The Dark

"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.

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.

The first smartest being Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Contrary to what other commenters say, this was not supposed to be a quasi sci-fi horror entry until AFTER initial screenings were sour. Then the producers decided to cash in on the ALIEN bonanza by adding prologue and epilogue and the laser-beam eye blasts. Devane was excited thinking he'd be working with Hooper, but with Hooper's leaving, he barely walks through the motions, Cathy Lee is only a little better. Wynn and Jaekal do well to hold things together, and John Bloom is perfectly cast once again as the lumbering creature. The best thing to be said about this is that it looks, sounds and feels like a 1970s ABC TV movie of the week, and why not? Just look at who wrote it and what else he has written. If you watch it thinking that it should have been made for TV, it's more enjoyable because your expectations might not be too high, and it comes off as fairly average. Actually, replace Devane with Darren McGavin, Wynn with Simon Oakland, make KFVI a newspaper, keep Richard Jaekal as Kolchak's nemesis, add a lot of Kolchak wit and cut it down to 50 minutes, and it's a good Night Stalker teleplay. Of course, don't forget the funky horns that announce Kolchak on the go.

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

I was handed this 'golden garbage' DVD for my birthday (Moe!) and all I can say is paybacks are a bitch. The Dark definitely belongs in the "Plan 9 from outer space" category. If you seek serious horror then avoid this like a Chris Tucker 'movie'. However, if failed attempts of the past make you howl with laughter than look no further than this turkey. Failing test screenings as a zombie movie it was reworked into an alien menace movie with hilarious results.

It all starts with an apology (or prologue if you prefer) that attempts to convince the audience that if electric eels can shock than who knows what's out in space(!?) This amounts to freeze framing the 'zombie movie' and superimposing laser bolts from the creature's eyes and an explosion onto the victim. That's great but the characters solving the crimes keep describing horrible mutilations (!?) I would say the acting is terrible but the lines they are given to say are horrendous. We never actually see a spaceship so 'it' apparently fell to earth on it's own. I'm dying to know how and why it's dressed like a mailman (or a factory worker in his coat sans the lunch box). The addition of a mysterious psychic (?) that shows up at inexplicable times means you know your in beer-cinema country.

Take it or leave it. I'm already stuck with my copy.