Alone In The Dark (1982) ***

Two years after Jack Palance and Martin Landau hammed it up together in Without Warning [review], which features a Halloween (1978) (review) rip-off (homage?) during its climax, they again paired up for a total Halloween rip-off (with some of 1980’s Friday The 13th thrown in for good measure), 1982's Alone In The Dark (which is a very misleading title, along with its theatrical poster). AITD also stars Donald Pleasence, so there's that connection as well, but the riffing (*rimshot*) on the John Carpenter classic also extends to Renato Serio's score, which borrows liberally from its themes. 

Jack Sholder's—the man behind A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) [review] and The Hidden (1987) [review]—directorial debut is solid though. You have the power trio of the three unhinged heavies plus Dwight Schultz (a year before he starred as 'Howling Mad' Murdock in TV's The A-Team, which ran from 1983–1987). Erland van Lidth, who had a mere four screen credits, is also here (he played Dynamo, the LED-clad, opera-singing villain in the 1987 dystopian fun-fest The Running Man). 

The characters are inconsistent—one minute brash and brave, another hysterical. The kills aren't anything special, and the plotting and pacing are so-so, but the ending is fantastic. The punk band that perform in a couple scenes (playing such fine tunes as "Chop Up Your Mother" and "Rock Or Die"), The Sic F*cks, are a blast as well. All in all, AITD is an entertaining slasher.