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This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Blistering performances.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

I'm absolutely obsessed with movies, especially horror, and I'm guessing that you are too, since you're currently reading an IMDb review of a relatively obscure, thirty-five-year-old horror flick. But as much as we love films, I doubt that either one of us is quite as crazy about them as Dennis Christopher's character, Eric Binford, in Fade to Black (at least I hope not).Eric, a shy, dysfunctional loner, immerses himself in the make-believe world of cinema 24/7, ultimately confusing reality with fantasy, taking on the identities of characters from his favourite films to mete out punishment to those who victimise him. Disguising himself as gangster Cody Jarrett from White Heat, cowboy Hopalong Cassidy, and Universal monsters Dracula and The Mummy, he settles the score with his overbearing Aunt Stella (Eve Brent), a workplace bully (Mickey Rourke), and his tyrant of a boss. Eric also poses as Lawrence Olivier from The Prince and the Showgirl to woo a Marilyn Monroe lookalike he meets in a diner (Linda Kerridge). Meanwhile, the police are trying to piece together the clues before the killer strikes again…Fade to Black is a technically competent effort with some stylish touches—the inter-cutting of old movie clips is a particularly effective trick—but the film suffers from some weak performances (Tim Thomerson, as a counsellor working with the police, is extremely wooden), a script that just gets more and more ludicrous (where the hell does Eric find a working tommy gun?), and a message that doesn't sit very well with this particular movie fan: that consistent exposure to violent movies will cause the viewer to act in a violent manner. We horror fans take enough crap as it is, without our own genre making us out to be loony tunes as well!

'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.

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.

Christopher plays Eric Binford, a generally unlikable film geek who by day putts around on his scooter delivering posters. By night however he sits around in his undies and a blazer watching old movies and being tormented by his wheelchair bound Aunt. He's disliked at by co workers and can only find solace in his love of movies. It figures that when mean ole Auntie attacks his prized projector with no remorse that Erics fragile mind goes KABLAM! and he sends her Evil Keneiveling in her wheelchair down the staircase. It's from that point on that Eric starts dispatching any enemies he has dressed as various film icons. Dracula, the Mummy, Hop a Long Cassidy, Cody Jarret. After Eric has his dream idea for a big budget picture stolen by a greasy producer he really loses it and rents an old car with suicide doors and some how gets a tommy gun and exacts a humorous revenge. Dare you not to laugh at the "Happy Birthday Sucker!" line. I also dare you not to cringe during the Marilyn poster on the ceiling scene, Dave Stoller how could you?? Well after Eric has wiped out half of California it all climaxes, of sorts, in White Heat "top of the world ma!" finale. This movie is only barely tolerable and its really a standout in the high on concept low low low on execution department. I think Dennis should have stayed on his Masi and Tim Thomerson shouldn't be allowed to make any other films except for a sequel to The Wrong Guys. "Watch out for that pancake Duke!!" haha, almost as classic as Breaking Away. 4/10