Vinegar Syndrome looks to Jan. 26 for the Blu-ray release of a new 4K restoration (from the original 35mm negative elements) of director Vernon Zimmerman’s 1980 surprise indie horror hit, Fade to Black.
This homage to all-things movies, from theatres and exhibition, to the classics and even to where all of the 35mm prints are stored (racks and racks and racks of film cans waiting to be shipped off to cinemas across the land) stars Dennis Christopher, who had scored in both California Dreaming and Breaking Away in 1979, as Eric Binford, a young man obsessed with movies. He absolutely carries it off in both his assured knowledge of the classics and his ability to mimic some of the greats.
Sadly, Eric is living with his shrew of an aunt, Stella (Eve Brent, aka: Jean Lewis — Female Jungle, Forty Guns, Stakeout!, The Todd Killings, etc.), who picks a particularly bad day to ruin his screening of Kiss of Death — Eric had been accidently stood up for a movie night with “Marilyn Monroe” (Linda Kerridge — Down Twisted, Alien from L.A., Mixed Blood) and was not in the mood for Stella to be harping at him. Down the stairs she goes.
Poor Stella. And then an accident follows — all related to Dracula — and once the body count reaches two, well, hell … Eric just snaps, but, to his credit, when he goes in for the kill he is always “in character.”
Fade to Black is one of those guilty pleasures that works and works and works … and get better over time!!
Bonus features include commentary from Dennis Christopher and two additional commentary options, one featuring “The Hysteria Continues!” and the other with film historians Amana Reyes and Bill Ackerman.
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