I finally saw this film recently, and I have to say that I enjoyed it thoroughly. Some people might complain that guys like Martin Landau and Jack Palance didn't have much to do in the movie, but they were brilliant. Landau as the crazed preacher is a bit over the top, but he's very good. His opening nightmare about head psychiatrist Donald Pleasence is pretty freaky. To be fair, we find out later that it's the result of a threat Pleasence uses to calm him down. Pleasence is very good in a role which I think casts him as a different version of his Dr. Loomis persona. Wheras Loomis believed that there was no good at all left in Michael Myers, his ALONE IN THE DARK character, Dr. Bain, believes that all people with any kind of mental defect should be treated with compassion. It is a noble sentiment, but that belief ultimately costs him his life at the hands of Landau.
As the other three escapees, Jack Palance, the late Erland Van Lidth and Philip Clark are all very good. I was actually surprised at how menacing Van Lidth was as child molester Ronald. I had seen him in THE WANDERERS but knew him mostly as Dynamo from THE RUNNING MAN, his last role before his untimely death. He proves here that he can be really menacing as a psychopath. I see that VALENTINE took a note from this movie as Clark suffers from nosebleeds every time he kills someone.
THE A-TEAM's Dwight Schultz is very good as the everyman who has to fight for his life against the escaped lunatics. Overall, the film is very good and I'm glad to have finally seen it. However, there were a few contrived parts, such as the lunatics believed that Schultz had killed his predecessor which is why they go after him during the power cut. But when only Palance is left alive and is about to kill Schultz, the power comes back on and the TV shows Schultz's predecessor alive and well. Also, I thought it was a bit stupid that the lunatics are kept in the hospital by a special electronic security system, but the staff didn't seem to think a power cut could happen. These minor gripes aside, ALONE IN THE DARK is an excellent film. Be prepared for some scares though.
As the other three escapees, Jack Palance, the late Erland Van Lidth and Philip Clark are all very good. I was actually surprised at how menacing Van Lidth was as child molester Ronald. I had seen him in THE WANDERERS but knew him mostly as Dynamo from THE RUNNING MAN, his last role before his untimely death. He proves here that he can be really menacing as a psychopath. I see that VALENTINE took a note from this movie as Clark suffers from nosebleeds every time he kills someone.
THE A-TEAM's Dwight Schultz is very good as the everyman who has to fight for his life against the escaped lunatics. Overall, the film is very good and I'm glad to have finally seen it. However, there were a few contrived parts, such as the lunatics believed that Schultz had killed his predecessor which is why they go after him during the power cut. But when only Palance is left alive and is about to kill Schultz, the power comes back on and the TV shows Schultz's predecessor alive and well. Also, I thought it was a bit stupid that the lunatics are kept in the hospital by a special electronic security system, but the staff didn't seem to think a power cut could happen. These minor gripes aside, ALONE IN THE DARK is an excellent film. Be prepared for some scares though.