Regular Price $9.98

Starring: Jack Palance,  Donald Pleasence,  Martin Landau,  Dwight Schultz,  Erland van Lidth, 
Directed By: Jack Sholder, 
Rated: R (Restricted)
Release Date: 1982-11-12
Studio: Image Entertainment
Format: Color,  Dolby,  DTS Surround Sound,  DVD-Video,  Widescreen,  NTSC, 

Editorial Reviews and DVD Information about Alone in the Dark

Description
At a secluded mental institution, Dr. Bain (Halloween#s Donald Pleasence) maintains order while electricity fuels the asylum's hi-tech security system that keeps the nearby neighborhoods safe from menaces like Frank Hawkes (Academy Award«-winner Jack Palance, City Slickers) and "Preacher" (Academy Award winner Martin Landau, Ed Wood). Meanwhile a new doctor, Dan Potter (The A-Team#s Dwight Schultz), arrives in town with his family, but the inmates don't take kindly to his presence and believe he has killed off their former therapist. Suddenly a power outage leaves the town in chaos...and now the maniacs are free to roam the streets and hunt down the man they believe has invaded their lives. With the area quickly descending into riots and chaos, the innocent few must fight for their lives when they#re left terrified, cornered and Alone in the Dark! One of the most memorable and terrifying cult horror films of the 1980s, this white-knuckle shocker from director Jack Sholder (The Hidden) features shocking special effects from Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead, Friday the 13th), delivering one seat-jumping scare after another along with a thick vein of sly, pitch-black humor. Turn off the lights and watch...if you dare!

Customer Reviews for Alone in the Dark

First rate slasher film.
Alone in the Dark was a highly original and very underrated 80's slasher film, it also happens to have a great cast of actors in it. How they got Jack Palance, Martin Landau and Donald Plesance all in this film was just amazing and elevates this b-movie horror flick to a higher standard, watching these guys acting crazy was great and alot of fun. Therapist Dwight Schultz has just arrived at an experimental mental institution which is run by Dr. Leo Bain (Pleasance) who points out that the people here aren't patients just 'voyagers!.

Potter has been hired as a replacement for the previous doctor who the `voyagers' believe Potter has murdered but has actually moved to another job. It is their continuing delusion which finally manifests itself in a wish for revenge that makes them escape the institution during a power cut and hunt down Potter and terrorize his family. One of the things that makes Alone in the Dark so special is that the majority of the characters are well rounded and believable. From Donald Pleasance who parodies his Dr. Loomis character from Halloween, as a well meaning but decidedly off the wall psychiatrist who freely gives out matches to pyromaniacs and whose treatment methods range from telling the `voyagers' that he can mold or infiltrate their dreams.

Donald Pleasence was really over the top which is hilarious, then there's the other psycho inmates like Martin Landau who was outstanding as a maniacally cackling ex-minister Byron Sutcliffe who use to burn churches with people still in them and Jack Palance as Frank Hawkes an ex-prisoner of war along with two others including a creepy child molester and a huge guy who doesn't speak and wears different masks including a hockey mask ;-). The film was great and had a ton of black humor in it with some nice jump-out-of-your-seat moments. Like I said the characters were nicely developed and memorable unlike other slasher flicks which had your typical dumb teenagers in them. There is also a great scene where a babysister who looked like a typical bimbo (not bad looking though ;-)) who just after having sex with her boyfriend almost gets stabbed by a knife underneath the bed, this scene had a lot of suspense and tension cause you didn't know what was gonna happen next and I'm not going to ruin it but you'll have to watch what happens.

Alone in the Dark was a highly amusing and great early 80's slasher flick with a great cast and also has a neat surprise ending and a cool scene where a killer is wearing a hockey mask (this was done before Friday The 13th part 3). The director Jack Sholder was also responsible for Nightmare on Elm Street part 2 so he knows his way around a good slasher flick, this somewhat forgotten slasher flick was fantastic despite having some dumb moments especially with the trapped and terrorized family it was still great fun, I highly recommend this to horror fans and two thumbs up!.Alone in the Dark

Great Movie - Bad Discs
Wow, I was stoked to see this movie after seeing it on list after list of top horror movies. However, I really only got to see about half because the first CD and then the subsequent replacement CD sent both had major flaws and wouldn't allow me to see the movie without pixelated images the entire time. However, from what I did see, this was a great movie with an interesting twist - -note: pay attention to the nosebleed! If you can find the movie elsewhere or from another production company, do so.Alone in the Dark

Better Than It's Reviews
This horror flick flew under the radar but don't let the negative reviews scare you off. I think it's better some of the so-called genre classics and definitely worth your time. If your expecting Shakespeare, you might be disappointed. Otherwise, you'll be in for a real treat!Alone in the Dark

Landau Horror Classic
This is actually the best movie of all of Martin Landau's horror flicks. It's quite well made, features some appealing cinematography and direction, a much better script than most other similar films, and a lot of strong performances (Pleasance, Palance and a delightfully scenery-chewing Landau - "I made the lights go out!"). Not as much fun (in the cheesy sense) as others like "The Being", but a much better straight-forward horror film. The opening sequence is a surrealistic classic! Definitely recommended.Alone in the Dark

1.5 STARS: Very disappointing despite the all-star cast.
"Alone in the Dark" is one of those movies that you expect a lot from because of the cast, but it just never gets off the ground. Donald Pleasance, Martin Landau and Jack Palance star in "Alone in the Dark" and none of them could save it. In fact, you could argue that they really didn't try to...let's be fair as this movie is not one of Jack Palance's, Donald Pleasance's, and Martin Landau's best performances. Also, some of the other actors in this movie were atrocious.

"Alone in the Dark" is about a group of psychopaths that escape from a mental institution. The electricity goes out in the entire town and these maniacs go out on the loose. Their doctor, played by Donald Pleasance, attempts to stop them...what eventually occurs is stand-off where a family attempts to fend off the psychopaths who have attempted to infiltrate their home. Because the electricity is out, this is supposed to make the situation that much scarier.

Well, maybe, this movie could have worked under another director with a bit more vision and touch, but for one reason or another, "Alone in the Dark" does not work. This movie is undynamic and is severely lacking in style and substance. The atmosphere produced by this movie is largely ineffective and what you ultimately get is an inferior horror movie. The scenes do not move well and are without any real sense of fluidity, and any suspense that is built in the movie fails to gain any momentum as a result of this lack of fluidity, poor structural development and a thorough lack of rising action or even a climax of which the movie can hang its hat on so to speak. "Alone in the Dark" is the classic "dud" which just fails to do anything for the intelligent horror movie audience. "Alone in the Dark" is bland, plain and uninspiring as a horror movie or otherwise. Quite frankly and simply put, "Alone in the Dark" will leave you very alone with your boredom.Alone in the Dark