Out of the Dark

Atmospheric L.A. sleazefest with brief hilarious turns from Paul Bartel (exec. producing) and the principal cast of LUST IN THE DUST that seem likely to have originated with him/them.

The writing is shoddy in parts, with characters making bizarre decisions & Karen Black disappearing along with her subplot about an hour & change in, but there's also shockingly funny humor alongside solid performances. The horror moments are actually quite effective when they happen. It shouldn't work half as well as it does, but the increasingly blatant self-parody combined with the oddball charm- & Divine's quick cameo, which tragically wound up being her last- make it worth seeing.

Amongst the tawdry productions I've been slumming in you get a feel for certain movies that are undeniably professional works. While the cast here clearly elevates things, it's beyond that in ways that matter. Having said that, this is about a clown masked killer taking out phone sex workers so its high bar is probably waist height anyways. Michael Schroeder had previously been a second unit director for the underrated One Dark Night, and I believe it shows.

Passable slasher. Last 30mins little boring.