The Dark

The Dark (1979)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

A former convict turned reporter (William Devane) sees that his daughter has been brutally mutilated so he sets out to try and find the killer as does a detective (Richard Jaeckel) working the case. It turns out that a space alien has landing on Earth and is doing the brutal murders.

THE DARK has an interesting production history that is actually a lot more interesting than the film itself. Originally Tobe Hooper was to direct this film and he got several days into the production when he either quite or got fired. The somewhat notorious John 'Bud' Cardos took over the production and the end result is a rather tame sci-fi picture that's biggest problem is the fact that it lives up to the title.

I say that because this film was shot way too dark and often times you can't even tell what's going on. I mean, I'm all for movies keeping the monster in shadows and what not but the problem here is that whenever the alien goes on the attack it's so dark that you can't see anything. Or, at least, you can't see anything too clear. The other big problem with the picture is the fact that it drags so slowly that the 90-minute running time seems double that. There are non-stop scenes of people talking and fighting yet none of it is very entertaining.

It's really too bad that the film is so lame and doesn't feature that good of an alien or gore effects because the cast is actually pretty good. Devane is always worth watching and he turns in a nice performance here. Jaeckel is also very good in his role as is Jacquelyn Hyde and Keenan Wynn in their small roles. You can also look quick for Casey Kasem and Vivian Blaine. Who knows what might have happened with the film had Hooper stayed on but as it stands, THE DARK isn't a very good movie and it's not nearly the best "alien run amok" movies from this period.

THE DARK (aka: THE MUTILATOR) is a wonderfully bizarre movie about a serial-killing alien (John Bloom) that can decapitate or obliterate its human prey with one blazing glance. Writer Roy Warner (William Devane) is on the creature's trail after it kills his daughter. He teams up with TV personality Zoe Owens (Cathy Lee Crosby) in this endeavor.

This movie is highly rewatchable, and is even better the second time around! Director John "Bud" Cardos piles on the cheeeze, yet manages to make it work. There are some truly effective, creepy sequences, especially the wham-bam finale, when the extraterrestrial terror faces off against the police force.

Devane and Crosby are a good pair, and Keenan Wynn is his usual crusty self as Owens' crusty boss. Watch for Richard Jaeckel as the top cop on the case. Casey Kasem is the pathologist! Special mention must be made of Jacquelyn Hyde as mystical medium De Renzy. Her encounter with the monster -in her living room!- is a must-see!

Don't blink, or you'll miss Phillip Michael Thomas in his microscopic role...

"It is also a certainty that not all alien encounters will be friendly." A killer is viciously murdering random people in LA, when his daughter becomes a victim a writer teams up with a female reporter (like they so often do) to solve the case adjacent to the (in his opinion) inept police. The killer is nicknamed "The Mangler" and turns out to be a hulking alien creature that looks part man/ part werewolf. This aspect of the plot is very poorly done, how did it get here and why would a lone alien be acting like a serial killer on the back streets of LA? It also has laser eyes which look incredibly cheap and dated. Apart from one decapitation the kills are disappointing, annoyingly a voice whispers words such as "The Dark" in the build up to each one. Between these kills the film often drags, the cast is pretty decent but overall The Dark was a wasted opportunity. The trailer looks quite good but sadly this science fiction/horror is a mess. One scene has a protest going on and it looks like the film makers just roped in the nearest people (non-actors) for it. Look out for a pre-"Miami Vice" Philip Michael Thomas in a small role as a hoodlum. One of my horror movie reference books calls this movie "absolute junk", personally I think that's a bit harsh but at the same time its current IMDb score of 4.2/10 is spot on.

I first became aware of this film because of the William Devane factor. Unfortunately Devane's character is extremely "boorish". All is not lost however because of the eclectic cast. The story is a mish-mash of "Jack the Ripper" and sci fi, with neither angle very impressive. What I do like is the quite sharp and often darkly amusing dialog. Overall the acting is acceptable, with Jaquelyn Hyde giving a standout supporting performance as a "medium" who can predict where the monster will strike next. You might remember her as "Mrs. Blair" in Woody Allen's hilarious "Take the Money and Run". With Richard Jaeckel, Keenan Wynn, and Cathy Lee Crosby also contributing, "The Dark" is almost saved from being a "bomb", but not quite. - MERK

An alien lands in Los Angeles and proceeds to decapitate humans using its laser-beam eyes.

A change of director mid-production (Tobe 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre' Hooper replaced by John 'Bud' Cardos) and a last-minute alteration to the plot (the original script's zombie replaced by a nasty extraterrestrial) undoubtedly contributed to The Dark's failure as an effective horror movie. But the worst thing about the film is the fact that it more than lives up to its title by being extremely dark, making it a real strain on the eyes throughout.

It's a shame, because there's a fun film in there trying to get out: Cardos isn't a 'great' director, but he's more than capable of delivering an entertaining B-movie as evidenced by his Kingdom of the Spiders and Mutant. The cast is also pretty good for this kind of fare, with William Devane and Cathy Lee Crosby making affable leads, and Richard Jaeckel suitably stoic as the beleaguered cop on the case Det. Dave Mooney. Also surprisingly good is Roger Kellaway's soundtrack, with dischordant music and eerie whispering voices providing plenty of atmosphere.

4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for the pew pew alien eyeball police massacre at the end.