THE
DARK (1979)A stunt performer
in a number of 60s biker films, a production manager for cult director Al Adamson,
and familiar character actor (mostly playing heavies), John 'Bud' Cardos is
bonafide exploitation movie royalty. By the 1970s, he became a venerable director,
helming the Bill Shatner vehicle KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS, one of the most enjoyable
drive-in flicks ever released. From Film Ventures International’s Edward
L. Montoro and co-producer Dick Clark (an old friend of Bud’s) came the
opportunity to direct THE DARK, a project originally conceived as a mutant monster
tale which quickly became a sci-fi epic when space travel and aliens was all
the rage at the box office. Interestingly enough, Cardos was a last minute replacement
for Tobe Hooper who only worked a few days on the set. Making its way to DVD
with a nice widescreen transfer and Cardos’ participation, THE DARK is
a film whose back-story is more interesting then the finished project.
In the Los Angeles area, a hulking creature with abnormal strength is murdering one random victim every night, with no apparent motif in sight. As the police are completely baffled by the crimes, ex-con horror novelist Steve Dupree, whose estranged daughter was the initial victim, teams up beautiful TV news journalist Zoe Owens to try and track down the killer. After an eccentric medium gives them a lead to the next victim, they come face to face with what turns out to be a ferocious, too-tall extra-terrestrial.
As
stated, the lurking creature was originally not conceived as an alien, so in
place of filmed scenes of him tearing off human heads (one such occurrence survives),
laser beams shoot from his glowing eyes to set his victims ablaze. This actually
makes for some lively special effects, and the monster (played by 7 foot-plus
John Bloom of DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN, THE INCREDIBLE TWO-HEADED TRANSPLANT
and BRAIN OF BLOOD fame) actually looks better than what the poster art dictates.
But the disappointment comes with the rice paper thin script. William Devane
(fresh from Hitchock’s FAMILY PLOT and ROLLING THUNDER) and Cathy Lee
Crosby are surprising (and not at all bad) choices for the leads, but their
characters ultimately fall flat before they’re properly developed. The
promising team of character greats Richard Jaeckel and Biff Elliott as the competent
yet clueless detectives also fall short. This all results in THE DARK having
some effective monster attacks and a remarkable climax for a B film, but the
long stretches of talky plotting in between is uninspired to say the least,
making it all feel like an elongated episode of “Kolchak: The Night Stalker.”
With THE DARK moving along lethargically, at least the cast keeps things somewhat watcahable, and most likely make it a surefire purchase for the more forgiving drive-in film fan. Keenan Wynn is a geezer of a smart ass TV news producer, Jacqueline Hyde (SCREAM BLOODY MURDER) the fortune teller who talks back to her television and foresees the slaughters, and Warren Kemmerling is the crabby police captain, ever criticizing his force for not being able to come up with any leads. If that wasn’t enough, Casey Kasem plays a police pathologist, future “Miami Vice” star Philip Michael Thomas is a street hood, 1940s starlet Vivian Blaine is a wealthy boat party host, an unbilled Angelo Rossitto is a street corner newspaper salesman and Kathy Richards (mother of Paris Hilton and sister of actress Kim Richards) is the monster’s first victim.
THE
DARK arrives on DVD in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio with anamorphic enhancement,
putting the old full screen VHS tape from Media Home Entertainment to shame.
Colors are well saturated, the image is smooth, and the heavy amounts of darkly
lit sequences are much easier to make out. Except for the odd cue mark, the
source print is in fine condition, and the mono audio is also clean, except
for the occasional pop and some minor hiss. Optional French and Spanish language
tracks are included.
A solid video interview with director John ‘Bud’ Cardos has him discussing the original concept for the film, how he replaced Tobe Hooper, and what it was like working with the main cast members. Cardos also talks about other aspects of his career, revealing that as a child he was a stand-in for some of the “Our Gang” comedies, and tells an amusing yarn concerning Tiffany Bolling’s audition for KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS. A full length audio commentary with Cardos is moderated by Scott Spiegel (EVIL DEAD II writer) and another fellow, and it's very lively. Cardos not only discusses this film, but many of the other ones he was involved with (THE INCREDIBLE TWO-HEADED TRANSPLANT, THE REBEL ROUSERS, OUTLAW OF GOR, etc.) as well as other well-known people he’s worked with. The commentary tends to go all over the place, but considering Cardos’ extensive film career, this is certainly not a bad thing, and it's never boring. If hever scribed one, his autobiography would be essential reading to all DVD Drive-In followers. The extras conclude with the original theatrical trailer, a TV spot for when it was double-featured with Mario Bava’s superior BEYOND THE DOOR II (aka SHOCK), and trailers for other Shriek Show releases. (George R. Reis)