Darkman (1990)

A brilliant scientist left for dead returns to exact revenge on the people who burned him alive.

Director:

Sam Raimi

Writers:

Sam Raimi (story), Chuck Pfarrer (screenplay)

Stars:

Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, Colin Friels

3 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Liam Neeson	...	Peyton Westlake / Darkman
Frances McDormand	...	Julie Hastings
Colin Friels	...	Louis Strack Jr.
Larry Drake	...	Robert G. Durant
Nelson Mashita	...	Yakitito
Jessie Lawrence Ferguson	...	Eddie Black
Rafael H. Robledo	...	Rudy Guzman
Dan Hicks	...	Skip (as Danny Hicks)
Ted Raimi	...	Rick (as Theodore Raimi)
Dan Bell	...	Smiley
Nicholas Worth	...	Pauly
Aaron Lustig	...	Martin Katz
Arsenio 'Sonny' Trinidad	...	Hung Fat
Said Faraj	...	Convenience Store Clerk
Nathan Jung	...	Chinese Warrior

Storyline

Peyton Westlake is a scientist who has discovered a way to produce synthetic skin. This could revolutionise skin grafting, except for one minor glitch; the synthetic skin degrades after 100 minutes of exposure to light. When gangsters attack Peyton, he is horrifically burnt, and assumed dead. In his quest for revenge, Peyton, aka the Darkman, is able to take on the appearance of anyone (using the synthetic skin,) but he only has 100 minutes per disguise.

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Plot Keywords:

scientist | mask | prosthetic leg | cult film | fake shemp character | 

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Taglines:

In the darkest hour, there is a light that shines on every human being...but ONE!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 August 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Czlowiek ciemnosci

Filming Locations:

Lower Bay Station, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,054,860, 24 August 1990, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$33,878,502

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$48,878,520, 31 December 1991

Company Credits

Production Co:

Renaissance Pictures, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gary Oldman was considered to play Peyton/Darkman.

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Goofs

When Peyton returns to his lab after its destruction, a photo of him and Julie is lying on the floor. The picture has half of Peytons face missing. Later, when Peyton moves into the abandoned building and puts the photo into the machine, more of Peyton's face is visible.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Eddie Black: [on phone] 'Cause he's an asshole! Tell him no. Tell him no, too. Him, tell "fuck you." No, I'm gonna be here a minute. Got some guy coming up who thinks he's gonna muscle me out of my property. What's it matter! Just another tough guy, that's all.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credit sequence is full of dark clouds and brief images of Darkman. The second A in the title is shaped like Darkman's silhouette.

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Alternate Versions

European DVD releases were all based on the cut UK version because Universal wanted to use just one master for everybody.

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Connections

Featured in The Face of Revenge with Tony Gardner (2014)

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Soundtracks

Dancing Freak
(uncredited)

User Reviews

Fairly exciting and entertaining.

Sam Raimi's "Darkman" is a highly entertaining and energetic combination of science fiction,action and horror!The performances are good,especially Liam Neeson is really believable as a disfigured doctor Peyton Westlake/Darkman.It's nice to see also an underrated Larry Drake("Dr Giggles")as a main villain.There are some huge gaps in logic,but I don't care.The score by Danny Elfman is fantastic and there are some nice visual effects!So if you have enough time to waste-check it out.7 out of 10.