Fade to Black (1980)

Excellent but underrated film

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

If you like the classics, bogart,monroe, brandon etc and also appreciate obscure horror like fulci, damato, ndeodato, chances are that you will fin this movie ubercool! i certainly did.

It's a pretty good film, it's odd but has nice a mix of comedy, horror & thriller. The first 30/35 minutes lay the backdrop for the things in the last hour of the film - and that last hour is a decent watch.Eric Binford is a guy obsessed with classic films of all genres. The love of his life is the famed actress Marilyn Monroe and he sees Marilyn O'Connor as Monroe. He's slowing "cracking up" when we are introduced to him... but as the film progresses we watch him fall deeper into madness. His obsession with the classic films turns deadly.Overall I enjoyed this film - it's not a great film, but it's not a bad film at all! Worth watching if you like horror movies.7/10

Eric is a really nice guy, but his mind isn't in the pressures of reality. He spends nearly all his time thinking of, and watching, old movies (Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Mummy, Night of the Living Dead, etc.) using an old-fashioned projector in his dim bedroom. His aunt Stella has taken him in but is confined to a wheelchair and blames him for it.One day he meets a Marilyn Monroe lookalike at the local city diner, and when she accidentally stands him up for a movie date he sadly walks home to watch his movies alone, only to have his aunt destroy his beloved projector. Horrified, he snaps and shoves her down the stairs, and soon afterwards goes on a murder rampage to get back at everyone who dragged him down in life.Fade to Black is an action-packed and hilarious yet underrated slasher film. It deserves more of an audience, that's for sure. With its catchy 80's soundtrack, decent acting and original plot, if you're a slasher fan or even if you just want a movie to watch this is one to add to your list! It does have one or two flaws: it starts of rather boring and many of the inside jokes Eric tells reference films that most people haven't actually watched so it's hard to get what he finds so funny. Overall though, it isn't bad.

Eric Binford (Christopher) is obsessed with movies. His entire life is surrounded by them including his job working in a film vault. Eric lives at home with his Aunt Stella (Brent) who is in a wheelchair. Eric spends his time watching movies on a projector in his room which is covered with movie posters and stills and movie memorabilia. Movies are Eric's escape from reality which he doesn't do too well with. He is constantly picked on at work and yelled at by his cranky boss. One day he meets a woman (Kerridge) who is a dead ringer for Marilyn Monroe and makes a date with her in which she unintentionally stands him up. One night Aunt Stella is on his case and breaks his projector and Eric snaps. Acting out a scene from a classic film he dumps his Aunt wheelchair and all down the stairs. This psychotic break from reality has Eric start acting out scenes from movies and taking his revenge out on any one who has wronged him. Dracula, Hopalong Cassidy, the Mummy and a Gangster are just some of the parts he plays as he goes about killing those who deserve it. The climax takes part on top of the Chinese theater like in the film "White Heat". Binford is someone we all can identify with. He is a great film fan but a complete misfit in everyday life. There is this tragic tone that beats at the heart of this movie all the way to its end. Eric doesn't know where to stop and this becomes a big problem as reality slips away and the movies take over. Binford actually thinks the woman he has met is really Marilyn Monroe. Dennis Christopher is excellent as Eric Binford and his performance is a big part of the success of this film. Director Vernon Zimmerman effectively splices scenes from the real movies Eric is thinking about when he goes out to kill. The second act of the film is very fun with Binford dressing up and carrying out his weird brand of revenge. The best scene and the most suspenseful one is when he attacks his boss at night in the darkened film vault dressed like the Mummy. The plot is clever and very fun with lots of irony and black humor. The only real misstep is the writer character (Thomerson) trying to track Eric. This is a distraction and really was unneeded. Fade to Black is never really that scary but it is so quirky and fun most horror fans will get a real thrill from it.