Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

The Dark (1979)* 1/2 (out of 4)A former convict turned reporter (William Devane) sees that his daughter has been brutally mutilated so he sets out to try and find the killer as does a detective (Richard Jaeckel) working the case. It turns out that a space alien has landing on Earth and is doing the brutal murders.THE DARK has an interesting production history that is actually a lot more interesting than the film itself. Originally Tobe Hooper was to direct this film and he got several days into the production when he either quite or got fired. The somewhat notorious John 'Bud' Cardos took over the production and the end result is a rather tame sci-fi picture that's biggest problem is the fact that it lives up to the title.I say that because this film was shot way too dark and often times you can't even tell what's going on. I mean, I'm all for movies keeping the monster in shadows and what not but the problem here is that whenever the alien goes on the attack it's so dark that you can't see anything. Or, at least, you can't see anything too clear. The other big problem with the picture is the fact that it drags so slowly that the 90-minute running time seems double that. There are non-stop scenes of people talking and fighting yet none of it is very entertaining.It's really too bad that the film is so lame and doesn't feature that good of an alien or gore effects because the cast is actually pretty good. Devane is always worth watching and he turns in a nice performance here. Jaeckel is also very good in his role as is Jacquelyn Hyde and Keenan Wynn in their small roles. You can also look quick for Casey Kasem and Vivian Blaine. Who knows what might have happened with the film had Hooper stayed on but as it stands, THE DARK isn't a very good movie and it's not nearly the best "alien run amok" movies from this period.

Director John "Bud" Cardos, who'd given us the superior "nature strikes back" thriller "Kingdom of the Spiders", proved up to the task of replacing original director Tobe Hooper on this mostly routine but basically entertaining sci-fi / horror tale. The original concept for the movie was that of a killer zombie, but after poor screenings, it was decided to make the killer an alien and add a bunch of cheese ball laser effects.The story is that after the alien has savagely murdered his daughter, an author, Roy Warner (the amusingly cast William Devane), teams up with an ambitious TV newswoman, Zoe Owens (Cathy Lee Crosby) to track the monster down. The detectives on the case (Richard Jaeckel, Biff Elliot) can't seem to make any progress, but providing a substantial amount of assistance to Roy and Zoe is the psychic character De Renzy (Jacquelyn Hyde - now *there's* a name for you), who believes she knows who one of the aliens' victims will be.The sci-fi element provides just the right touch here, generating a fair amount of chuckles when we start to see the creatures' modus operandi. John Arthur Morrill handles the slick Panavision photography, while Roger Kellaway supplies a score that's quite a hoot. It features some decidedly over the top "whispering". The special effects are fun, and the pacing adequate. The best part has to be the climactic action when the alien unleashes hell on the cops that are trying to take it down.The actors are all good, particularly Jaeckel and Devane in his change of pace role. Keenan Wynn plays Crosby's boss, Casey Kasem is a pathologist, Vivian Blaine appears as a high society type, seven foot four inch John Bloom plays the titular murderer, and Warren J. Kemmerling is the typical police boss who demands that Jaeckel and Elliot produce some results. Look for the following people in bit parts: Vernon Washington ("Friday the 13th: A New Beginning") as a victim, Philip Michael Thomas of 'Miami Vice' fame as an outspoken youth, and none other than Paris Hiltons' mom Kathy Hilton as the requisite first person to die. Angelo Rossitto has an uncredited cameo as a news vendor.If you're like this viewer and have a weakness for movies like this, you're sure to have a good time with it.Seven out of 10.

The Dark is truly one of the worst films I've ever seen. Certainly the worst I've reviewed since Jaws of Satan last winter. One must wonder how much of this film Tobe Hooper directed, or if he could have made it watchable had he stayed on for the whole job. Apparently it was originally supposed to be just another rampaging zombie file. But by the time it was finished, we had a villain wandering the streets of L.A. shooting people with lasers from his eyes. Yikes! The primary star is William Devane, an always watchable actor. He plays a successful author once convicted of manslaughter. Why did they need these two angles for his character? The answer... they didn't. Anyway, Devane's daughter is the first victim of the "Mangler" and he sets out to pressure the hapless police force to solve the crime. But each night, there is another victim and nobody has any plausible explanation. Kathy Lee Crosby plays a news anchor looking to soak up the ratings for this story for herself. There are other useless characters such as a psychic who can predict future victims. There is a struggling young actor with a drinking problem. There is a mind-boggling appearance by Casey Kasem as a forensic pathologist. He actually gives one of the better performances. How many Scooby Snacks did they have to give him to take the role? The Dark is one of the most boring films I've ever seen. That is its main problem. So little action its incredible. Considering how much is said about the "horrific" nature of the murders, we see little if any gore. The final five minutes where the killer is zapping an army of cops with his laser eyes is hilariously cheap, but at least there is finally some action in the film. A complete waste of your time. Do not handle heavy machinery until you have had at least 8 hours of sleep after watching this crud. 1 of 10 stars.The Hound.

This movie deserves a higher IMDb rating than its current 3.4. Not THAT much higher, granted, but at least 4.5. Almost the entire cast turn in very solid performances, elevating the weak material just by taking everything entirely seriously. A good job was done on the photography, particularly the use of lighting (and, by definition, the shadows) in night scenes. The highest praise could be that the whole thing comes across as a feature-length Kolchak (the police chief even bears a vague resemblance to McGavin's character).The script has a couple of strong points. Devane's character's past gives him an added depth and a good basis for the tension between him and the detective character played by Richard Jaeckel. Some of the night scenes are genuinely suspenseful. On the downside, the plot has very little real development, almost nothing is properly explained, and the ending is both well-choreographed and...well, silly. Also, the whispering voice on the soundtrack detracts from the movie - it's never clear if the voice is supposedly to actually be occurring within the scene or not, so it would have been better to omit it altogether.If for no other reason, the well-publicized post-production change to the movie and Kasem's cameo are two items that make this a curio worth tracking down.