''Out of the Dark'' is a 1989 American

slasher film A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as ...

starring Karen Witter. The film is notable for being the last acting credit of the drag queen

Divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

, who died slightly over a year before its release.

Plot

"Suite Nothings" is a sleazy L.A.

phone-sex Phone sex is a conversation between two or more people by means of the telephone which is sexually explicit and is intended to provoke sexual arousal in one or more participants. All parties participate voluntarily; it is typically accompanied b ...

hot-line voiced by women who are trying, and usually failing, to become successful actors or models. Preying on them is Bobo, a psychotic killer who dresses in a clown costume. The police believe the killer to be Kevin, a photographer who is dating one of the operators, Kristi. As the murders pile up Kristi and Kevin start their own quest to find the killer, as one of the investigators, Lt. Meyers, refuses to believe that anyone else is the murderer. Their investigations cause them to suspect an accountant in the same building, Stringer, but also places them at a sleazy motel at the same time Bobo murders a prostitute. Kevin is detained for the murder, as he made Kristi flee with him from the scene, and he uses his one phone call to instruct Kristi to search Stringer's office for evidence. The search is fruitful, but Kristi is discovered by Stringer. The two fight and Stringer chases Kristi out of the building, where he is run over by a passing motorist. The evidence in Stringer's office clears Kevin of the crimes, much to the frustration of Meyers, who still believes him to be the killer. Kristi and a now-free Kevin then travel to a remote cabin, where she quickly discovers that Kevin was the true killer all along. When he tries to attack her Kristi shoots Kevin with a gun they had been carrying for safety. Believing him to be dead she turns her back on him, only for him to rise up and attack her. Before he can kill her, Lt. Meyers arrives and shoots Kevin dead with a shotgun.

Cast

Karen Black Karen Blanche Black (née Ziegler; July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013) was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her work in various studio and independent films in the 1970s, frequently portrayi ...

as Ruth Wilson *

Bud Cort Walter Edward Cox, known professionally as Bud Cort, is an American actor and comedian, known for his portrayals of Harold in Hal Ashby's film ''Harold and Maude'' (1971) and the eponymous hero in Robert Altman's film '' Brewster McCloud'' (19 ...

as David Stringer *

Geoffrey Lewis Geoffrey Lewis may refer to: * Geoffrey Lewis (actor) (1935–2015), American character actor * Geoffrey Lewis (scholar) (1920–2008), British professor of Turkish * Geoffrey Lewis (philatelist), Australian philatelist * Geoffrey W. Lewis (died ...

as Dennis *

Tracey Walter Tracey Walter (born November 25, 1947) is an American character actor. He has appeared in more than 170 films and television series. Life and career Walter was born and grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey, as the son of a truck driver. He has a ...

as Lt. Frank Meyers *Lynn Danielson-Rosenthal as Kristi *

Divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

as Det. Langella * Cameron Dye as Kevin Silvers *

Lainie Kazan Lainie Kazan (born Lainie Levine; May 15, 1940) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for ''St. Elsewhere'' and the 1993 Tony Award for Best Featured Actr ...

as Hooker Nancy * Karen Witter as Jo Ann *

Karen Mayo-Chandler Karen Mayo-Chandler (18 April 1958 – 11 July 2006) was a British actress and model. She appeared in issues of ''Vogue'' and '' Harper's Bazaar'' magazines. After minor television and theatre appearances in the United Kingdom, she relocated to ...

as Barbara *

Tab Hunter Tab Hunter (born Arthur Andrew Kelm; July 11, 1931 – July 8, 2018) was an American actor, singer, film producer, and author. Known for his blond, clean-cut good looks, Hunter starred in more than forty films. He was a Hollywood heartthrob of t ...

as Driver *

Paul Bartel Paul Bartel (August 6, 1938 – May 13, 2000) was an American actor, writer and director. He was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy '' Eating Raoul'', which he wrote, starred in and directed. Bartel appeared in over 90 movies and ...

as Hotel Clerk * Silvana Gallardo as McDonald

Production

The screenplay was written by J. Greg De Felice and Zane W. Levitt, the latter of whom had worked as an assistant to producer

, and inspired by the then prolific 976

Premium-rate telephone number Premium-rate telephone numbers are telephone numbers that charge callers higher price rates for select services, including information and entertainment. A portion of the call fees is paid to the service provider, allowing premium calls to be an ...

and had the original title of ''976-KILL''. The title was changed to avoid confusion with another 976 film

CineTel Films CineTel Films Inc. is an independent film production company and distributor based in West Hollywood, California. History The company was founded in Chicago in 1980 as Chicago Teleproductions and later moved the company's headquarters to Los ...

had produced titled '' 976-EVIL''. Levitt and De Felice were inspired by the works of

Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (born September 11, 1940) is an American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for his work in the suspense, crime and psychological thriller genres. De Palma was a leading ...

in making the film a lurid sexually tinged murder mystery.

Release

The movie was shown in October 1992 on the UK's TalkingPictures TV Channel as part of its "Cellar Club" line up of off the beaten track vintage movies.

Home media

''Out of the Dark'' was released on VHS and Laserdisc in 1989 by RCA/Columbia Pictures home video. Sony Pictures released the film on a manufactured-on-demand DVD-R of the film on March 1, 2011. Mill Creek Entertainment re-released Out of the Dark on DVD.

Reception

Stephen Holden from the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' gave the film a negative review, calling it "misogynistic" and criticized its inconsistent tone. Time Out called it "A straight re-run of those '70s slasher pics", and criticized the film for the obvious identity of the killer.

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

awarded the film one out of four stars, stating that the only real selling point was the "eccentric array of supporting players".

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Out Of The Dark (1989 Film) 1989 horror films 1989 films American slasher films American serial killer films Horror films about clowns CineTel Films films 1980s English-language films Films directed by Michael Schroeder 1980s American films