Movie review of Fade to Black

Horrorphile

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Fade to Black

March 4th 2007 23:53

The last in my theatre of blood review quartet, this quirky stalker flick (the slashing is hardly worth mentioning) featured the geeky Dennis Christopher (superb in the classic 1979 coming-of-age flick Breaking Away) as a troubled orphaned teenager living with his grumpy, overbearing wheelchair bound aunt, and escaping constantly into the world of movies and make-believe.

Fade to Black (1980) directed by Vernon Zimmerman is a character study dressed in the dark-hued threads of horror, but smirking comically at the camera. It’s a black comedy, emphasis on the black, as much of the action takes place at night and/or in the shadows, or the action is simply under-lit.

Dennis Christopher as Eric and Linda Kerridge as Marilyn

By day Eric works at a film warehouse dispatching video cassettes and supplies, by night he fantasies about the antiheros and villains from the golden age of cinema. His small room is covered in movie posters and stills, his favourites being the good; Marilyn Monroe and the wicked; James Cagney.

Mickey Rourke (in white) and accomplice bully Eric

He is bullied and teased by everyone, including his nagging aunt Stella and his work colleagues (Mickey Rourke in one of his earliest screen roles). He befriends Marilyn (Aussie unknown Linda Kerridge), who bares a striking similarity to, you guessed it, the blonde bombshell herself. And the two of them arrange a date, except she kinda forgets and stands him up. So now Eric feels betrayed.

Aunt Stella hammers him about getting his life together, to stop wasting so much time immersed in movie fantasy land. Eric ignores her and she lashes out, knocking his film projector over and smashing it. Eric snaps. Enter Richard Widmark’s hitman character from Kiss of Death as played to the hilt by Christopher. Down the stairs goes auntie, wheelchair and all, goodbye Stellaaaaa!!!

Now Eric is free to be his own man, or to be more precise, pretend to be his favourite movie characters. And there’s vengeance to be wreaked. Cue; Dracula, Hopalong Cassidy and The Mummy all ready to bite, shoot and throttle. Eric saves his ultimate impersonation for last, Cody Jarrett (James Cagney) from White Heat; “I finally made it Ma! Top of the world!”

Get up offa the ground pardnerrr! Reeeach!

There’s a sub-plot concerning a bleeding heart cop and his female colleague trying to make sense of the stylized madness. But that’s a dead end right there. Dennis Christopher’s performance as Eric is what holds this slight film together, although his character is a little too creepy and unhinged to illicit any real empathy. Linda Kerridge’s Marilyn is more endearing, possibly due to her over-easy Aussie charm, but it’s ultimately a thankless role. Zimmerman throws in short clips from several horror and cult movies which add a bit of zing to the visual pace.

Eric works hard at wrapping his scenes neatly

The questions Fade to Black poses, if they are being posed at all, about the effects of cinema villainy and violence on the impressionable are never answered. More interesting is the spectre of loneliness, which hangs like a dark shroud over Eric, which even Marilyn’s platinum sheen can’t lift. Eric stalks her in a sequence lifted straight from Psycho (1960), yet all he wanted was her “autograph” (he drops his fountain pen in the shower and the ink runs down the plughole like monochromatic blood).

If you’re a movie buff there are enough references in Fade to Black to entertain, but only if you’re clutching at soda straws and groping for the last of the popcorn. This is the Clayton’s version; the horror movie to watch when you’re not wanting to watch a horror movie.

* the movie poster image is taken from the following wikipedia page:
Fade to Black (film) It is licensed from the GNU Free Document License.
Other images are courtesy of www.cinema.de

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Comments

5 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by JohnDoe

March 5th 2007 01:43

Film & TV on DVD

Totally agree this is more schlock entertainment than horror film, but it is definetly a guilty pleasure that should get an aussie DVD release soon...

Comment by Bryn

March 5th 2007 03:41

Horrorphile

Agreed. The careful editing in of the movie clips to jutxapose against what Eric is thinking or doing are the cleverest parts. And Linda Kerridge is a small joy to watch (whatever happened to her?? I think she lives in the Blue Mountains somewhere ...)
And as for Mickey Rourke and those good looks of his .... what a shame he turned to boxing and bad plastic surgeons.

Comment by JohnDoe

March 5th 2007 04:34

Film & TV on DVD

I( originally saw teh film only because it had Rourke in it...I think it was just after I saw Diner.

Comment by Optomistic Opportunism

March 5th 2007 06:01

Japanese Jazz Funk
Optomystic Opportunism

I generally find horror movies horrorble, Bryn.

Boozy Sunday arvos can be fun though (hint, hint).

Chack me out sometime
Maybe onetime.
Or nonetime if you insist.

Comment by Bryn

March 5th 2007 23:13

Horrorphile

Opto,
I'll take that as a compliment then.
I'll chack (sic) you out asap (kinda busy at present).
Thanks for delving into the Darkness, come back soon, I don't bark (I only bite).

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