''In Search of Darkness'' is a 2019

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

written and directed by

David A. Weiner David A. Weiner (''pronounced Why-ner'') is an American filmmaker, magazine editor, and journalist. He wrote and directed the '' In Search of Darkness'' trilogy, which explores the decade of '80s horror cinema over the course of 14-plus hours: t ...

and executive produced by Robin Block of CreatorVC Studios. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, the film explores the development and lasting impact of the horror film genre during the 1980s, and features interviews with numerous

horror icon A horror icon is a person or fictional character that is considered to be significant to horror fiction within mediums such as film, literature, television, or video games. History Pre 1900s: literary beginnings Examples of early horror icon ...

s both from that decade and from the modern era, along with popular horror

influencer An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social m ...

s. ''In Search of Darkness'' premiered at the 2019 Beyond Fest.

Cast

* Tom Atkins *

Doug Bradley Douglas William Bradley (born 7 September 1954) is an English actor and author, best known for his role as the lead Cenobite "Pinhead" in the ''Hellraiser'' film series and for narration on various Cradle of Filth albums. He is also starri ...

Joe Bob Briggs John Irving Bloom (born January 27, 1953), known by the stage name Joe Bob Briggs, is an American syndicated film critic, writer, actor, and comic performer. He is known for having hosted ''Joe Bob's Drive-in Theater'' on The Movie Channel fro ...

* Lori Cardille *

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

Nick Castle Nicholas Castle is an American screenwriter, film director, and actor. He is known for playing Michael Myers in John Carpenter's horror film ''Halloween'' (1978). He reprised the role in ''Halloween'' (2018), and its sequels ''Halloween Kills'' ...

Larry Cohen Lawrence George Cohen (July 15, 1936 – March 23, 2019) was an American screenwriter, producer, and director of film and television, best known as an author of horror and science fiction films — often containing police procedural and ...

Jeffrey Combs Jeffrey Alan Combs (born September 9, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for starring in horror films, such as ''Re-Animator'', and appearances playing a number of characters in the ''Star Trek'' and the DC animated universe television fra ...

Barbara Crampton Barbara Crampton (born December 27, 1958) is an American actress and producer. She began her career in the 1980s in television soap operas before starring in horror and thriller films—both paths would define her continued accolade-winning care ...

* Sean S. Cunningham *

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix 1950s-style B movies wit ...

Keith David Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his signature deep voice and commanding screen presence in over 300 roles across film, stage, television, and interactive media. He has starred in such films as '' T ...

* Katie Featherston *

Mick Garris Mick Garris (born December 4, 1951) is an American filmmaker and screenwriter born in Santa Monica, California. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, as well as making Stephen King adaptations. Early life Garris was born in Sant ...

Michael Gingold Michael Gingold is an American journalist, screenwriter, and former editor-in-chief of '' Fangoria'' magazine. Career In his teen years, young horror fan Michael Gingold wrote and self-published the photocopied horror-review fanzine ''Scareapha ...

Stuart Gordon Stuart Alan Gordon (August 11, 1947 – March 24, 2020) was an American filmmaker, theatre director, screenwriter, and playwright. Initially recognized for his provocative and frequently controversial work in experimental theatre, Gordon is perh ...

Andre Gower Jon Andre Gower (born April 27, 1973) is an American television and film actor. Life and career Born in Los Angeles, California, Gower began his career at the age of five years as a child actor. His first substantial role was as Brookes Prenti ...

Gunship A gunship is a military aircraft armed with heavy aircraft guns, primarily intended for attacking ground targets either as airstrike or as close air support. In modern usage the term "gunship" refers to fixed-wing aircraft having laterally-mo ...

* Spencer Hickman *

Kane Hodder Kane Warren Hodder (born April 8, 1955)According to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905–1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com is an Americ ...

Tom Holland Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. His accolades include a British Academy Film Award, three Saturn Awards, a Guinness World Record and an appearance on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 Europe list. Some publications h ...

Graham Humphreys Graham Humphreys is a British illustrator and visual artist best known for producing film posters. During the 1980s, Humphreys worked with Palace Pictures, producing publicity material for films including '' Dream Demon'', '' Basket Case'', '' T ...

Lloyd Kaufman Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz (producer), Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director ...

Robert Kurtzman Robert Kurtzman (born November 25, 1964) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and special effects makeup artist. Career Kurtzman began his career in 1984 when he moved from his hometown of Crestline, Ohio, to Hollywood, Cali ...

Heather Langenkamp Heather Elizabeth Langenkamp (born July 17, 1964) is an American actress. She is considered an influential figure in horror films and in popular culture, noted for her acting in several works of the genre and her behind-the-scenes work coordinat ...

Don Mancini George Donald Mancini (born January 25, 1963) is an American screenwriter and film director, most notable for the ''Child's Play'' franchise. Career Having been a horror fan since his childhood, Mancini's inspiration for '' Child's Play'' were ...

Harry Manfredini Harry Manfredini (born August 25, 1943 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American composer and jazz soloist, who has scored more than one hundred films, including most of the '' Friday the 13th'' series. He has had years of classical training, as well ...

Kelli Maroney Kelli Maroney is an American film and television actress. She appeared in the films ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982), ''Night of the Comet'' (1984), and '' Chopping Mall'' (1986), and also appeared on television in the soap operas ''Ryan ...

* Robbi Morgan *

Bill Moseley William Moseley (born November 11, 1951) is an American actor, primarily known for his performances in horror films. His best-known roles include Chop Top in ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2'' (1986), Otis B. Driftwood in Rob Zombie's ''Firefly ...

Greg Nicotero Gregory Nicotero (born March 15, 1963) is an American special make-up effects creator, television producer, and director. His first major job in special effects makeup was on the George A. Romero film ''Day of the Dead'' (1985), under the tutelag ...

* Phil Nobile Jr. *

Cassandra Peterson Cassandra Peterson (born September 17, 1951) is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Peterson gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ-TV in her stage ...

James Rolfe James D. Rolfe (born July 10, 1980) is an American YouTuber, online personality, filmmaker, and actor. He is best known for creating and starring in the comedic retrogaming web series '' The Angry Video Game Nerd'' (2004–present). His spin-of ...

Ken Sagoes Ken Sagoes is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Roland Kincaid in the fantasy horror film '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'' (1987) and the sequel '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master'' (1988). Sagoes p ...

* Ben Scrivens * James A. Janisse (Dead Meat) *

Corey Taylor Corey Todd Taylor (born December 8, 1973) is an American musician, songwriter and actor. He is the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Slipknot (band), Slipknot, in which he is designated #8, as well as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the ...

* Cecil Trachenburg * Ryan Turek *

Caroline Williams Caroline Williams is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her role as Stretch in ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' film series. Her other film roles include ''Alamo Bay'' (1985), ''The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985), ''Stepfa ...

Alex Winter Alexander Ross Winter (born July 17, 1965) is a British-American actor and filmmaker. He played the slacker Bill in the 1989 film ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'' and its sequels ''Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey'' (1991) and ''Bill & Ted Face t ...

* Heather Wixson * Tom Woodruff Jr. *

Brian Yuzna Brian Yuzna is an American producer, director, and writer. He is best known for his work in the science fiction and horror film genres. Yuzna began his career as a producer for several films by director Stuart Gordon, such as ''Re-Animator'' (1 ...

Production

''In Search of Darkness'' initially began as a

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

campaign on

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

in October 2018, and the project met its initial goal in two days. It went on to amass £99,478 in pledges from 1,532 backers on Kickstarter, before later moving platforms to Indiegogo in March 2019, where it has raised over £234,300. The film received an exclusive release in 2019 to backers of the project.

Critical reception

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, ''In Search of Darkness'' has an approval rating of , based on reviews, with an average rating of . Josh Weiss of ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' called the documentary "a scary good magnum opus" and recommended it for fans of horror fiction and for those interested in history, writing: "At times, you'll be lost in wonder at how this comprehensively epic behemoth was cut together in the first place. ..This is a definitive, intimate, anecdotal, thematic, funny, and loving oral history of a decade that changed the face of big screen horror forever." Michelle Swope of

Dread Central Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website f ...

gave the film a score of 5 out of 5, writing that "even at about four hours long, it's never boring", and summarizing it as "an all-encompassing, delightfully spooky love letter to eighties horror." Carolyn Mauricette of '' Rue Morgue'' wrote that "You might find the volume of information overwhelming at first because they come at you with a rapid-fire pace, but once you settle in, this documentary is a great ride." Noah Berlatsky of ''

The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts. The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...

'' called the documentary "a compulsively watchable delight" and wrote that "even hardcore genre fans are bound to find something new they'd like to see or something old they want to revisit". Jessica Gomez of All Horror wrote: "It's well-researched, well-rounded, and filmed without bias. A masterpiece worthy of the most important decade of horror."

Series

''In Search of Darkness'' was the second installment of the ''In Search of'' documentary series, following ''

In Search of the Last Action Heroes ''In Search of the Last Action Heroes'' is a 2019 documentary film written and directed by Oliver Harper, and co-written by Timon Singh. The film revisits the action films of the 1980s and 1990s, often regarded as the genre's Golden Age, via inte ...

'', which is dedicated to 1980s and 1990s action cinema.
It was followed by several further films: ''

In Search of Tomorrow ''In Search of Tomorrow'' is a 2022 documentary film, written and directed by David A. Weiner. It takes the viewer on a year-by-year deep dive into science fiction films of the 1980s, such as '' Star Wars'' (namely ''The Empire Strikes Back'' a ...

'', which chronicles science fiction films of the 1980s, and '' In Search of Darkness: Part II'' and ''

Part III ''Part III'' is the third studio album by American R&B group 112. It was released by Bad Boy Records on March 20, 2001 in the United States. Unlike the previous releases, the album is described as having edgier, techno-flavored jams, resulting ...

'', which serve as a direct continuation of ''In Search of Darkness''.

References

External links

* * {{David A. Weiner 2019 documentary films British documentary films Documentary films about films Documentary films about horror 2010s English-language films Films directed by David A. Weiner 2010s British films