Never Cry Werewolf Was A Fright Night Ripoff (Here’s Why)

2008 werewolf horror film Never Cry Werewolf spent much of its running time ripping off 1985 vampire classic Fright Night, and here’s the evidence. While vampires and werewolves are arguably the two most famous monsters in the history of fiction, and have even battled each other onscreen multiple times, vampires have always had the clear edge when it comes to quality of movies on offer. There are way more iconic vampire movies than werewolf movies, and vampires never really seem to go out of style on either the big or small screens.

When it comes to beloved films, vampires have classics like Dracula, From Dusk Till Dawn, The Lost Boys, Salem’s Lot, Interview with the Vampire, Fright Night, Let the Right One In, and countless more. As far as classic werewolf films go, there’s basically three that just about everyone mentions, The Wolf Man, An American Werewolf in London, and The Howling. There are cult hits like Ginger Snaps and Dog Soldiers, but they sport a much lower profile than something like An American Werewolf in London.

With that disparity in mind, it makes perfect sense that a werewolf movie would come along and ripoff a vampire classic. That’s exactly what happened with Never Cry Werewolf, a Canadian production that originally aired on Syfy.

Never Cry Werewolf Ripped Off Fright Night

While it’s quite common for films to draw inspiration from what’s worked in the past, as there are really only so many story variations generally found in fiction, most don’t take it to the level of Never Cry Werewolf. The film is basically a beat-for-beat ripoff of Fright Night. In Fright Night, a teenage boy named Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) comes to believe that his new neighbor, a handsome, charming man named Jerry Dandridge, is a vampire. In Never Cry Werewolf, a teenage girl named Loren (future Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev) comes to believe that her new neighbor, a handsome, charming man named Jared Martin, is a werewolf.

In both films, bodies begin dropping around town as the monsters claim victims, with the protagonist struggling to convince anyone of their true natures. In Fright Night, Jerry targets and attempts to seduce Charley’s girlfriend, while in Never Cry Werewolf, Jared targets and attempts to seduce Loren herself. In both films, the monster kills the protagonist’s best friend.

Most notably, both films feature the heroes getting unlikely help from a TV host, as Charley teams up with horror movie host Peter Vincent, and Loren aligns with hunting show host Redd Tucker (played by Kevin “Hercules” Sorbo). Most striking of all, the film actually outright copies several scenes and shots, to the point where Fright Night fans can almost hear that movie’s score in the background when watching Never Cry Werewolf. Amusingly, Never Cry Werewolfis generally not considered that great, except to Nina Dobrev fans, as multiple video tributes featuring her work in the derivative film can be found on YouTube.

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