By: Julie Carmen
Jerry Dandrige's sister who is out for revenge against Charley.
- Affably Evil: Regine is polite and well-spoken and beyond wishing to destroy Charley's life as revenge for her brother, doesn't hold much animosity towards anyone, even trying to get Peter to back down from investigating her rather than just killing him when he uncovers her true nature.
- Avenging the Villain: Her whole motivation is to get revenge against Charley for the death of her brother, Jerry.
- Big Bad: Regine is the vampire commanding the others in the second movie, seeking to drive Charley himself to vampirism so she can destroy his life and keep him to torment forever so Jerry can be avenged.
- The Chessmaster: Regine meticulously sets up a vampire as a seeming psychotherapist to Charley and sets the stage for him to be doubtful of the existence of vampires before she swoops in and attempts to discreetly turn him into one.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She's not happy about her brother's death, remarking to Peter how furious she is at the loss of her beloved family.
- Fate Worse than Death: As revenge for her beloved brother, Regine plots to turn Charley into an immortal vampire and torment him for eternity.
- Femme Fatale: Unafraid to weaponize her sexuality, Regine seduces both Charley and his roommate Richie. The former almost becomes one and the latter happily starts serving her after his transformation.
- Manipulative Bitch: Through her psychic powers and natural charm, Regine convinces Charley there's no such thing as vampires so she may quietly seduce him and turn him into one. Multiple times she uses her charms to try to sway Charley, even attempting to have him kill Peter and Alex for her.
- Master Actor: Regine disguises her true nature as a vampire by playing the role of a sophisticated thespian who uses special effects to appear as one. She sets up the situation so well even Charley thinks her story explains away all his concerns.
- Monster Lord: Like Jerry she's an elder vampire with enhanced strength and lessened weakness to holy objects, noting to Peter he'll have to come very close for his cross to take effect on her.
- Vampires Are Sex Gods: As seems to run in the family, she's quite beautiful and charming, easily seducing Charley for her plot.
- Villainous Friendship: Although she doesn't share much screentime with them—and none at all with Harrison—Regine seems to be fond of her minions and when all of them are killed she shrieks in rage before attacking the heroes.
- Wicked Cultured: Quite refined like her brother, enjoying acting, costume work and special effects, all of which come in handy for seducing Charley to vampirism.
Louie
- Portrayed By: Jon Gries
A large werewolf like creature that may or may not be a vampire himself.
- Affably Evil: He keeps his sense of humor even after becoming a vampire.
- The Brute: Louie is a physically tough but moronic vampire, able to transform into a powerful, werewolf-like creature but constantly fumbling on his mission to bite Alex.
- Graceful Loser: After being mortally wounded by a bolt to the heart from Charley, Louie turns back into his human form to remark "Bullseye, dude" in an impressed tone before dying.
- Totally Not a Werewolf: He takes the form of a lycanthropic beast, but he's actually a vampire.
Dr. Harrison
- Portrayed By: Ernie Sabella
Charley's psychotherapist who treats him after his encounter with Jerry Dandrige.
- Evil Genius: Of Regine's underlings, Harrison plays the role of a professional therapist, making Charley doubt his encounter with Jerry in the first movie as being supernatural in nature and later works to keep Alex distracted from rescuing Peter, unlike her other three more physical followers.
- Graceful Loser: After being staked by Alex, he comments it isn't quite in deep enough to kill him. After asking her to push it further to end his suffering, Harrison decides as a psychotherapist he shouldn't ask her to further traumatize herself and elects to do it himself.
Bozworth
- Portrayed By: Brian Thompson
Regine's subordinate and something other than a vampire.
- The Dragon: Given the way he talks to Louie, Bozworth seems to delegate orders on Regine's behalf and is quite serious about fulfilling her goals and loyal to her.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: For Billy, Bozworth is Regine's most straight-faced and serious subordinate, even chastising Louie on her behalf when he fails to bite Alex and likewise is revealed to be something other than a vampire when killed.
- The Worm That Walks: Whatever Bozworth is isn't quite clear but his death reveals him to be filled with worms on the inside.
Belle
- Portrated By: Russell Clark
Another servant of Regine that helps her against Charley.
- Silent Antagonist: Never speaks a word through the whole film, just eerily stalks his prey on roller skates.
- Villainous Friendship: While harder to glean given his complete lack of dialogue, Belle does seem to enjoy the company of Regine's other minions, going bowling with Louie and Bozworth at one point.
