Fade to Black is a 1980 horror film about a shy, lonely film buff embarks on a killing spree against those who browbeat and betray him, all the while stalking his idol, a Marilyn Monroe lookalike.
The movie was written and directed by Vernon Zimmerman. Executive producer Irwin Yablans also produced John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978).
The movie stars Dennis Christopher, Eve Brent Ashe, Linda Kerridge, Mickey Rourke (Girl; Nightmare Cinema; Angel Heart) and Peter Horton.
Released in October 1980 by American Cinema distributors, Fade to Black failed to find an audience and was commercially unsuccessful. However, the movie later garnered a very minor cult following. It was released on DVD in 1999 by Anchor Bay Entertainment.
Plot:
Eric Binford (Dennis Christopher) is a hollow, chain-smoking young man who is also an obsessed film addict whose love of old films extends far beyond his job at a Los Angeles film distributor’s warehouse and endless late-night film screenings in his bedroom. For his vast knowledge, he’s been bullied by his friends and family.
His singular obsession eventually rounds the bend into psychosis after he crosses paths with Marilyn O’Connor (Linda Kerridge), an Australian model and a Marilyn Monroe look-alike who becomes the physical embodiment of his cinematic desires.
When (unintentionally) stood up by Marilyn on what would have been their first date, Eric becomes homicidally unbalanced, transforming himself into a gallery of classic film characters – including Dracula, The Mummy, and Hopalong Cassidy – and sets out to destroy his oppressors, starting with his crotchety wheelchair-using, ex-dancer Aunt Stella…
“The fact that Fade to Black squanders it’s on wacko premise and turns out to be as boring as any other generic post-Halloween slasher cash-in only makes it weirder. So does Dennis Christopher. He is career-killingly terrible here…” Mike “McBeardo” McFadden, Heavy Metal Movies book
Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
“Fade to Black is an intelligent, ingenious, imaginative and pleasingly self-reflective horror movie … the film succeeds in portraying the world of movie buffery as a seemingly seductive but in fact deadening, de-sensitizing cul-de-sac, in particular in its shots of the weird Night of the Living Dead audience blithely munching popcorn whilst watching scenes of appalling on-screen horror.” Phil Hardy (editor), The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror book
Cast and characters:
Dennis Christopher … Eric Binford
Tim Thomerson … Doctor Jerry Moriarty
Gwynne Gilford … Officer Anne Oshenbull
Norman Burton … Marty Berger
Linda Kerridge … Marilyn O’Connor
Morgan Paull … Gary Bially
James Luisi … Captain M.L. Gallagher
Eve Brent … Aunt Stella Binford
John Steadman … Sam
Marcie Barkin … Stacy
Mickey Rourke … Richie
Peter Horton … Joey
Hennen Chambers … Bart
Melinda O. Fee … Talk Show Hostess
Anita Converse … Dee Dee
Bob Drew … Reverend Shick
Teddi Siddall … Jill
Sharon Sharth … Mail Girl
David Daniels … Waiter at Food Stand
Marilyn Staley Marilyn Staley … Starlet
Al Tafoya … Newscaster
Clyde Primm … Bookstore Owner
Gilbert Lawrence Kaan … Counterman
Sharon McCreedy … Frightened Spectator
Bill Stack … SWAT Leader
Gregory Sage … Peter
J.K. Wiley … Gofer
Peggy Kaye … Midway Operator
Filming locations:
302 Market Street, Venice, California (Eric and Stella Binford’s House)
Grauman’s Chinese Theater – 6925 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California (final scenes)
Ocean Front Walk, Venice Beach, Venice, Los Angeles, California
Technical specs:
102 minutes
Metrocolor
Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1
Audio: Mono
Film Facts:
In Nightmare (1981), killer George Tatum (Baird Stafford) walks past a New York movie house showing Fade to Black.
Trailer [1080p HD]:
Free to watch online on YouTube [1080p Premium HD]:
Free to watch online on YouTube [1080p HD]:
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