Someone, or something, is on an indiscriminate killing and mutilation spree during night-time. Frustrated by the clueless police, the father of the first victim is looking for answers, no ma... Read allSomeone, or something, is on an indiscriminate killing and mutilation spree during night-time. Frustrated by the clueless police, the father of the first victim is looking for answers, no matter how far fetched they are.Someone, or something, is on an indiscriminate killing and mutilation spree during night-time. Frustrated by the clueless police, the father of the first victim is looking for answers, no matter how far fetched they are.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
- Police Captain Speer
- (as Warren Kemmerling)
- Herman Burmeister
- (as William Derringer)
- Directors
- John 'Bud' Cardos
- Tobe Hooper(replaced by John Cardos) (uncredited)
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFrom the screenplay stage and all the way through to production, The Dark (1979)'s antagonist was an abused, autistic child who had been locked in an attic for his entire life. In the original script, his house burned down, allowing him to escape and take vengeance on the outside world. Toward the end of the shoot, the film's producers decided to capitalize on the success of Alien (1979) and demanded extensive re-shoots to change the killer into an extra-terrestrial.
- GoofsThe murders occur in Santa Monica. Yet the police are driving black & white Los Angeles police cars, bearing L.A.'s "Protect and Serve" motto. They should be driving Santa Monica police cars, which at the time were blue & white.
- Quotes
Zoe Owens: I will do it, until I get it right.
Sherman Moss: That is the way you learn! What do you think I sent you to Beverly Hills for those roadshows? Why do you think I sent you to Pasadena for those swim suit shows?
Zoe Owens: It's hard to describe how fulfilling Rose Gardens can be!
Sherman Moss: Well you've only been with us exactly six months!
Zoe Owens: Look at the ratings!
Sherman Moss: Well of course. Half of the male population of LA is staying up all night trying to figure out a way to get into your pants!
- ConnectionsEdited into Rifftrax: The Dark (2018)
The acting is above average for a drive-in style horror film, and the final battle when the monster is cornered in an abandoned monastery, is pretty good for the era.
Keep in mind this is a 1979 film when you watch it. This is WAY before computerized special effects became mainstream in cinema. As a result, the sequences of the alien killing it's victims are not very clear, and you may need to view a scene several times before you figure out exactly what happened. The alien itself looks like a cross between Linda Blair from "The Exorcist", and Michael Jackson from "Thriller". Way too human for my tastes.
The alien could just as easily have been explained as a genetic mutation created in a lab, as there is really nothing to suggest it's extra-terrestrial origins. (Other than the characters coming to the conclusion that it's an alien, and a comet streaking across the city skyline in the opening sequence.)
Casey Kasem makes an appearance as a doctor working with the cops, and a pre-Miami Vice Phillip Michael Thomas makes a cameo, as a young man mouthing off to the police.
Also, an unintentionally funny scene occurs when Keenan Wynn explains to Crosby why "half of the men in L.A." watch her news program... "They're trying to find a way to get into your PAAAAAANTS!!!!" :^)
"The Dark" certainly does not compare favorably with modern horror films, or even horror film of the 80's. But it is worth a view, perhaps to see just how far we've come.
- pleiades10
- Oct 24, 2000
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $2,700,000 (estimated)