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Alone in the Dark
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Alone in the Dark (1982) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
5.8/10   1,005 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 11% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Jack Sholder (story) &
Robert Shaye (story) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Alone in the Dark on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
12 November 1982 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Too frightened to breathe... more
Plot:
A quartet of murderous psychopaths break out of a mental hospital during a power blackout and lay siege to their doctor's house. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
1 win more
NewsDesk:
(4 articles)
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 (From Fangoria. 24 October 2009, 4:29 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Different Slasher Movie, If Not A Bit Lagging. more (57 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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
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Additional Details

Runtime:
92 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
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:

Fun Stuff

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. more
Quotes:
Byron 'Preacher' Sutcliffe: I like the hat! more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The House That Freddy Built (2006) (V) more
Soundtrack:
Chop Up Your Mother more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful.
Different Slasher Movie, If Not A Bit Lagging., 19 June 2007
6/10
Author: youshotandywarhol from Oregon

"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.

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