Review: ‘In Search of Darkness’ really is the definitive ’80s horror documentary

By definition, horror is “painful and intense fear, dread, or dismay.” Horror fans thrive on the rush, that prickly feeling you get coursing through your extremities as the Final Girl runs for her life or buckets of blood swallow the screen. It’s an almost indescribable, out-of-body experience watching horror films, especially the ones that stick with you long after the end credits. Arguably the defining decade of horror filmmaking, the 1980s was an endless playground of concepts, storylines, and themes, often commenting on the commercial boom and social constructs.

“They say there’s a theory that horror thrives when there’s a repressive government. What scares us says a lot about the society,” posits Stuart Gordon, writer and director of 1985’s Re-Animator, in the documentary In Search of Darkness, a four-hour-plus retrospective hitting Shudder this week. He is absolutely correct; horror has always been a mirror image of the darkest and most terrifying facets of life, from explorations of rabid consumerism (Child’s Play, The Stuff) to political disillusionment (They Live) to parasitic technology (Videodrome).

Directed by David A. Weiner, In Search of Darkness assembles a star-studded buffet of the most well-known figures of ’80s horror, in front of and behind the camera. From Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Caroline Williams (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), and Alex Winter (The Lost Boys) to Tom Atkins (The Fog, Halloween III: Season of the Witch), Don Mancini (Child’s Play), John Carpenter (The Thing, Halloween), and Doug Bradley (Hellraiser), and everyone in between. It’s not only a truly impressive feat to bring together such a wide collection of titans, but you’ll no doubt get swept up in the nostalgia of it all.

Weiner marks through the decade, year-by-year, to spotlight essential big budget releases, as well as hidden gems and direct-to-video releases. The obvious films include various Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Friday the 13th installments, and for good reason, the Big 3 are the gateway for many horror fans. But even more fascinating is the dissection of essentials like Re-Animator, Basket Case, The ‘Burbs, and Maximum Overdrive, as well as reassessing such trends as werewolves (The Howling, Silver Bullet), vampires (Fright Night, The Lost Boys), holiday-themed slashers (My Bloody Valentine, April Fool’s Day), and the walking dead (Near Dark, Night of the Creeps, Day of the Dead). The collective works of such horror greats as David Cronenberg (Videodrome, The Fly, Scanners) take centerstage, too.

Weiner also contextualizes the typical horror fan: those who came of age in the video rental era. “I was a kid in ‘Stranger Things’ that would hop on my bike with all friends, ride down to the video store, and rent a stack of horror movies,” remarks Ryan Turek, screenwriter and VP of Development for Blumhouse. There was nothing like rushing to the rental store counter with your latest find, a package of popcorn, and a box of SnoCaps, your eyes wide and hungry for whatever monstrous tale that was going to unfold that night. That was the spirit of ’80s horror.

In Search of Darkness fits every kind of horror fan. Whether you’re a casual viewer or a self-proclaimed aficionado, or perhaps you land somewhere along the spectrum, this towering four-hour extravaganza will be right up your alley. There is overwhelming heart and a sense of responsibility glueing this project together. As Heather Langenkamp offers at the very end: “It’s almost our duty, as human beings, to carry forth stories.”

Even if you’ve never seen half the films celebrated here, In Search of Darkness is about inclusion and cherishing our favorite genre’s rich history and its incomparable approach to storytelling. And these stories are always worth experiencing for the very first time (or again and again and again).

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