The Dark ** (1979, William Devane, Cathy Lee Crosby, Richard Jaeckel, Keenan Wynn) – Classic Movie Review 11,063

A hairy homicidal alien zombie stalks Los Angeles ripping off people’s heads and searing them to a crisp with his laser-ray eyes in John ‘Bud’ Cardos’s gory 1979 sci-fi-horror shocker The Dark [The Mutilator] blessed with a cast much better than it deserves.

William Devane, Cathy Lee Crosby and Richard Jaeckel join forces to try to stop the monster. The Dark is interesting, but director Cardos doesn’t manage enough tension, atmosphere or style. Tobe Hooper had been slated to direct but Cardos replaced him during production after falling way behind schedule after only three days. Devane had joined the film to work with Hooper, but Cardos assured Devane he could play his character as he wanted.

Also in the cast are Keenan Wynn, Vivian Blaine, Jacquelyn Hyde, Biff Elliott, Warren J Kemmerling, Casey Kasem, John Bloom, William Derringer, Jay Lawrence, Russ Marin and Vernon Washington.

It is written by Stanford Whitmore. Towards the end of the shoot, the Film Ventures International producers decided to try to capitalise on the success of Alien (1979) and demanded extensive re-shoots to change the killer from an abused person locked in an attic into an extra-terrestrial.

Casey Kasem, radio host of American Top 40 and voice-over actor for cartoons, including the voice of Shaggy on Scooby Doo, has a cameo as a police pathologist.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,063

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