Im a sucker for auteurism, and after finding out that Stuntman/Director John "Bud" Cardos (Mutant aka Night Shadows) made both these films I had to check them out. The Dark was originally helmed by Tobe Hooper,but was replaced by John "Bud" Cardos when producers felt hooper couldnt handle it. Its a spooky little film about a serial killer called "The Mangler" who turns out to be an alien zombie who can shoot lasers out of his eyes that make people explode. Sounds perfect right? Well, not exactly. The score is the shit complete with a voice that constantly whispers "the Darrrrrknessssss". The film looks awesome too. Its really dark and there are some genuinely creepy moments. The story does however drag quite a bit and the time span between attacks gets a little long. In between the killings William Devane, Vivian Blaine, Cathy Lee Crosby, and Richard Jaekel entertain us with some damn decent acting and the final showdown is pretty damn awesome in a cheesy way. Oh, and I forgot , Casey Kasem shows up for a little cameo. Overall a decent little movie with quite a bit of character. I think Cardos did well for being a last minute director. Now on to Kingdom Of The Spiders. One of the better "man against nature" type films Ive seen, Kingdom Of The Spiders stars William Shatner as Doctor Robert "Rack" Hansen, a smooth talking Cowboy. When cattle starts dying of deadly venomous bites "Rack" is on the case. Soon Tiffany Boiling shows up and they find themselves knee deep in spiders........a kingdom of spiders. Soon the whole town is under attack and Mr Shatner finds himself held up in a house night of the living dead style. Im not gonna spoil the end but I will say its my favorite part. Overall I felt this film was stronger than The Dark, But they both had alot in common, good actors, good score, and a good Director. Stay up John "Bud" Cardos. Props homie.
p.s.- Keep an eye out for Mutant aka Night Shadows , its a nice little zombie flick directed by Mr. Cardos.
The Dark- 3 out of five exploding murder victims
Kingdom Of The Spiders-4 out of 5 cowboy William Shatners
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