In recent years, horror fans have been blessed with a bounty of excellent retrospective documentaries. Classics such as Fright Night, Return of the Living Dead, Creepshow, Hellraiser, Pet Sematary, An American Werewolf in London, and both the Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street franchises have received full-blown, in-depth retro documentary treatments. As any horror aficionado can attest, each one has been a real treat for fans of the genre.
In October 2018, it was announced that CreatorVC Studios was producing what was being billed as “the definitive 80s horror doc,” titled In Search of Darkness. The project, which was initially only available in late 2019 to backers via crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, would tackle not just one film or film franchise, but the entirety of the 1980s. The documentary aimed to cover multiple films per year, complete with interviews from cast and crew from each film as well as notable horror icons and industry insiders. An ambitious endeavor, no doubt.
The most important aspects of a documentary of this type are its subjects: the movies it covers and the interviewees who tell the story of those films. If either of those are lacking, the film feels empty and incomplete. Fortunately, that is not the case here. The list of ’80s horror flicks is about as comprehensive as you could wish for from a four-hour doc. Some of the films covered include The Fog, The Burning, the Friday the 13th franchise, Halloween 2, The Howling, An American Werewolf in London, The Shining, Basket Case, Poltergeist, Maniac, The Thing, Halloween 3: Season of the Witch, Q, Creepshow, Psycho II, Cujo, Sleepaway Camp, Christine, Amityville 3D, Children of the Corn, Gremlins, the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, The Company of Wolves, The Stuff, Day of the Dead, Fright Night, Return of the Living Dead, Howling II, Silver Bullet, Re-Animator, Chopping Mall, The Toxic Avenger, Night of the Creeps, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, From Beyond, Dolls, Evil Dead II, The Lost Boys, The Monster Squad, Hellraiser, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, The Blob, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, Pumpkinhead, They Live, Child’s Play, 976-Evil, Pet Sematary, and many, many more. The filmmakers certainly did their due diligence when it came to selecting the best horror films from the greatest decade for horror.
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As comprehensive as the list of films is, the interview subjects is even deeper. Obviously some greats such as George A. Romero, Wes Craven, and Tobe Hooper couldn’t be included, which is unfortunate. But out of possible available subjects, the film crew managed to get almost anyone you would hope to hear from. Some of the interviewees include Cassandra Peterson (Elvira), Greg Nicotero, John Carpenter, Caroline Williams, Sean Cunningham, Kane Hodder, Harry Manfredini, Heather Langenkamp, Nick Castle, James Rolfe, Phil Nobile, Jr., Bill Mosley, Ryan Turek, Joe Bob Briggs, Darcy the Mail Girl, Andre Gower, Doug Bradley, Keith David, Corey Taylor, Tom Atkins, Larry Cohen, Joe Dante, Alex Winter, Don Mancini, Tom Holland, Mick Garris, Barbara Crampton, Stuart Gordon, and Jeffrey Combs.
In addition to all of these goodies, the doc tackles interesting topics in between each year. These topics are all highly interesting and are critical when discussing the importance and lasting impact of the genre. The topics covered include Practical FX, Video Stores, The Holiday Slasher Subgenre, Horror in 3D, Horror Villains, Horror Heroes and the Final Girl, Music & Sound Design, Sex & Nudity in ’80s Horror, Horror Fandom, and Passing the Torch. These topics are just as engaging as the individual films themselves, particularly the effects and final girl segments.
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Clocking in at just over four hours, In Search of Darkness is an all-encompassing documentary that never drags or becomes tiresome. The production team did an excellent job covering just about every important/iconic film of each year, with some fantastic insights and reflections on each one. Now if you’ve already seen some of the singular focus horror docs listed earlier, the film does cover some familiar ground. And of course, even with a four-hour runtime, each film can only get about 3 to 5 minutes of coverage. Nevertheless, this rapid-fire approach, coupled with the various topics covered in between each year, makes for a very entertaining watch.
In Search of Darkness is only available via streaming and is a bit pricey compared with other purchase/rental fees. But if you are a fan of horror, and especially if you enjoy horror retrospectives, this film is a must-watch. If you miss it, you’ll wish you were dead.
And with all good horror flicks, a sequel has been announced for this fall!
In Search of Darkness is available for purchase or rental at Gumroad.com.
Check out the fantastic #TeaserTrailer for our forthcoming #documentary on #80sHorror 👉 IN SEARCH OF DARKNESS – A JOURNEY INTO ICONIC #80S #HORROR – #horrormovies #creepy #scary #Halloween2018 pic.twitter.com/2Iu6XWq8mI
— 80sHorrorDoc (@80sHorrorDoc) August 16, 2018