The
1980s were a golden age for low budget horror, because of a perfect confluence
of conditions. VHS provided the distribution medium, video stores provided the
market, and the Reagan Revolution provided an economic climate that rewarded
entrepreneurship. Horror always had its indie maestros, but their ranks exploded
in the Eighties, while established filmmakers still dabbled in the genre with
studio backing. It all resulted in a bountiful harvest that continues to
inspire filmmakers today. The stars, filmmakers, and special effects artists associated
with the era’s great (and not so great) horror films take stock of their collective
body of work in David A. Weiner’s In Search of Darkness: The Definitive 80’s
Horror Documentary, which premiered during this year’s Beyond Fest.
With
a 240-minute running time, it is reasonably fair of Weiner & company to use
the word “definitive.” Although they introduce thematic topics along the way,
the survey is mostly organized year-by-year and film-by-film. As you would expect
(and hope), a great deal of time is devoted to series like Friday the 13th,
Hellraiser, and Nightmare on Elm Street—not just once for the
original film, but repeatedly returning to the franchises to give successive
sequels their due.
There
are an awful lot of films under discussion here. Fair consideration is given to
the Halloween sequels that disappointed or confused and the Psycho sequels
that far surpassed fans’ expectations. A great deal of time is given to films
like John Carpenter’s The Thing and They Live, which are now
widely acknowledged as significant cinema, but equal time is given to fan
favorites, such as Fred Dekker’s’ Night of the Creeps and Stuart Gordon’s
Re-Animator. The on-screen experts make their case for underappreciated films
like Ghost Story as well as monster hits like the Lost Boys.
Frankly, the only really conspicuously overlooked film has to be Twilight
Zone: The Movie, which is notable for the crazy “Midnight Special” prologue
and the tragic real life events that occurred during its production.
The
list if interview participants is also quite impressive. We get to hear from
directors John Carpenter, Joe Dante, Stuart Gordon, Tom Holland, Mick Garris, Sean
Cunningham, and the late, great Larry Cohen, as well as genre thesps Tom Atkins
(The Fog, Night of the Creeps), Heather Langenkamp (Nightmare on Elm
Street), Cassandra Peterson (a.k.a. Elvira, Mistress of the Dark), Barbara
Crampton, Jeffrey Combs, Keith David (The Thing), Doug Bradley (Hellraiser),
and everyone’s favorite Jason Voorhees, Kane Hodder.
One
of the nicest surprises in In Search of is the sense of humor Tom Atkins
displays when discussing his films. Arguably, the only annoying segments feature
the offkey political rants from Alex Winter (the guy in Bill & Ted,
who wasn’t Keanu Reeves or George Karlin), but his crankiness is easy to
dismiss.
Altogether,
there are a lot of fond movie memories revisited here. Weiner’s doc will also
inspire viewers to catch up with some films they might have missed back in the
day. Four-hours is a challenging running time for further festival play, but
this film would fit Shudder or a similar streaming service like a glove. Regardless,
cheers to Beyond Fest for premiering In Search of Darkness, which is highly
recommended for real deal horror fans.
