Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #66262 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-08-24
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Collector's Edition, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 102 minutes

Amazon.com
"I'm Jarret. Cody Jarret, understand?!" snarls Dennis Christopher (Breaking Away) in his best James Cagney. OK, he's no Rich Little, but as the movie-mad social misfit Eric Binford he makes a convincing media-saturated Norman Bates, and for a while his geeky fumblings and wounded vulnerability keep the film on track. He is a gofer for a B-movie studio, constantly bullied by his tough-guy coworker Mickey Rourke and his aunt, a bitter wheelchair-bound failed starlet who blames the boy for her misfortunes and never lets him forget it. His sanity already precariously close to the edge, he flares up and becomes Richard Widmark in Kiss of Death, shoving dear auntie down the back stairs and forever losing himself in the characters of his favorite movies. It's the first of many movie-inspired murders, but the gimmick becomes repetitive and the film loses its focus in series of pre-Scream set pieces. Better is Eric's deluded romance with an Aussie Marilyn Monroe look-a-like. It's hard to understand what she sees in this jittery nerd who rattles off meaningless movie trivia like it was the meaning of life, but give Eric credit for wooing her as Laurence Olivier in The Prince and the Showgirl. Tim Thomerson gets to play both tough guy and sensitive social worker as the counselor who utters the immortal line: "Binford's not to blame, he's a victim of society!" --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

A movie maniac recreates his favourite screen slayings
Eric Binford (Dennis Christopher) is an obsessed film buff who lives with his domineering Aunt Stella. A sad, strange young man, Eric hates the real world and has good reason to: he works as a delivery boy for a film supply company where his boss hates him and his colleagues think he's a wierdo. Even hookers hate him, and yes; not surprisingly he drives a moped. Yup, poor old Eric lives smack dab in the middle of Gimpsville and only exists for his love of movies. But one day he meets a gorgeous Aussie Marilyn Monroe lookalike (creatively named Marilyn) in a diner and he asks her out to a movie (of course). Unfortunately she quite innocently forgets their date so is two hours late... but Eric thinks she has stood him up. This drives Eric over the edge and he starts dressing up as various movie characters and killing off the people he feels have wronged him In his defense, the movie playing is Robbie Benson's DIE LAUGHING so you can't really blame the guy for snapping. (Why doesn't he just subject his victims to repeated screenings of it? That'd work).
Eric's delusional mania continues to worsen to the point where he thinks he's James Cagney in PUBLIC ENEMY, not to mention Christopher Lee's Dracula and William Boyd's Hopalong Cassidy amongst other characters. Christopher's poor acting doesn't help the viewer gain sympathy for the character of Eric but it's still an interesting movie. What I like best is how the film makers are thumbing their noses at people who think movies influence people into committing crimes. If that were true most of the population of western world would be on death row!
But best of all are the film clips from PUBLIC ENEMY, HORROR OF DRACULA and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD among others. FADE TO BLACK isn't brilliant, but it's an entertaining movie for genre fans, with a few now familiar faces popping up. This is good viewing for your next Halloween party. Check it out.

Great movie for people that know they watch too many videos!
Saw this movie a about 1986 and haven't forgotten it. Very cool and scary.

Great movie
This is a great film about film's and good soundtrack. I Highly recomend it if you're a big time movie buff.