In Search of Darkness: Part II

The second part of a documentary that walks year by year through the horror cinema of the 1980s. Films are picked for each year, the actors, directors and effects artists who worked on them speak, and then it moves to the next year. Sections on the video rental market of the period, censorship arguments, and practical effects technique are placed in between. David A. Weiner's film widens the scope of the first part: fifteen new speakers are added and most of the earlier cast returns. Nancy Allen, Tom Atkins, Doug Bradley and Clancy Brown are among those who talk. It runs over four hours. The structure is deliberately built like an archive, clearly designed to be returned to section by section rather than watched end to end. Who it's for: Anyone interested in 1980s horror, the history of practical effects, and long retrospective documentaries. Who it's not for: It is very long and the structure amounts to a repeating list. There is no critical analysis either; the narrative rests largely on admiration.