Customer Reviews

Alone in the Dark [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

What can be scarier than being stuck Alone In The Dark with Martin Landau and Jack Palance? This film attempts to answer that question and does a fine job. I'm a huge nut for any B horror picture, and it's nice sometimes to actually see some real star power in them. Granted, Landau and Palance weren't at the highest point in their careers when they did this. The film has Dwight Schultz, who you may remember as Murdock in the A-Team, as a new therapist at an asylum run by Psychiatrist, Donald Pleasance(who smokes pot in his office). "The men on the 3rd floor" are the extremely dangerous lunatics who decide to kill Murdock coz they believe he has murdered their former therapist. There are 4 central killers-First is Marin Landau as "Preacher", a bible quoting psycho. He's fantastic in this part. Palance is the paranoid Vietnam vet named Hawkes, who is basically the ringleader. He doesn't have alot of lines, but since it's Jack Palance, he's wonderfully creepy and convincing. The third is played by Erland van Lidth as a child molester who is childlike himself. You may remember Erland as the opera singing Roman Stalker in The Running Man("Cut! Cut! Go to commercial!!"). The fourth is rarely seen and this makes him interesting. Since his face is always off camera, a name actor isn't necessary. He's called The Bleeder, and comes off as the most dangerous of the 4 coz he doesn't speak and at one point pre-dates Jason Voorhees by wearing a hockey mask. Donald Pleasance is awfully nutty and funny in his role of the doctor. In fact, you start to wonder if he's actually a mental patient himself. Schultz is decent as the straight man, a far cry from his Murdock character. This film starts and builds up wonderfully. It has a fantastic buildup to the point where it becomes like Night Of The Living Dead with Schultz and his family trapped inside their home during a blackout with the band of crazies outside. Unfortunately the film falls kinda flat here. With such a good buildup and collection of characters, you expect alot more out of this confrontation than you get. It's actually kinda boring and not very intense at all. Despite this shortcoming, the film is well worth watching for the performances.

Not to be confused with the 2005 Uwe Boll film of the same name (of which I haven't seen yet, but heard nothing but bad things about), Alone in the Dark (1982) is a wonderful little nugget of cinematic nastiness that came out in the early 80s, unfairly lost in a morass of mediocre slasher films that were so very popular at the time. While it does have many of the trappings of movies within that genre, escaped psychopaths, sharp implements of death, a big, old house, a family in terror, it doesn't really fit within the genre as it has some things a lot of those films didn't, like an interesting story, strong script, and a talented and experienced cast. Co-written and directed by Jack Sholder (A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge, The Hidden), the film features Jack Palance and Martin Landau, both of whom would later to go on to win Academy Awards for their roles in the films City Slickers (1991) and Ed Wood (1994), respectively. Also appearing is Donald Pleasence (Halloween, Escape from New York), Dwight `"Howling Mad" Murdock' Schultz ("The A-Team", Fat Man and Little Boy), accomplish opera performer Erland van Lidth (Stir Crazy, The Running Man), Deborah Hedwall ("As the World Turns"), Lee Taylor-Allan (Stargate), Phillip Clark ("Another World"), Brent Jennings (Witness, Red Heat), and Carol Levy (The Princess and the Call Girl), as Bunky, the ill fated babysitter with the nice rack.

After an entirely bizarre sequence that would make any male viewer cringe, we see Dr. Dan Potter (Schultz) arriving at a nut farm known as `The Haven'. Apparently it's his first day, and he and his family have just recently re-located within the area so that Dan could accept the position. Run by an oddball named Dr. Leo Bain (Pleasence), Haven isn't your typical loony bin, as the patients aren't called `patients', but voyagers, each `exploring their own space', as Bain would put it...yeah, ok...anyway, the Haven features pretty much your run-of-the-mill nuts, except for those housed on the third floor. These are the more dangerous ones, kept in check by a sophisticated security system, which Bain objects to, but the state requires. There's Frank Hawkes (Palance), a once POW, now fulltime psychotic schizophrenic, Byron Sutcliff (Landau) aka Preacher, a scripture quoting (Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord!), ex-minister who likes to set fires, a 400 pound child lover named Ronald Elster (van Lidth) aka Fatty, and Skaggs, a serial killer better known as `The Bleeder' because of his tendency to get nosebleeds prior to carving up his victims. After their initial meeting with their new doctor (the previous one left to take another position), the boys on the third floor get it in their heads that Dr. Potter killed their old doctor, and now intends to kill them, so they decide to their only option is to kill him first...and soon get the chance as the sophisticated security system keeping them from escaping has one, major flaw...it only works if the electricity is on...and wouldn't you know it, the town suffers a blackout...oh yeah, the Haven's backup generator conks out (pretty convenient timing, if you ask me). During the confusion, the boys grab themselves a car, hit the town, arm themselves at the local sporting goods store (looters are running rampant during the power outage), and then head over to the Potter residence...

I really did enjoy this film a lot, as it was the first movie I've seen in awhile that actually gave me the creeps, and created a good deal of real suspense. I have to say, Martin Landau makes an extremely convincing psychopath, with his penetrating glares and huge, toothy, menacing grin. He sold his character more than anyone else here, and left a lasting impression. As far as Palance, I've always thought he be a little (okay, a lot) nuts, so playing a role like this probably wasn't much of a reach for him. I thought he did well, but his screen time and character felt limited and lacking...I suppose this was to be expected, given the film features four homicidal maniacs. Pleasence was a riot in his role as the unconventional, easy-going, eternally optimistic, touchy feely, weed smoking Dr. Bain...there's one scene, in particular, that highlights this...near the end, Dr, Bain shows up at Potter's house (the crazies have been terrorizing the family during the blackout), learns his `voyagers' are lurking about, and pleads with them to come out so they can `explore a few things together'. The film has a handful of these comic moments that I enjoyed primarily because I have a sick sense of humor. As far as Dwight Schultz, I thought he also did pretty well, and it must have been difficult playing against so many accomplished performers. I did find his character to be a little annoying, the consummate clinician trying to apply his skills in a rational matter even during time of severe danger. Eventually he does resort to his more primal instincts, ones that we all share. I really got a strong sense of direction from this film, as tension is thick and almost always there, providing underlying aspect of uncertainty and uneasiness throughout, one of knowing at any moment, something nasty could happen...which is pretty interesting considering this is Sholder directorial debut, as normally one wouldn't expect someone to put a film together as well as he did, but I do believe he started out as an editor, so perhaps he developed an eye for how sequences should play out and fit together as a whole. The pacing is strong, but really picks up after them men escape, and rarely slows down until the end. There is a number of little surprises throughout, punctuated by a large one, which I managed to figure out well before it was presented...which, in turn, made me a little proud of myself as I didn't think it was entirely obvious, but, I suspect the average viewer will probably pick up on it as there are a few, well placed clues. Regardless, even given what I suspected, the reveal was classic and worth waiting for...as far as the ending goes, it was definitely unexpected, but interesting. Serious gore hounds may be disappointed by the lack of blood, but what this is in the movie is effective...one scene in particular features the brutal disposition of the ward attendant, played by Jennings, during the inmates escape. All in all a creepy horror thriller, worth checking out if you're interested in something above and beyond the usual slasher picture.

Image Entertainment provides a really good-looking widescreen anamorphic (1.85:1) print on this DVD release, along with three audio options, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, and Dolby Digital 2.0. As far as special features, there are quite a few including a commentary track with writer/director Jack Sholder, a video interview with Carol Levy (16:28) who plays the character of Bunky, the babysitter, a video interview with New York punk band The Sic F*cks and Adam Rockoff (16:28), who actually perform within the movie, an original theatrical trailer, extensive liner notes written by Fangoria's own Michael Gingold, and an extensive promotional art gallery.

Cookieman108

Wow, I was stoked to see this movie after seeing it on list after list of top horror movies. However, I really only got to see about half because the first CD and then the subsequent replacement CD sent both had major flaws and wouldn't allow me to see the movie without pixelated images the entire time. However, from what I did see, this was a great movie with an interesting twist - -note: pay attention to the nosebleed! If you can find the movie elsewhere or from another production company, do so.

[good things]
One of the most cleaver films of the 1980's slasher craze. This film has an all-star cast, great acting, great and likable characters (even the kilelrs are likable) and a great all around atmosphere. The plot twist with "The Bleeder" was very cleaver and very well done. It took me by great surprise, but after watching the movie for a second time it seemed very obvious.


[the bad]
The movie really lacked bloody kills, but the film didn't really need it. I personally would have liked to see alot of blood, but the film would have worked even if there were no kills at all.


[final thoughts]
Like I said, one of the greatest movies of the 1980's slasher era and genre. The cast was great and in my opinion, the chemistry was perfect. Martin Landau was great, my favorite of the movie. His character reminded me of Drayton Sawyer in Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Jack Palance played a very lovable and misunderstood paranoid schitzophrenic. Dwight Schultz was a perfect doctor and Donald Pleasence played himself as he was a "weird" psyciatrist (as in Halloween). I liked when "The Bleeder" donned a hockey mask and took afew people out, it may be mistaken that this was an homage to Friday The 13th when this movie was filmed before Friday The 13th Part 3, the movie in which Jason dons his trademark hockey mask for the first time. "The Bleeder" uses a small garden cultivator to take his victim, which was an exact scene from the slasher "homage" film Bloody Murder 2, a film which was based on (or in some people's opinion) outright stole ideas, scenes, kills, and cliches from popular slasher franchises. Steve Dash (credited as Steven Daskawisz) made a breif, but memorable appearance as a doctor who gets killed by the murderous gang. Steve Dash played Jason Voorhees in friday The 13th Part 2.
This movie is a must see for any fan of the horror genre. Martin Landau, Dwight Schultz, Jack Palance, Donald Pleasence and Steve Dash in the same movie? YES.

This horror flick flew under the radar but don't let the negative reviews scare you off. I think it's better some of the so-called genre classics and definitely worth your time. If your expecting Shakespeare, you might be disappointed. Otherwise, you'll be in for a real treat!

This is actually the best movie of all of Martin Landau's horror flicks. It's quite well made, features some appealing cinematography and direction, a much better script than most other similar films, and a lot of strong performances (Pleasance, Palance and a delightfully scenery-chewing Landau - "I made the lights go out!"). Not as much fun (in the cheesy sense) as others like "The Being", but a much better straight-forward horror film. The opening sequence is a surrealistic classic! Definitely recommended.

This film was banned in a few countries, and as a result the film went through a lot of editing; different versions. This DVD may be the closest you get to the original version; plus it has good bonuses. From memory, when I saw the film back in the day, the scenes with the child molester character had been extended. As a side note, I didn't know that in real life that actor was an Olympian athlete, and the girl that played his victim won an award for her portrayal in that movie. A definite superior addition to your DVD collection!

A group of psychotics descend on the house of their new doctor and his family after convincing themselves he killed their old doctor and escaping the mental institute. AITD is a highly underrated and undermentioned slasher that offers excellent performances (including Donald Pleasance, Jack Palance, and Martin Landau!), an original plot, and many chilling scenes. The audience can readily empathize with the killers while fearing them, owing as much to the heavies as to the writing behind them. The scale is very small, with only a few select settings, but they are well crafted and create a sense of isolation and hopelessness. On top of that, the score is very subtle but extremely unsettling. There are some pacing issues, but they don't impede the film much. Favorite scene: Dr. Potter calls out to the psychotics, and the camera pans around the dimly lit swing set creaking in the dark, then to the empty trees, with the villains hidden off-screen. Highly recommended as one of New Line's earliest and strongest entries in the genre!

-Carl Manes
I Like Horror Movies

Alone in the Dark was a highly original and very underrated 80's slasher film, it also happens to have a great cast of actors in it. How they got Jack Palance, Martin Landau and Donald Plesance all in this film was just amazing and elevates this b-movie horror flick to a higher standard, watching these guys acting crazy was great and alot of fun. Therapist Dwight Schultz has just arrived at an experimental mental institution which is run by Dr. Leo Bain (Pleasance) who points out that the people here aren't patients just 'voyagers!.

Potter has been hired as a replacement for the previous doctor who the `voyagers' believe Potter has murdered but has actually moved to another job. It is their continuing delusion which finally manifests itself in a wish for revenge that makes them escape the institution during a power cut and hunt down Potter and terrorize his family. One of the things that makes Alone in the Dark so special is that the majority of the characters are well rounded and believable. From Donald Pleasance who parodies his Dr. Loomis character from Halloween, as a well meaning but decidedly off the wall psychiatrist who freely gives out matches to pyromaniacs and whose treatment methods range from telling the `voyagers' that he can mold or infiltrate their dreams.

Donald Pleasence was really over the top which is hilarious, then there's the other psycho inmates like Martin Landau who was outstanding as a maniacally cackling ex-minister Byron Sutcliffe who use to burn churches with people still in them and Jack Palance as Frank Hawkes an ex-prisoner of war along with two others including a creepy child molester and a huge guy who doesn't speak and wears different masks including a hockey mask ;-). The film was great and had a ton of black humor in it with some nice jump-out-of-your-seat moments. Like I said the characters were nicely developed and memorable unlike other slasher flicks which had your typical dumb teenagers in them. There is also a great scene where a babysister who looked like a typical bimbo (not bad looking though ;-)) who just after having sex with her boyfriend almost gets stabbed by a knife underneath the bed, this scene had a lot of suspense and tension cause you didn't know what was gonna happen next and I'm not going to ruin it but you'll have to watch what happens.

Alone in the Dark was a highly amusing and great early 80's slasher flick with a great cast and also has a neat surprise ending and a cool scene where a killer is wearing a hockey mask (this was done before Friday The 13th part 3). The director Jack Sholder was also responsible for Nightmare on Elm Street part 2 so he knows his way around a good slasher flick, this somewhat forgotten slasher flick was fantastic despite having some dumb moments especially with the trapped and terrorized family it was still great fun, I highly recommend this to horror fans and two thumbs up!.

More a suspense film than a horror film.

Some psychos imagine that their new psychiatrist killed the old one, so when there's a power outage (which we saw coming) they escape and lay siege to the psychiatrist and his family, who live in an isolated house in the woods. Who will live, who will die?

Despite the strong cast (Donald Pleasance, Martin Landau, Jack Palance) it's a pretty pedestrian film. Pleasance is the psychiatrist heading the institute (not the one hated by the escaped psychos). He has loopy theories about letting insane people "find their own space."

Actually, another psychiatrist had that same theory in a much better film, a real horror gorefest called DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT. And in THE BROOD, in which Oliver Reed's theories cause patients to physically manifest their mental ailments; a truly imaginative gorefest from Cronenberg. Another superior horror film with this theme is ASYLUM, a British horror omnibus from Amicus. Also consider SEIZURE, in which Jonathan Frid's family is likewise laid seige to in an isolated house by manifestations of Frid's insane mind.

ALONE IN THE DARK is tepid by comparison. Not bad, but nothing special. It lacks the visceral impact of those other films, and is also less imaginative.