The Dark (1979 film)

The Dark is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by John Cardos and starring William Devane, Cathy Lee Crosby, Richard Jaeckel, Keenan Wynn, and Casey Kasem.[1]

The Dark
Directed byJohn Cardos
Written byStanford Whitmore[1]
Produced byDick Clark[2]
StarringWilliam Devane
Cathy Lee Crosby
Richard Jaeckel
Keenan Wynn
Casey Kasem
CinematographyJohn Morrill[1]
Edited byMartin Dreffke
Music byRoger Kellaway[1]
Distributed byFilm Ventures International
Release date
  • June 1979 (1979-06)
Running time
92 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

A young woman is murdered and mutilated late one night. An ambitious female journalist decides to find out what happened..

Cast

Production

Tobe Hooper was hired by Film Ventures International to direct the film. However, since Hooper fell behind schedule, the producers fired him and replaced him with Cardos.[2] Cardos disclosed that initially, the monster was intended to be a “large, retarded giant of a human being,” who was kept locked in an attic by its parents until it broke free, but halfway through production the producers decided they wanted the monster to be more "electronic" in nature and shoot laser beams from his eyes.[3] While Cardos felt the film was overall decent, he disagreed with the producer's decision to change the monster so late in production.[3]

Reception

Roger Ebert awarded the film one and a half stars.[4] Jim Knipfel of Den of Geek awarded the film two stars out of five.[2]

Home media

Released on VHS by Media Home Entertainment in 1982[5] and 1985 | Cat.# M173 |

References