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"I'm Jarret. Cody Jarret, understand?!" snarls Dennis Christopher (Breaking Away) in his best James Cagney. OK, he's no Rich Little, but as the movie-mad social misfit Eric Binford he makes a convincing media-saturated Norman Bates, and for a while his geeky fumblings and wounded vulnerability keep the film on track. He is a gofer for a B-movie studio, constantly bullied by his tough-guy coworker Mickey Rourke and his aunt, a bitter wheelchair-bound failed starlet who blames the boy for her misfortunes and never lets him forget it. His sanity already precariously close to the edge, he flares up and becomes Richard Widmark in Kiss of Death, shoving dear auntie down the back stairs and forever losing himself in the characters of his favorite movies. It's the first of many movie-inspired murders, but the gimmick becomes repetitive and the film loses its focus in series of pre-Scream set pieces. Better is Eric's deluded romance with an Aussie Marilyn Monroe look-a-like. It's hard to understand what she sees in this jittery nerd who rattles off meaningless movie trivia like it was the meaning of life, but give Eric credit for wooing her as Laurence Olivier in The Prince and the Showgirl. Tim Thomerson gets to play both tough guy and sensitive social worker as the counselor who utters the immortal line: "Binford's not to blame, he's a victim of society!" --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (11)

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL DETERIORATION OF A HUMAN MIND!!!!!!
SHORT SYNOPSIS:
FADE TO BLACK MAKES A UNIQUE TRANSITION FROM THE USUAL SLASHER FLICK. THIS THRILLER CHRONICLES THE LIFE OF A MOVIE FANATIC, ERIC BINFORD(DENNIS CHRISTOPHER), WHOSE LOVE OF OLD MOVIES EXTENDS BEYOND HIS JOB AND HIS HOME LIFE.
HIS OBSESSIONS SEEM TO COME TO A HEAD AFTER MEETING A MARILYN MONROE LOOK-ALIKE, WHO BECOMES THE OBJECT OF HIS DESIRES. ASIDE FROM BEING STOOD UP FOR A DATE, AND EXPERIENCING OTHER PROBLEMS IN HIS LIFE, ERIC LOSES HIS MIND AND BECOMES THE HOMICIDAL COUNTERPARTS OF HIS FAVORITE CLASSIC MOVIE CHARACTERS(INCLUDING NORMAN BATES, DRACULA, THE MUMMY AND HOPALONG CASSIDY).
THROUGHOUT THE FILM, HE LOSES HIS SANITY AND SETS OUT TO DESTROY ALL OF HIS OPPRESSORS.
THE FILM HAS A VERY UNIQUE PLOT, WITH BITS OF BOTH COMEDY AND HORROR INCLUDED. IN CONCLUSION, IT IS A VERY INTENSE PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER!!!!!!!!

...

An Near Perfect Bizarre Thriller.
A Young Man in his Mid-Twenty by the name of Eric Binford (Dennis Christopher), which his First Love is Movies and he also Absorbing Them. When Eric falls in Love with a Marylin Monroe look-alike (Linda Kerridge). But Eric has Problems with People, who are Giving Him a Hard Time, soon, He goes over the Edge.

Written and Directed by Vernon Zimmerman made a Suspenseful Thriller, which Movie Buffs and Horror Fans will love this. Because of the film`s Interesting Promise. It`s a Thriller with Some Horror Elements. Dennis Christopher gives a Tour de Force Performance in this flawed but Genuine Film. Mickey Rourke has a Small Role in this. Peter Horton has a very Small Part in this. This is a Excellent Film. Grade:B+.

MST3K Material! Definitely!
I plan to put this film on my worst films ever made list. I mean it was absolutely terrible. It [is bad]! It's only redeemable quality is that you could back and crack on how stupid this film is with friends while you are less than sober. There is a [pjysical gratification] scene that is perhaps novel for 1980, yet of course it's not worth getting this film over, I had more fun watching Hobgoblins that was made around the same time.

All the World's a Stage
BREAKING AWAY's (1979) Dennis Christopher stars in FADE TO BLACK, a wry comment on how Hollywood is gaining influence over the worldview of the average citizen in contemporary Western society. Christopher plays Eric Binford, a young man so obsessed with the cinema that he soon begins to blur the line between reality and the plots of his favorite motion pictures. As his life begins to unravel, Eric looks to the movies for the solutions to his problems, and of course, it's only a matter of time before Eric starts eliminating those "problems" following the example of his favorite movie characters--with murder!

Christopher's over-the-top performance is exuberant and flamboyant, but since his Eric Binford is a person whose behavior is governed by the cinema, such a performance makes the character seem both plausible and sympathetic. Another strong performance is offered by Linda Kerridge as Marilyn O'Connor, the object of Eric's unrequited love. (Of course, it helps that Kerridge, a former Australian model, is a very convincing Marilyn Monroe look-alike, a fact that is intricately weaved into the plotline.)

Admittedly, the supporting cast is not nearly as strong as Christopher and Kerridge, and a great deal of the dialogue for minor characters is pure caricature. Indeed, if taken too seriously, FADE TO BLACK will come across as cartoonish and the plot will seem outlandish. But if viewed as the Juvenalian satire it is meant to be, the film definitely works. Cinema buffs will enjoy the clips from old classics, and horror fans will get a real kick out of watching Eric commit acts of mayhem and murder while costumed as Dracula and The Mummy.

Viewers who do not appreciate dark satire--and especially those who do not enjoy thriller films--will probably regard FADE TO BLACK as made-for-TV fodder. True, it is not destined to be a classic. But it is definitely an entertaining film, and it's a genuinely fun ride for cinema buffs and devotees of the horror and thriller genres.

A movie maniac recreates his favourite screen slayings
Eric Binford (Dennis Christopher) is an obsessed film buff who lives with his domineering Aunt Stella. A sad, strange young man, Eric hates the real world and has good reason to: he works as a delivery boy for a film supply company where his boss hates him and his colleagues think he's a wierdo. Even hookers hate him, and yes; not surprisingly he drives a moped. Yup, poor old Eric lives smack dab in the middle of Gimpsville and only exists for his love of movies. But one day he meets a gorgeous Aussie Marilyn Monroe lookalike (creatively named Marilyn) in a diner and he asks her out to a movie (of course). Unfortunately she quite innocently forgets their date so is two hours late... but Eric thinks she has stood him up. This drives Eric over the edge and he starts dressing up as various movie characters and killing off the people he feels have wronged him In his defense, the movie playing is Robbie Benson's DIE LAUGHING so you can't really blame the guy for snapping. (Why doesn't he just subject his victims to repeated screenings of it? That'd work).
Eric's delusional mania continues to worsen to the point where he thinks he's James Cagney in PUBLIC ENEMY, not to mention Christopher Lee's Dracula and William Boyd's Hopalong Cassidy amongst other characters. Christopher's poor acting doesn't help the viewer gain sympathy for the character of Eric but it's still an interesting movie. What I like best is how the film makers are thumbing their noses at people who think movies influence people into committing crimes. If that were true most of the population of western world would be on death row!
But best of all are the film clips from PUBLIC ENEMY, HORROR OF DRACULA and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD among others. FADE TO BLACK isn't brilliant, but it's an entertaining movie for genre fans, with a few now familiar faces popping up. This is good viewing for your next Halloween party. Check it out. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL DETERIORATION OF A HUMAN MIND!!!!!!
SHORT SYNOPSIS:
FADE TO BLACK MAKES A UNIQUE TRANSITION FROM THE USUAL SLASHER FLICK. THIS THRILLER CHRONICLES THE LIFE OF A MOVIE FANATIC, ERIC BINFORD(DENNIS CHRISTOPHER), WHOSE LOVE OF OLD MOVIES EXTENDS BEYOND HIS JOB AND HIS HOME LIFE.
HIS OBSESSIONS SEEM TO COME TO A HEAD AFTER MEETING A MARILYN MONROE LOOK-ALIKE, WHO BECOMES THE OBJECT OF HIS DESIRES. ASIDE FROM BEING STOOD UP FOR A DATE, AND EXPERIENCING OTHER PROBLEMS IN HIS LIFE, ERIC LOSES HIS MIND AND BECOMES THE HOMICIDAL COUNTERPARTS OF HIS FAVORITE CLASSIC MOVIE CHARACTERS(INCLUDING NORMAN BATES, DRACULA, THE MUMMY AND HOPALONG CASSIDY).
THROUGHOUT THE FILM, HE LOSES HIS SANITY AND SETS OUT TO DESTROY ALL OF HIS OPPRESSORS.
THE FILM HAS A VERY UNIQUE PLOT, WITH BITS OF BOTH COMEDY AND HORROR INCLUDED. IN CONCLUSION, IT IS A VERY INTENSE PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER!!!!!!!!

...

An Near Perfect Bizarre Thriller.
A Young Man in his Mid-Twenty by the name of Eric Binford (Dennis Christopher), which his First Love is Movies and he also Absorbing Them. When Eric falls in Love with a Marylin Monroe look-alike (Linda Kerridge). But Eric has Problems with People, who are Giving Him a Hard Time, soon, He goes over the Edge.

Written and Directed by Vernon Zimmerman made a Suspenseful Thriller, which Movie Buffs and Horror Fans will love this. Because of the film`s Interesting Promise. It`s a Thriller with Some Horror Elements. Dennis Christopher gives a Tour de Force Performance in this flawed but Genuine Film. Mickey Rourke has a Small Role in this. Peter Horton has a very Small Part in this. This is a Excellent Film. Grade:B+.

MST3K Material! Definitely!
I plan to put this film on my worst films ever made list. I mean it was absolutely terrible. It [is bad]! It's only redeemable quality is that you could back and crack on how stupid this film is with friends while you are less than sober. There is a [pjysical gratification] scene that is perhaps novel for 1980, yet of course it's not worth getting this film over, I had more fun watching Hobgoblins that was made around the same time.

All the World's a Stage
BREAKING AWAY's (1979) Dennis Christopher stars in FADE TO BLACK, a wry comment on how Hollywood is gaining influence over the worldview of the average citizen in contemporary Western society. Christopher plays Eric Binford, a young man so obsessed with the cinema that he soon begins to blur the line between reality and the plots of his favorite motion pictures. As his life begins to unravel, Eric looks to the movies for the solutions to his problems, and of course, it's only a matter of time before Eric starts eliminating those "problems" following the example of his favorite movie characters--with murder!

Christopher's over-the-top performance is exuberant and flamboyant, but since his Eric Binford is a person whose behavior is governed by the cinema, such a performance makes the character seem both plausible and sympathetic. Another strong performance is offered by Linda Kerridge as Marilyn O'Connor, the object of Eric's unrequited love. (Of course, it helps that Kerridge, a former Australian model, is a very convincing Marilyn Monroe look-alike, a fact that is intricately weaved into the plotline.)

Admittedly, the supporting cast is not nearly as strong as Christopher and Kerridge, and a great deal of the dialogue for minor characters is pure caricature. Indeed, if taken too seriously, FADE TO BLACK will come across as cartoonish and the plot will seem outlandish. But if viewed as the Juvenalian satire it is meant to be, the film definitely works. Cinema buffs will enjoy the clips from old classics, and horror fans will get a real kick out of watching Eric commit acts of mayhem and murder while costumed as Dracula and The Mummy.

Viewers who do not appreciate dark satire--and especially those who do not enjoy thriller films--will probably regard FADE TO BLACK as made-for-TV fodder. True, it is not destined to be a classic. But it is definitely an entertaining film, and it's a genuinely fun ride for cinema buffs and devotees of the horror and thriller genres.

A movie maniac recreates his favourite screen slayings
Eric Binford (Dennis Christopher) is an obsessed film buff who lives with his domineering Aunt Stella. A sad, strange young man, Eric hates the real world and has good reason to: he works as a delivery boy for a film supply company where his boss hates him and his colleagues think he's a wierdo. Even hookers hate him, and yes; not surprisingly he drives a moped. Yup, poor old Eric lives smack dab in the middle of Gimpsville and only exists for his love of movies. But one day he meets a gorgeous Aussie Marilyn Monroe lookalike (creatively named Marilyn) in a diner and he asks her out to a movie (of course). Unfortunately she quite innocently forgets their date so is two hours late... but Eric thinks she has stood him up. This drives Eric over the edge and he starts dressing up as various movie characters and killing off the people he feels have wronged him In his defense, the movie playing is Robbie Benson's DIE LAUGHING so you can't really blame the guy for snapping. (Why doesn't he just subject his victims to repeated screenings of it? That'd work).
Eric's delusional mania continues to worsen to the point where he thinks he's James Cagney in PUBLIC ENEMY, not to mention Christopher Lee's Dracula and William Boyd's Hopalong Cassidy amongst other characters. Christopher's poor acting doesn't help the viewer gain sympathy for the character of Eric but it's still an interesting movie. What I like best is how the film makers are thumbing their noses at people who think movies influence people into committing crimes. If that were true most of the population of western world would be on death row!
But best of all are the film clips from PUBLIC ENEMY, HORROR OF DRACULA and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD among others. FADE TO BLACK isn't brilliant, but it's an entertaining movie for genre fans, with a few now familiar faces popping up. This is good viewing for your next Halloween party. Check it out. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL DETERIORATION OF A HUMAN MIND!!!!!!
SHORT SYNOPSIS:
FADE TO BLACK MAKES A UNIQUE TRANSITION FROM THE USUAL SLASHER FLICK. THIS THRILLER CHRONICLES THE LIFE OF A MOVIE FANATIC, ERIC BINFORD(DENNIS CHRISTOPHER), WHOSE LOVE OF OLD MOVIES EXTENDS BEYOND HIS JOB AND HIS HOME LIFE.
HIS OBSESSIONS SEEM TO COME TO A HEAD AFTER MEETING A MARILYN MONROE LOOK-ALIKE, WHO BECOMES THE OBJECT OF HIS DESIRES. ASIDE FROM BEING STOOD UP FOR A DATE, AND EXPERIENCING OTHER PROBLEMS IN HIS LIFE, ERIC LOSES HIS MIND AND BECOMES THE HOMICIDAL COUNTERPARTS OF HIS FAVORITE CLASSIC MOVIE CHARACTERS(INCLUDING NORMAN BATES, DRACULA, THE MUMMY AND HOPALONG CASSIDY).
THROUGHOUT THE FILM, HE LOSES HIS SANITY AND SETS OUT TO DESTROY ALL OF HIS OPPRESSORS.
THE FILM HAS A VERY UNIQUE PLOT, WITH BITS OF BOTH COMEDY AND HORROR INCLUDED. IN CONCLUSION, IT IS A VERY INTENSE PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER!!!!!!!!

...

An Near Perfect Bizarre Thriller.
A Young Man in his Mid-Twenty by the name of Eric Binford (Dennis Christopher), which his First Love is Movies and he also Absorbing Them. When Eric falls in Love with a Marylin Monroe look-alike (Linda Kerridge). But Eric has Problems with People, who are Giving Him a Hard Time, soon, He goes over the Edge.

Written and Directed by Vernon Zimmerman made a Suspenseful Thriller, which Movie Buffs and Horror Fans will love this. Because of the film`s Interesting Promise. It`s a Thriller with Some Horror Elements. Dennis Christopher gives a Tour de Force Performance in this flawed but Genuine Film. Mickey Rourke has a Small Role in this. Peter Horton has a very Small Part in this. This is a Excellent Film. Grade:B+.

MST3K Material! Definitely!
I plan to put this film on my worst films ever made list. I mean it was absolutely terrible. It [is bad]! It's only redeemable quality is that you could back and crack on how stupid this film is with friends while you are less than sober. There is a [pjysical gratification] scene that is perhaps novel for 1980, yet of course it's not worth getting this film over, I had more fun watching Hobgoblins that was made around the same time.

All the World's a Stage
BREAKING AWAY's (1979) Dennis Christopher stars in FADE TO BLACK, a wry comment on how Hollywood is gaining influence over the worldview of the average citizen in contemporary Western society. Christopher plays Eric Binford, a young man so obsessed with the cinema that he soon begins to blur the line between reality and the plots of his favorite motion pictures. As his life begins to unravel, Eric looks to the movies for the solutions to his problems, and of course, it's only a matter of time before Eric starts eliminating those "problems" following the example of his favorite movie characters--with murder!

Christopher's over-the-top performance is exuberant and flamboyant, but since his Eric Binford is a person whose behavior is governed by the cinema, such a performance makes the character seem both plausible and sympathetic. Another strong performance is offered by Linda Kerridge as Marilyn O'Connor, the object of Eric's unrequited love. (Of course, it helps that Kerridge, a former Australian model, is a very convincing Marilyn Monroe look-alike, a fact that is intricately weaved into the plotline.)

Admittedly, the supporting cast is not nearly as strong as Christopher and Kerridge, and a great deal of the dialogue for minor characters is pure caricature. Indeed, if taken too seriously, FADE TO BLACK will come across as cartoonish and the plot will seem outlandish. But if viewed as the Juvenalian satire it is meant to be, the film definitely works. Cinema buffs will enjoy the clips from old classics, and horror fans will get a real kick out of watching Eric commit acts of mayhem and murder while costumed as Dracula and The Mummy.

Viewers who do not appreciate dark satire--and especially those who do not enjoy thriller films--will probably regard FADE TO BLACK as made-for-TV fodder. True, it is not destined to be a classic. But it is definitely an entertaining film, and it's a genuinely fun ride for cinema buffs and devotees of the horror and thriller genres.

A movie maniac recreates his favourite screen slayings
Eric Binford (Dennis Christopher) is an obsessed film buff who lives with his domineering Aunt Stella. A sad, strange young man, Eric hates the real world and has good reason to: he works as a delivery boy for a film supply company where his boss hates him and his colleagues think he's a wierdo. Even hookers hate him, and yes; not surprisingly he drives a moped. Yup, poor old Eric lives smack dab in the middle of Gimpsville and only exists for his love of movies. But one day he meets a gorgeous Aussie Marilyn Monroe lookalike (creatively named Marilyn) in a diner and he asks her out to a movie (of course). Unfortunately she quite innocently forgets their date so is two hours late... but Eric thinks she has stood him up. This drives Eric over the edge and he starts dressing up as various movie characters and killing off the people he feels have wronged him In his defense, the movie playing is Robbie Benson's DIE LAUGHING so you can't really blame the guy for snapping. (Why doesn't he just subject his victims to repeated screenings of it? That'd work).
Eric's delusional mania continues to worsen to the point where he thinks he's James Cagney in PUBLIC ENEMY, not to mention Christopher Lee's Dracula and William Boyd's Hopalong Cassidy amongst other characters. Christopher's poor acting doesn't help the viewer gain sympathy for the character of Eric but it's still an interesting movie. What I like best is how the film makers are thumbing their noses at people who think movies influence people into committing crimes. If that were true most of the population of western world would be on death row!
But best of all are the film clips from PUBLIC ENEMY, HORROR OF DRACULA and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD among others. FADE TO BLACK isn't brilliant, but it's an entertaining movie for genre fans, with a few now familiar faces popping up. This is good viewing for your next Halloween party. Check it out. ... Read more