Fade to Black (1980)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Vernon Zimmerman

Writer:

Vernon Zimmerman (written by)

Release Date:

14 October 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | History | Horror | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Meet Eric Binford, the ultimate movie buff. If you know someone like him... run!

Plot:

A shy, lonely, film geek goes on a killing spree against those who bully and browbeat him, while at the same time, he stalks his idol; a Marilyn Monroe look-alike.

Plot Keywords:

Film Geek | Death | Marilyn Monroe | Movie Fan | Mother Son Relationship

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Dennis Christopher	...	Eric Binford
Tim Thomerson	...	Jerry Moriarty
Gwynne Gilford	...	Officer Anne Oshenbull
Norman Burton	...	Marty Berger (as Normann Burton)
Linda Kerridge	...	Marilyn O'Connor
Morgan Paull	...	Gary Bially
James Luisi	...	Capt. M.L. Gallagher
Eve Brent	...	Aunt Stella Binford (as Eve Brent Ashe)
John Steadman	...	Sam
Marcie Barkin	...	Stacy
Mickey Rourke	...	Richie
Peter Horton	...	Joey
Hennen Chambers	...	Bart
Melinda O. Fee	...	Talk Show Hostess (as Melinda Fee)
Anita Converse	...	Dee Dee

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:18 | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 | France:-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1983) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Grauman's Chinese Theater - 6925 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Leisure Investments

Trivia:

Fade to Black contains film clips from: a) Kiss of Death b) White Heat c) Public Enemy d) Horror of Dracula e) Creature from the Black Lagoon f) Night of the Living Dead

Movie Connections:

References Kiss of Death (1947)

Soundtrack:

Heroes

A victim of the movies?

The low-budget production had the premise (innovative and creepy), but the execution of it seemed a little off when it had to count. I wouldn't call it just a horror film, as it had a bit of everything in it. For old-school Hollywood film-buffs it was ripe with numerous knowing film references (inter-cutting snippets of features), where our smugly weedy protagonist (a multi-layered, skin-crawling performance by Dennis Christopher) begins to confuse fictional with reality after everything in his life begins to crumble as his realises there's only one way to escape it. He begins role-playing characters and scenes with nothing but conviction. While these sequences were creative, it just seems to take away from the underlining horror.

The dark humour seems to fit, but the script is sorely underwritten due to some stringy sub-plots (mainly that of Thomason's character) that are poorly thought out. Not that they couldn't added anything, but they could've if a little more exposition was spent on them. Instead they feel trivial. The backdrop is interestingly displayed with the director Vernon Zimmerman using genuine locations where it cooked up some gritty atmospherics. Some moments were kind of overdone (when the unstable homicidal nature and identity crises kicks in, when the torment gets out of hand), but it keeps you highly involved. I didn't find it particularly suspenseful (other than the climax), but the way it's organised shows enough drive and originality.

Other than Christopher, the rest of the cast (featuring the likes of Norman Burton, Tim Thomason, Eve Brent, Morgan Paull, and John Steadman) are mildly okay. A perky Linda Kerridge (the Marilyn Monroe look-alike) has a good screen presence and there's a small role for Mickey Rourke. Craig Safan's smoking, uncanny score works a treat.