The Dark (1979)

Director:

John 'Bud' Cardos

Writer:

Stanford Whitmore (writer)

Release Date:

27 April 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

After fear...beyond terror...there is THE DARK!

Plot:

An alien mutilator stalks and kills human prey during the night.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Laser Beam | Police | City | Murder

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

William Devane	...	Roy Warner / Steve Dupree
Cathy Lee Crosby	...	Zoe Owens
Richard Jaeckel	...	Det. Dave Mooney
Keenan Wynn	...	Sherman 'Sherm' Moss
Warren J. Kemmerling	...	Police Captain Speer (as Warren Kemmerling)
Biff Elliot	...	Detective Jack Bresler
Jacquelyn Hyde	...	De Renzy
Casey Kasem	...	Police Pathologist
Vivian Blaine	...	Courtney Floyd
John Bloom	...	The Dark
Bill Derringer	...	Herman Burmeister (as William Derringer)
Jay Lawrence	...	Jim Hampton
Russ Marin	...	Dr. Baranowski
Vernon Washington	...	Henry Lydell
Mel Anderson	...	Policeman

Also Known As:

The Mutilator

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 (theatrical rating) (cut) | UK:18 (pre cert VHS) | Australia:M | Norway:18 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Film Ventures International (FVI)

Trivia:

The television station is KFVI. The last part "FVI" refers to this film's production company, Film Ventures International. When Shelley is by the movie theater at the beginning of the film, we can see three movie posters, Chi sei? (1974) (better known as Beyond the Door), Grizzly (1976) and _Power, The (1980)_. These films were produced by Film Ventures International.

Quotes:

Police Captain Speer: Zombie? Mangler? Now, I don't wanna hear those two words again!

Movie Connections:

Edited into 42nd Street Forever, Volume 2: The Deuce (2006) (V)

wake me when it's over

"The Dark" is an exceedingly dull thriller from the late 70's. It concerns a series of murders in Los Angeles committed by an alien creature. Unlucky people wander alone into dark places and end up having their heads ripped off by the "mangler". Cathy Lee Crosby stars as a newswoman and William Devane plays the father of one of the victims. They team up to try to catch the creature.

The writer, director and editor were so lazy they didn't even attempt to make a watchable film. They only have about 15 minutes of movie but insist on padding it out with lame claptrap so we're stuck watching it for 92 minutes. The R-rating is inexplicable. It's so tame it could have easily gotten by with a PG or maybe even a G. If you can make it that far, the cheesy special effects at the end provide limited entertainment value. Double-blind studies have shown "The Dark" to be superior to both Ambien and placebo in the treatment of insomnia. Barely rates 1/2 star (of four).