Jack Palance

Donald Pleasence

Martin Landau

Dwight Schultz

Erland van Lidth

Deborah Hedwall

Lee Taylor-Allan

Phillip Clark

Elizabeth Ward

Brent Jennings

Gordon Watkins

Carol Levy

Keith Reddin

Annie Korzen

Lin Shaye

Dorothy Dorian James

John Weissman

Jana Schneider

Robert Pastner

Larry Pine

Frederick Coffin

Mallory Millet-Jones

Laura Esterman

Michael Earl Reid

Paula Raflo

Steve Dash

Michael Medeiros

E.D. Phillips

Norman Beim

Ken Burns

Ralph Corrado Jr.

Snooky

Tish

Scott MacQueen

David Goodman

Rachel Talalay

Marjorie Phillips

Todd Rankin

Bill Hale

Stephen Abramson

Nera Bendor

Linda Laias

Conrad Fink

David Franco

William Bellettiere

Adrienne Hamalian-Mangine

Richard Williams

Alex Livesey

Tom Anderson

Pino Bernardini

Gilles Arnaud

Gale Goldberg

William Klayer

Carole Penner

Robert Zimmerman

Mike Christopher

Michael Estler

Matt Vogel

Steven Visscher

Star Gabrielle

John A. Gallagher

Wendy Hubschman

John Foster

Suzanne O'Sullivan

Jean Standish

Barry Wetcher

Neil Eric Wenger

Peter Spera

Richard Eliano

Webster Whinery

Tony Farentino

Mel Zelniker

Greg Zoll

Cliff Cudney

David Beckerman

Allan Byer

Michael Harrpster

Lyzanne Goodson

Anthony Hughes

Lou Kleinman

Jack Sholder

Sara Risher

Renato Serio

Robert Shaye

Don Lumpkin

Arline Garson

Alexandra De Marande

Benni Korzen

Robert Maier

Henry Shrady

Tom Savini

Joseph Mangine

Joe Masefield

Elisha Birnbaum

Dee Dee Wehle

Tom Brumberger

Stephen Marro

William Neumann

Joan Brockschmidt

Amy Diaz

Matthew Malach

Joshua Harrison

Jim Bigham

Jill Frank

David Reale

Horror

Thriller

Alone in the Dark

Masada Productions

New Line Cinema

United States of America

English

escape

blackout

siege

revenge

murder

mental institution

slasher

maniac

mental illness

meat cleaver

escaped mental patient

mailman

Simple but entertaining suspense-thriller with a fun cast that includes Jack Palance, Martin Landau and Donald Pleasence. The horror element was decent and acting pretty solid for the most part. The one minor twist in the finale I had an inkling about yet was still effective. Would make for a great viewing on Halloween night. **3.75/5**

**_Inmates escape the loony bin with Pleasence, Palance and Landau_**

During a blackout, several violent patients break out of a progressive asylum in New Jersey (Jack Palance, Martin Landau & Erland Van Lidth) and threaten a new doctor and his family at their farmhouse (Dwight Schultz, Deborah Hedwall, etc.). Donald Pleasence is on hand as the eccentric head of the facility.

"Alone in the Dark" (1982) is a fairly obscure horror flick that borrows from “Silent Night, Bloody Night” (1972), “Halloween” (1978) and “Night of the Living Dead” (1968). Pleasence, Palance and Landau are a highlight; basically veteran actors making some extra cash in their twilight years and having a good time doing it.

Lee Taylor-Allan (Toni) and Carol Levy (Bunky, the babysitter) stand out on the feminine front. The latter is good-looking, but needed to eat some cheeseburgers.

While nothing spectacular, the movie has some welcome quirks and highlights, such as the idea of a “progressive” sanitarium, Toni’s situation (she’s recovering from a recent nervous breakdown), the contrasting of different levels of crazy whether inside or outside of mental institutions and the performance of The Sic F##ks at a local club. Speaking of the latter, a member of the band ran into Palance several years later and informed him who he was. Jack responded, “We were all sick f##ks in that movie.” 

The film runs 1 hour, 32 minutes, and was shot in New Jersey (Ridgewood, Newark, Hillsdale and Englewood).

GRADE: B-/C+

Official Trailer

Alone in the Dark( 1982)

When the lights go out, the terror begins.

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A review by JPV852

Written by JPV852 on Mon Oct 04 2021

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