I'm absolutely obsessed with movies, especially horror, and I'm guessing that you are too, since you're currently reading an IMDb review of a relatively obscure, thirty-five-year-old horror flick. But as much as we love films, I doubt that either one of us is quite as crazy about them as Dennis Christopher's character, Eric Binford, in Fade to Black (at least I hope not).

Eric, a shy, dysfunctional loner, immerses himself in the make-believe world of cinema 24/7, ultimately confusing reality with fantasy, taking on the identities of characters from his favourite films to mete out punishment to those who victimise him. Disguising himself as gangster Cody Jarrett from White Heat, cowboy Hopalong Cassidy, and Universal monsters Dracula and The Mummy, he settles the score with his overbearing Aunt Stella (Eve Brent),a workplace bully (Mickey Rourke),and his tyrant of a boss. Eric also poses as Lawrence Olivier from The Prince and the Showgirl to woo a Marilyn Monroe lookalike he meets in a diner (Linda Kerridge). Meanwhile, the police are trying to piece together the clues before the killer strikes again…

Fade to Black is a technically competent effort with some stylish touches—the inter-cutting of old movie clips is a particularly effective trick—but the film suffers from some weak performances (Tim Thomerson, as a counsellor working with the police, is extremely wooden),a script that just gets more and more ludicrous (where the hell does Eric find a working tommy gun?),and a message that doesn't sit very well with this particular movie fan: that consistent exposure to violent movies will cause the viewer to act in a violent manner. We horror fans take enough crap as it is, without our own genre making us out to be loony tunes as well!

Fade to Black is a not-so-good attempt to spoof the demanding society, the influence of the media and a few other nowadays stress factors. Dennis Christopher stars as Eric Binford, an introvert nerd who's addicted to movies (film noir and horror in particular). After a few things gone wrong in his pathetic little life, he snaps and starts to kill his opponents dressed up like his movie role models. More particularly, like James Cagney in 'White Heat', Christopher Lee in 'Dracula' or the rubber suit guy in 'Creature from the Black Lagoon'. Even though it's usually listed as one, I certainly wouldn't call this film horror. It's not bloody (unfortunately) and it doesn't feature any tension, atmosphere or shocking elements. Neither is it funny or even memorable. The acting is below every standard (keep your eyes open for the young Mickey Rourke in a small role) and I didn't like the 'blame it all on society' undertones. Luckily, there still is the trivia! I amused myself by spotting all the horror posters and the references to classic horror and gangster films.

I personally love this style of this film. The references are really well done. The acting is great, it's quite a great story. It's an atomic bomb of a classic, an atomic classic. Masterpiece of cinema. Screw The Godfather this is a classic.