TRAILER - THE DARK (1979)

I remember seeing this one as a kid and wondering why in the hell did the film receive an R rating. There isn't much gore, absolutely no nudity, maybe one or two cuss words...as a ten year old boy itching to see some R rated goodness, I felt completed gipped.

Re watching the film recently, I not only felt gipped again but was a bit in the dark as to why the filmmakers would make an alien from outer space look like a giant zombie. That's because the film was originally a straight horror film about a zombie mutilating the goods citizens of Los Angeles at night. After the film received negative reviews during early screenings, the studio decided to change it to into a science fiction piece, adding laser beam eyes to the zombie's methods of destroying his victims and claiming that he came from outer space. No, I'm not kidding.

THE DARK is still worth a look for anyone who wants to see yet another film that rode on the coattails of Ridley Scott's ALIEN, released that same year. Because you know that's exactly what the studio had in mind when they added the outer space angle. I wonder why they didn't give the zombie a second set of jaws?

Zevk,
Poe