Alone in the Dark (1982)

Director:

Jack Sholder

Writers:

Jack Sholder (story) &
Robert Shaye (story) ...

Release Date:

12 November 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Too frightened to breathe...

Plot:

A quartet of murderous psychopaths break out of a mental hospital during a power blackout and lay siege to their doctor's house.

Plot Keywords:

Psychopath | Siege | Blackout | House | Doctor

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Jack Palance	...	Frank Hawkes
Donald Pleasence	...	Dr. Leo Bain
Martin Landau	...	Byron 'Preacher' Sutcliff
Dwight Schultz	...	Dr. Dan Potter
Erland van Lidth	...	Ronald 'Fatty' Elster
Deborah Hedwall	...	Nell Potter
Lee Taylor-Allan	...	Toni Potter
Phillip Clark	...	Tom Smith / Skaggs
Elizabeth Ward	...	Lyla Potter
Brent Jennings	...	Ray Curtis
Gordon Watkins	...	Detective Burnett
Carol Levy	...	Bunky
Keith Reddin	...	Billy
Annie Korzen	...	Marissa Hall
Lin Shaye	...	Receptionist at Haven

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:(Banned) (Ontario) | Canada:R (Ontario -- Re-rated 1992) | Finland:(Banned) (1984) (cut) | Finland:(Banned) (1984) (heavily cut) | Finland:K-18 (2006) (self applied) | Italy:VM14 | Australia:M | Norway:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Iceland:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Company:

Masada Productions

Trivia:

Jack Sholder's original idea for the film was to have the story be about mental patients escaping during a blackout in NYC and the mafia being used to stop them. Due to the low budget it was re-envisioned to take place on a smaller scale outside of New York.

Quotes:

Byron 'Preacher' Sutcliffe: I like the hat!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The House That Freddy Built (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Chop Up Your Mother

Different Slasher Movie, If Not A Bit Lagging.

"Alone in the Dark" centers on a small New Jersey community, where Dr. Dan Potter is assigned to work as a new doctor at "The Haven", a mental institution outside of town, run by Dr. Leo Bain (Donald Pleasance). The third floor of the institution homes a group of very insane, murderous men, who are under careful watch. But when a blackout occurs and the entire area loses it's electricity, the electrical powering that keeps the men behind closed doors is of no help. The murderous men escape from the Haven, and head towards town, where they begin a murderous rampage before reaching Dr. Potter's new home.

Not to be confused with the 2005 creature horror flick of the same name, "Alone in the Dark" boasts a fairly unique premise that hasn't been used (town crazies let loose to wreak havoc on the city after an electrical shortage). If you ask me, I thought this was a fairly original idea for a horror movie, and a clever one at that. And taking into consideration the time this film was made, this was pretty fresh stuff. Now it may seem a little overused and clichéd in ways, but this was a unique premise. The problem here is that the film lags quite a bit, and really for no good reason. It plods around aimlessly for about 45 minutes before really kicking in, which was a bit of a disappointment, because, if written better, this could have been a much more frightening movie. The idea of lunatics sieging a local house during a blackout is terrifying - it's too bad this film wasn't.

Aside from that, it does have some positives. For one, the acting is quite good. Donald "Dr. Loomis" Pleasance plays the lead doctor of the institution perfectly, in a role that is similar to his in the "Halloween" series, but a bit different. Martin Landau and Jack Palance play a couple of the town psychos flawlessly - they're menacing but strangely funny as well, and this balance works. There are a couple of nice scare sequences (including the babysitter and her boyfriend in the bed ordeal), and above all, this film does manage to be fairly entertaining despite it's lagging. I felt if the film was handeled differently, it could have been much scarier, but the way the filmmakers took it was in a bit of a different direction - not that that's bad, but it could have been scarier if done in a different fashion. The ending is also quite quirky, but it flows with the rest of the film's tone and was a nice little laugh to end the movie on.

Overall, "Alone in the Dark" is a slightly above-average horror/thriller that is worth seeing at least once. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the good story, quirky campiness, and good acting make it a watchable little horror movie. It's not your usual slasher movie, and for that I have to give it some credit. Not bad, not great, but just above the usual, if not a little different from. Worth a rental, you may enjoy it. 6/10.