A Disappointing Continuation

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The deeply attractive Jenny Agutter (WALKABOUT) and the not-so deeply attractive Michael Moriarty (THE STUFF) team up with director Freddie Francis (LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF) for this POLTERGEIST-inspired supernatural horror flick set in a tower block. It's derivative stuff at best, a rerun of other films that are far better and more effective, but DARK TOWER ain't so bad.Sure, it has a few pacing problems, but Agutter is always a watchable actress and any film with Kevin McCarthy in it has to be good. Plus, the film does manage to summon up a halfway-decent atmosphere of chilly shocks and lurking evil, moments of unease that are punctuated by some brutal "accident"-style deaths a la THE OMEN. The opening scene of a Peeping Tom window cleaner falling to his doom is a goodie, and then later there are some scenes ripped off from THE LIFT as a mystery elevator bumps off a few other lower-cast-list actors. The ending of the film goes into POLTERGEIST territory (and even THE EXORCIST) as a medium and a parapsychologist are called in to investigate the evil, and come face to face with a bunch of flying killer tools (cool scene) and a rubbery blue zombie that bursts out of the concrete, seeking revenge. The zombie is actually pretty weird looking and effective and the ending, while obvious, a keeper.It's clear that there were some production difficulties with this film because the director's name is a pseudonym on the credits. In actual fact, two directors teamed up to make this one, although I'm not clear if one left and another completed the film, or whether it really was a joint effort (although I doubt the latter). Freddie Francis made loads of effective British horror films in the 1970s but nothing in the film reveals his presence. Similarly, Ken Wiederhorn was responsible for the decent Nazi zombie shocker SHOCK WAVES but direction here is pedestrian throughout. The good news is that, having been filmed in Barcelona, the film has some decent, authentic locations and, in Agutter, a highly attractive female lead.Unfortunately, Michael Moriarty – something of a horror regular in the 1980s – gives his worst-ever performance and one of the worst ever acting performances I've ever witnessed. Wooden just doesn't describe his blandness here. Thankfully, the Austrian Theodore Bikel turns up late with a fine turn as the investigating parapsychologist, and even later on, Kevin McCarthy (INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS) steals his scenes as a drunken medium on his final case. So it's not all bad, just run-of-the-mill with some decent bits. And one more thing – the scene in which Agutter is chased through the corridors by the camera is yet another homage, this time to THE EVIL DEAD. I'm not complaining.

Oscar winning cinematographer Freddie Francis and writer Ken Wiederhorn share the blame for this dull supernatural high-rise horror; given that the film displays very little in the way of Francis's visual acumen, but everything one might expect from Wiederhorn—the man who gave us the shoddy Return of the Living Dead II—one has to wonder just how much Francis had contributed before being replaced as director. I'm willing to give Francis the benefit of the doubt and say 'not much'.Weiderhorn's script revolves around the construction of a Barcelona high-rise, designed by renowned architect Carolyn Page (Jenny Agutter), which has been plagued by mysterious deaths. Detective Dennis Randall (Michael Moriarty) investigates and, after coming to the conclusion that the building is haunted, calls in help from para-psychologist Dr. Max Gold (Theodore Bikel) and his pal Sergie (Kevin McCarthy) to cleanse the building of the restless spirit.With its solid cast, and the many possibilities for gory spectacle offered by a haunted semi-built office building, one might reasonably expect Dark Tower to be a cheesy piece of late 80s nonsense, packed with outrageously daft death sequences—indeed, the first scene, in which a window cleaner falls from his cradle onto a passing company exec, shows much promise. Unfortunately, nearly everything that follows proves to be extremely disappointing: long periods pass with nothing of note happening; too much of the film is focused in and around the building's elevator, resulting in extremely repetitive shots from inside the shaft; and there is very little in the way of satisfying splatter. The film's silly finale provides unintentional laughs in the form of a manky looking corpse that looks like a reject from Wiederhorn's earlier zombie movies.At 37, star Agutter has obviously decided that she is no longer young enough to do nude scenes (although we do get some cheeky shots of her in a camisole)—such a shame, 'cos I reckon she still looks great and some naked Agutter action would have certainly helped alleviate some of the pain (as would my Dark Tower drinking game: have a drink every time someone gets in an elevator or when there is a shot from the bottom of the elevator shaft. Hic!).

OK this movie was not that good at all. First off the cast was pretty bad. Only two actors saved the film a little and that was Theodore Bikel and Kevin McCarthy; but they didn't have big parts. The whole movie was based around Jenny Agutter and I swear she was just in there to show off her body and that is it. There is a scene when she is running and some of the buttons on her shirt come undone so you can see a little more. But there was no point to it. Not to mention they loved using a fuzzy blur lens when filming her. The whole film, there is something killing people and they never show it till the end. So when people are attacked, they are attacked by something invisible and it is annoying. The story is pretty bad too because they tell you what is happening, but not really why which makes it confusing. I also like how the film is called Dark Tower, yet it is not a tower.

It's a bit of a shame that the IMDb hasn't got a cover image of "Dark Tower" published yet. As usual, the VHS cover is much cooler than the movie actually is and it shows a crowd of people gathering around a skyscraper, shaped like an enormous coffin. The movie itself is painfully disappointing, especially if you take a closer look at the people who were involved in making it. The directors-duo Freddie Francis and Ken Wiedernhorn both have much better films on their repertoire. Francis made some great British horror classics in the 70's, like "The Creeping Flesh" and "Tales that Witness Madness", while Wiederhorn single-handedly was responsible for the only recommendable 'underwater-Nazi-zombie' flick ever made: the unique "Shock Waves". Some of the cast-members too have delivered better films. The male lead Michael Moriarty frequently works with Larry Cohen ("Q – the winged Serpent", "The Stuff") and Jenny Agutter will always be remembered for her starring in "American Werewolf in Londen". I avoid talking about the film's plot simply because there isn't much to say... It's pretty much a reworking of "Poltergeist" (which I didn't like, neither) in a skyscraper, with the restless spirit of a murdered person avenging himself on anyone who enters the building. Agutter plays the brilliant architect who seems to be the ghost's main target and Moriarty is the clairvoyant police officer who looks after her. The opening sequence is promising, with a guy falling 17 storeys down and crushing an extra pedestrian along the way! Unfortunately, the screenplay then turns into a boring mess without tension or surprises. Moriarty teams up with a couple of other paranormal investigators and they uncover some dark secrets. There's practically no gore, no humor and no feeling with the characters. Moriarty gives his lousiest performance ever and even Agutter's gorgeous eyes can't save this mediocre movie.