Solos en la oscuridad

Hey, in this movie The A-Team's "Howlin' Mad" Murdock is the SANE one, being terrorized by crazy Oscar winners Martin Landau and Jack Palance while a trippy Donald Pleasance wanders around in an opium haze in this acceptable horror movie that features a few poorly-directed "suspence" sequences, a terrible stage show by "The Sic F*cks" complete with big cardboard axes, a hot sex scene featuring a character called "Bunky", some bad eighties fashions, a brief appearance by a Tom Savini-designed ghoul, a mailman getting run down by a stoner van, the "tongue excersizes" woman from "Kingpin", a killer in a hockey mask, a cool rioting scene, a guy broken over another guy's knee, crossbow-killings, and a lovable big fat child moleser.

So why not?

So I was in a slasher movie binge at the time and I watched this one right after "Tourist Trap" and "Alice, Sweet Alice".

I felt like this one was kinda "meh" but It had to be higher than Tourist Trap® because at least there was a lot of gore and people dying© which is expected for a slasher flick. (although I gave both movies a rating of 6 on IMDB, my personal rating would be 6.25 for Tourist trap and 6.75 for Alone in the Dark).

The story was reasonable but didn't get me caught up. I've spend basically the entire movie wondering if I should stop watching and go do something else like drawing, reading, etc...

When the story begins, Dr. Dan Potter (Dwight Schultz) arrives at a psychiatric hospital to begin his new job. The place is run by Dr. Bain (Donald Pleasance) and he seems, at times, to be as weird as the inmates. His relationship with the patients sure reminded me of the Poe story "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" and the movie based on it, "Stonehurst Asylum". But the story goes a different direction. There is a huge power outage and the security system at the hospital goes out...and the inmates find the alarms and doors no longer function properly. Soon a group of dangerous psychotics leave to go on a killing spree...all the while Dr. Bain seems amazingly chill. What's next??

This is a slasher film at heart, but it has more depth and more story to it than a Friday 13 or Halloween-type movie. It also helps that there was an impressive cast--with Jack Palance and Martin Landau playing two of the super-dangerous psychotic escapees. Now this does NOT mean the film is especially brilliant, as like other films in the genre, it has some cliches--such as the identity of the fourth slasher as well as how the psychotics all attack one at a time instead of at once (thus making them easier to beat).

By the way, although Dwight Schultz is not a household name, Star Trek fans will likely recognize him as the extremely nervous and geeky Lt. Broccoli.

The plot may sound simple, and this movie may take a while to get started, but once it does--it's a blast! The characters in the movie were all likable and there are a lot of gory knife, hatchet, ax, crossbow, and other murders with sharp weaponry to keep you interested. The finale is brutal as the attackers and the family slash and hack at each other. Good Tom Savini FX and a twisted ending make this a must see.

The story = Dan Potter (Dwight Shultz) is a new doctor at an asylum run by the wacky Dr. Leo Bain (Donald Pleasence). Inmates Hawkes (Jack Palance), Preacher (Martin Landau), Fatty ( the late Erland van Lidth), and the Bleeder (Phil Clark) believe Potter killed their old doctor and vow revenge. The gang escapes when a massive blackout strikes New Jersey. As the Potter family prepare for a quiet candle lit dinner with friends, the psychopaths move in for the kill.

In Alone In The Dark the director Jack Sholder creates a great deal of suspense, tension and action in this slightly odd slasher, All of the characters are either oddballs, lunatics, or both. The script (written by Sholder, Robert Shaye, and Mike Harpster) is filled with funny dialogue and a few twists.

The incredible cast contributes a large portion of the goofy charm surrounding this slasher. Most of the acting is completely over the top, but Palance and Landau still manage to bring menace to their characters. One wonders if Pleasence is really acting in his scenes involving a pipe and "exotic herbs". Slasher fans won't mistake Dr. Bain for Dr. Loomis. Dwight Schultz, who later became famous as a member of the A-Team, is good as the young doctor who learns violence is the only way to deal with some threats.

All in all Alone In The Dark is a definite must see for any Slasher fans with an interesting storyline great actors such as horror veteran Donald Pleasence and Jack Palance and gripping scenes that will keep you hooked all the way through.