acidburn-10 The plot = A young man named whose obsessed with classic movies, is driven to madness and decides to make his fantasies real, by murdering those who've wronged him."Fade To Black" is a reasonably entertaining movie, it's not brilliant but it's not terrible either, many movies from this era justified they're maniac's actions with a brief back story, here we get to see the main character slowly descending into madness, an angle which was interesting and I did like for part of the time, but there were times where it just seemed too far-fetched and unbelievable.This movie could have been one of those defining moments of the slasher genre, but sadly it doesn't quite build enough steam. The supporting cast aren't given enough screen time to be fleshed out or to be cared about, and none of the murders build any real tension or decent gore effects. Although there some interesting set pieces but all that falls flat, although the main character's obsession between fantasy and reality was fun and interesting showing clips from different movies but its abruptness and simplicity leaves you unfulfilled and doesn't deliver as much as it could have.Dennis Christopher gives a pretty good performance as the lead Eric his descend into madness was memorable, but he doesn't always comes across as very menacing, but he is the only cast member that's even fleshed out. Linda Kerridge (Marilyn) gives an OK performance as the centre of Eric's obsession but she kind of falls apart at the end, but she was beautiful. and it's also worth pointing out is that we get a young Mickey Rourke here in a minor role and does alright in his small amount of screen time, another big star making they're mark in a slasher before going on to bigger success.All in all "Fade To Black" is not as brilliant or memorable as it could of been and this could have been up there with some of the other 80's slasher greats (Friday The 13th, My Bloody Valentine, House On Sorority Row, Happy Birthday To Me) but sadly due to the many faults this just becomes average.

johnstonjames 'Fade to Black' may not be one of cinema's greatest films, but it is a minor masterpiece of sorts. cinema great does'nt quite hit it, but it does have the feel of a masterwork. and it is definitely some kind of epiphany and homage to cinema that reaches a strange plateau that is hard for any film to surpass or emulate.while referencing so many cinema classics from the Golden Age, and many horror films, it creates an all new cinema monster. this time the monster is the cinema fan himself. the viewer and film buff. it's about a guy who thinks, lives and breathes cinema. and combined with a disillusionment with life, it turns him into a ghoulish horror.this whole thing is sort of a 'Walter Mitty' story gone terribly wrong. it's about how our fantasies both make us, control us, and can often break us. it's this guy's fantasies that make him inspired and unique. they are also his coping mechanism to deal with a hum drum frustrating world. but when his world begins to go terribly wrong, the coping mechanism goes into overdrive and drives him into delusion and murder. you could write a text on this stuff. it's brilliant.the acting is just great by Dennis Christopher as the obsessed cinema fan turned homicidal mutant. there is also a hilarious bit role played by a fledgling Mickey Rourke as one of Christopher's unfortunate victims. and an intense performance by Eve Brent Ashe as Christopher's wheelchair bound aunt/mother. but possibly the real stunner here could be Linda kerridge, an uncanny Marilyn Monroe look alike. her performance is both haunting and truly memorable. and she looks so much like the real Marilyn M. at times, that you have to take a double take. she is especially good in the final scenes where Christopher acts out 'The Prince and the Showgirl' while feeding her Quaaludes(hey boomers, remember ludes?)and pumping her with alcohol, ending in an exciting escape to the top of the Chinese theater in Hollywood with a strange 'King Kong' type ending. crazy.Vernon Zimmerman's outstanding direction also recalls the 'B' flicks of Roger Corman and Robert Aldrich.all in all, this is an amazing and memorable cinema experience guaranteed to haunt any true cinema buff for life. if you are a real fan of cinema, and classic Hollywood, and don't mind being "punked" a little, this film is for you.

Knewsense78 FADE TO BLACK stars Dennis Christopher as Eric Binford, a social outcast obsessed with movies. His job involves him delivering movie posters and what not. He is constantly bullied by his peers at works and by his Aunt Stella, who he lives with. Thing is though, his Aunt Stella is really his Mother but she doesn't tell him this.One night, after Aunt Stella knocks his film projector over, he takes poor Aunt Stella, who is confined to a wheelchair, and pushes her down a flight of stairs. He wants Aunt Stella to be buried next to his favorite actress of all time, Marilyn Monroe. Of course there is no room near Marilyn so he takes the urn full of Aunt Stella's ashes home and uses it as an ashtray. Seems Eric has a smoking habit and, in nearly every scene in the movie, he is puffing away on a cigarette. Seriously, I thought he would die of cancer before the movie was over.Seems like Eric can't deal with the realities of life and he goes on a murderous rampage dressing up like characters from the films he loves, whether it be Dracula, the Mummy and, yes, even Hoppalong Cassidy. This scene features Mickey Rourke, way before his 'The Wrestler' Oscar nomination, being shot to death by the demented Eric.I will admit that I did like the concept of the movie, I just thought it could of been executed better. The best death in the movie would have to be the for-mentioned Mickey Rourke death, followed by the death of his former boss, who has a heart attack when Eric scares him to death dressed up like the Mummy. If this was to be remade, it would be nice to see Robert Shaye portray this character and to have Eric dress up like Freddy Krueger, scaring his poor, old boss to death. That would be fun and funny.Sadly, this movie didn't make me care about the characters and they pretty much got what they deserved. I guess it's a good thing that I bought this as a double-sided DVD and on the other side is HELL NIGHT starring Linda Blair. I know HELL NIGHT is no classic but it sure is better than this.

sanechaos i love this flick....i got this movie out of a bargain bin in a mall movie store. i love those exotic no one knows about flicks. loved it. it has it's way cheesy bits but hey it's a product of the eighties. what did you honestly expect. but examine the not so obvious. that is a great script. awesome story. almost eerie foretelling our present state with the youth of today. the characters are great and well thought out. direction was good. effects were outstanding. i can not say enough good things about this movie. hey money men out there. i want to re-do this movie so bad. it would be a box office smash.... definitely see the flick over look the cheesy parts appreciate those who were awesome...love the script.... sanechaos