Horror Remix

The Dark Power Remix (1985)
Director: Phil Smoot
Studio: Vci Video
DVD Release Date: 2004
Original Run Time: 81 minutes
Remix Run Time: 31 minutes

The Dark Power is a independent horror film shot North Carolina in the mid eighties. The strong regional accents by the local actors gives the film a strong hint of realism. The local nature of this production is its best asset, giving The Dark Power a color and vibe a big budget Hollywood film could never pull off. The racial tension between the characters is especially real creating a sense of squeamishness. I imagine back in 1985 an “n-bomb” would still be quite shocking and as it turns out, a clever way to quickly develop an unlikeable character. You can’t wait for those racist assholes to get mutilated. Which brings me to the flaw of the film.

When it’s time to get killing, the film gets cutesy and doesn’t pack the violent punch the viewer demands. The zombies are far from scary and the make-up and costumes frankly suck. The director, Phil Smoot, seems to realize this and instead of playing it straight, the arrival of the zombies means silly time. And although the goofy ass slapstick of the rubber-masked zombies has its charms, this sharp turn in mood is unwelcome.

All that being said, this was a huge hit at last year’s Texas screening. And why not… Although The Dark Power has its flaws, this film is a lot of fun.

I was surprised to find the DVD has a commentary track because most films of this caliber rarely have extras (not to mention widescreen format!) Smoot seemed to have lots of fond memories and the project sounds like a labor of love. I thought it was cool that they did product placement for Budweiser in exchange for free beer. That’s awesome. So buy/rent the DVD and show your friends. You can find it really cheap.

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 19th, 2009 at 4:40 pm and is filed under Blog, Video Podcast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.