Fade to Black is a chilling, eerie look into the downward, deadly spiral of loner Eric Binford. At first glance, this seems like a standard slasher: abused loner finally snaps and gets lethal revenge. Looking beyond the surface, it turns out to be a haunting portrayal of abuse, alienation, and escaping from the ugliness of reality through the silver screen. Eric Binford is a lonely film geek who constantly watches, references, and quotes classic films. He lives with his sadistic, wheelchair-bound aunt Stella. Bitter due to Eric being indirectly responsible for her maiming car accident ago, Stella verbally abuses and harasses Eric constantly. The most ugly line she spews is "You're worthless, just like your father!" He then goes to his film company job, with a hard-nose boss. After being stood up and ridiculed by a hooker, Eric snaps. He calmly kills off all those who have treated him like dirt, using real-life movie reenactments. As the film progresses, we see Eric's sanity crack like a cheap mirror as reality gives way to his fatal fantasies. Although corny and low- budget, Dennis Christopher gives the performance of a lifetime and literally knocks them dead. A must-see for psychological horror fans and anyone who like thrillers.
Review of Fade to Black
