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:

Now, Crime Has a New Enemy, And Justice Has a New Face!

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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

Look-wise, Sam Raimi was interested in paying homage to Universal horror films of the 1930s. Production Designer Randy Ser remarked, "if you look at Darkman's lab that he moves into, which is an old warehouse, what was on my mind was Dr. Frankenstein. There were a number of references visually to what we were thinking about in regards to those films."

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Goofs

When Rick wanders down an alleyway, just before he's captured by Darkman - the camera's shadow passes over an apple box.

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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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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1993)

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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.