Fade To Black (1980)
Starring: Dennis Christopher, Mickey Rourke, Gwynne Gilford
Director: Vernon Zimmerman
Synopsis: Sort of precursor to Se7en and Scream - A homage to classic horror movies
Reviewed by: Omar Khan

 

"promises to be sublime, turns gradually to ridiculous" Time Out

"a poor man's Rear Window" Creature Features

"interesting idea ruined by excessive violence" Maltin's

"a promising idea insufficiently realised" Splatter Movies

"good premise goes awry" Blockbuster Video

 

Looking back, Fade to Black now seems like something of a precursor to Wes Craven's Scream, in that its central character is very much someone who has taken his love of horror movies one step too far. There are also echoes of earlier films such as Theatre of Blood and Vincent Price's Dr. Phibes pictures, where murder itself becomes an elaborate homage to cinema.

The film follows the humdrum existence of studio errand boy Eric Binford, a lonely young man who escapes the drudgery of everyday life by retreating into a fantasy world populated by the film characters he idolises, most of them drawn from classic horror movies.

Gradually, fantasy and reality begin to merge. As Binford loses his grip on reality, he starts exacting revenge on those he believes have made his life miserable, recreating some of his favourite scenes from classic films with chilling consequences.

Fade to Black is an intriguing idea with considerable potential, something that Scream would later demonstrate to far greater effect. Unfortunately, director Vernon Zimmerman allows the tension to dissipate far too often, resulting in a film with a handful of effective set pieces rather than one where the suspense steadily builds towards a satisfying crescendo.

Dennis Christopher, best remembered for the excellent Breaking Away, gives an earnest and sympathetic performance as Binford and is the film's greatest asset. Overall, Fade to Black is a respectable effort and certainly worth seeing for its concept alone, but it never generates enough sustained suspense or genuine menace to elevate itself into the top rank of horror thrillers.