Alone in the Dark

"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; taking into consideration the time this film was made, this was a fresh idea. The problem here is that the film lags quite a bit, and really for no good reason really; one would think character development would fall in place here, but not really. 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 its dragging feet. 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 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 premise, quirky campiness, and decent acting make it a watchable horror movie. It's not your usual slasher flick, 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.

That high concept title tells you a lot of what you need to know about this film.

Alone in the Dark has a great cast that's strangely underused, and its derivativeness and slight lack of spark make it an eternal underling to much better films, but it's still worth seeing for many reasons.

Donald Pleasance--the one of three stellar cast members who is almost not underused--turns in a typically, wonderfully goofy performance as a famed psychiatrist. He's heading an asylum, he's a bit crazy himself, he's fond of smoking weed, and he has experimental techniques, which turn out to be dangerous considering that he has a criminally insane ward. The two very underused actors are Martin Landau and especially Jack Palance, who are both members of the aforementioned ward.

Problems begin when the New Jersey town that houses the asylum experiences a blackout, allowing the patients to escape--if Donald Pleasance as a psychiatrist isn't strong enough to suggest a Halloween film, this scene of escaping loonies certainly is. This leads to the Night of the Living Dead-styled scenes, which are a lot of fun.

I suppose I can see how someone would find this film a mess--it does change gears frequently and doesn't worry very much about continuity or even coherence, but anyone who is a fan of these actors, or asylum films, or any of the many horror films referenced (including some playful jabs at the Friday the 13th films) should get a lot of enjoyment out of Alone in the Dark. There's a high camp factor throughout, including the scenes of going to a club to see a band called The Sick F*cks.

In some ways, it almost feels like producer Robert Shaye and director Jack Sholder--the same team that brought us A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 a couple years later--got a hold of this cast, some money and some time and just started making things up on the spot, seeing how much fun they could have and how crazy they could get while still producing a marketable horror/thriller film. While that's not likely to produce a masterpiece, and it certainly didn't, it did result in a film that's a hoot to watch, especially late at night or on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Alone in the Dark (1982) is an underrated horror classic. Where else can you find the great character actors Donald Pleasence, Martin Landau and Jack Palance in one movie? All three in their hammy glory chewing scenery and over acting to the Nth degree. The tale as about a new psych doctor (Animal from the A-Team) who must deal with his new "clients". Ever since their favorite doc disappeared, the natives have become restless. But during a freak weather storm, the three goons decide to leave the hospital and seek out the good doctor and his family. What happens next? Oh, that would be telling.

The three inmates (Landau, Palance and the bald dude from Stir Crazy) are great. It's a toss up between Martin and Jack on who get's the award for most over the top performance in this one. Jack is very restrained and eerily creepy whilst Martin is just plain bonkers, we're talking full tilt boogie madness. A couple of effective kills and a wonderful performance by the cast make this one a winner.

Hard to find. I wish they put this classic out on D.V.D. The original video cover and theatrical poster is a one of a kind gem. Recommended for horror fans.

Hey, in this movie The A-Team's "Howlin' Mad" Murdock is the SANE one, being terrorized by crazy Oscar winners Martin Landau and Jack Palance while a trippy Donald Pleasance wanders around in an opium haze in this acceptable horror movie that features a few poorly-directed "suspence" sequences, a terrible stage show by "The Sic F*cks" complete with big cardboard axes, a hot sex scene featuring a character called "Bunky", some bad eighties fashions, a brief appearance by a Tom Savini-designed ghoul, a mailman getting run down by a stoner van, the "tongue excersizes" woman from "Kingpin", a killer in a hockey mask, a cool rioting scene, a guy broken over another guy's knee, crossbow-killings, and a lovable big fat child moleser.

So why not?

The story = Dan Potter (Dwight Shultz) is a new doctor at an asylum run by the wacky Dr. Leo Bain (Donald Pleasence). Inmates Hawkes (Jack Palance), Preacher (Martin Landau), Fatty ( the late Erland van Lidth), and the Bleeder (Phil Clark) believe Potter killed their old doctor and vow revenge. The gang escapes when a massive blackout strikes New Jersey. As the Potter family prepare for a quiet candle lit dinner with friends, the psychopaths move in for the kill.

In Alone In The Dark the director Jack Sholder creates a great deal of suspense, tension and action in this slightly odd slasher, All of the characters are either oddballs, lunatics, or both. The script (written by Sholder, Robert Shaye, and Mike Harpster) is filled with funny dialogue and a few twists.

The incredible cast contributes a large portion of the goofy charm surrounding this slasher. Most of the acting is completely over the top, but Palance and Landau still manage to bring menace to their characters. One wonders if Pleasence is really acting in his scenes involving a pipe and "exotic herbs". Slasher fans won't mistake Dr. Bain for Dr. Loomis. Dwight Schultz, who later became famous as a member of the A-Team, is good as the young doctor who learns violence is the only way to deal with some threats.

All in all Alone In The Dark is a definite must see for any Slasher fans with an interesting storyline great actors such as horror veteran Donald Pleasence and Jack Palance and gripping scenes that will keep you hooked all the way through.