My Rating
“Dead By Dawn – Part 05”
They had been here before—one year ago, to be precise—standing in front of the old Dandrige house as a cold mist rose from the blighted ground surrounding the decaying Victorian. The last time Charlie Brewster and the great vampire hunter Peter Vincent crossed this threshold, they came to rescue their friend Amy Peterson from an ancient vampire menace. Now Amy has joined the hunt, along with Peter’s publicist and fellow Knight of the Silver Crucifix, Danny.
Inside the house lurks an evil far older than anything Charlie and Peter faced before. Her name is Elaha, an undead queen whose origins stretch back beyond the Egyptian dynasties that eventually shunned her. She has come to Rancho Corvallis with vengeance burning in her ancient heart. Charlie Brewster and Peter Vincent destroyed her lover, Jerry Dandrige, and Elaha intends to make them suffer for it. The vampire hunters thought they knew every trick in the proverbial vampire book. Elaha is about to teach them otherwise.
Will Peter Vincent hold onto his faith during the team’s darkest hour? Has Evil Ed turned against his own kind for business, pleasure—or something far more personal? And what is the true story behind the strigoi known as Jerry Dandrige? The final confrontation has arrived, but even if Charlie and his friends survive until dawn, their nightmare may be far from over. Collect the series to find out!
Review
This was a fun series from beginning to end, although I remain disappointed that Tom Holland largely ignored the events of Fright Night Part 2. I thought the second movie was canon at this point, so I kept waiting for some connection between the comic and the events of that film. It never really happened. That’s unfortunate, but at least Holland and American Mythology Productions stayed true to the characters, atmosphere, and basic concept that made the original Fright Night so much fun.
Issue five does a nice job wrapping up the “Dead By Dawn” storyline while leaving just enough blood on the floor for another sequel. Holland clearly didn’t slam the coffin lid completely shut, and I would love to see another series pick up where this one ends. Could a future storyline somehow connect these comics to Fright Night Part 2? I doubt it, but I can still hope. There is plenty of mythology left to explore, especially when it comes to Jerry Dandrige, Evil Ed, and the Knights of the Silver Crucifix.
Overall, I thought American Mythology Productions did a nice job handling the Fright Night IP. The series respected the original movie without simply retelling it, and that’s exactly what I wanted from a continuation. I give issue five—and the Fright Night series as a whole—four out of five stars. If you’re a fan of the movies and want to spend a little more time with Charlie Brewster, Amy Peterson, and the great vampire killer Peter Vincent, I think you’ll enjoy this iteration of the story.