Frank Hawkes
Jack Palance
Frank Hawkes
Alone in the Dark
“When the lights go out, the terror begins.”
5.8
1982
1h 33m
HorrorThriller
Director: Jack Sholder
Overview
A quartet of murderous psychopaths break out of a mental hospital during a power blackout and lay siege to their doctor's house.
Trailer
Official Trailer Official
Cast
Leo Bain
Donald Pleasence
Leo Bain
Byron "Preacher" Sutcliff
Martin Landau
Byron "Preacher" Sutcliff
Dan Potter
Dwight Schultz
Dan Potter
Ronald "Fatty" Elster
Erland van Lidth
Ronald "Fatty" Elster
Nell Potter
Deborah Hedwall
Nell Potter
Toni Potter
Lee Taylor-Allan
Toni Potter
Tom Smith / Skaggs
Phillip Clark
Tom Smith / Skaggs
Lyla Potter
Elizabeth Ward
Lyla Potter
Ray Curtis
Brent Jennings
Ray Curtis
Detective Burnett
Gordon Watkins
Detective Burnett
Bunky
Carol Levy
Bunky
Reviews
JPV852
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**
Read full reviewWuchak
**_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+
Read full review Movies
Similar Movies
More movies you might want to watch next.
7.1
Jawan
2023 Movie
5.6
The Passengers
1977 Movie
5.5
Mr. Wong, Detective
1938 Movie
6.6
A Bucket of Blood
1959 Movie
5.9
Homecoming
2009 Movie
5.1
A Shriek in the Night
1933 Movie
3.8
The Seamstress
2009 Movie
4.3
Bloodlust!
1961 Movie
4.6
Bloody Pit of Horror
1965 Movie
6.3
Saw VI
2009 Movie
6.0
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
2009 Movie
6.7
Ninja Assassin
2009 Movie