Label: VCI Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 93 Minutes 59 Seconds
Audio: English PCM 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Steve Barkett
Cast: Steve Barkett, Christopher Barkett, Tera Hendrickson, Richard Harrison, Dawn Wildsmith, John Henry Richardson, Patricia Schiotis, Joseph Pilato, Jan Bryant
Empire of the Dark (1990) is produced, written, directed, edited by, and stars the multi-talented Steve Barkett, the man who previously brought us the low-rent post-apocalyptic flick The Aftermath (1982), and here he once again casts himself as the film's protaganist. The film opens with cop Richard Flynn (Steve Barkett, The Aftermath) receiving a phone call from his ex-girlfriend Angela (Tera Hendrickson, They Came from Outer Space) telling him that she and her infant son are in danger. It seems that her new beau Brian (Dan Speaker) is a Satan-worshipper, and she and the child are to be the next ritual sacrifice for the cult he belongs to. Richard hightails it to the warehouse she indicated they're at and finds himself thrust into a swirling vortex that is a portal some sort of Hell dimension to save the woman he loved and her baby. Sadly, Angela's killed but he manages to save the baby, and kills both Brian and the satanic cult's leader Arkham (Richard Harrison, Orgasmo Nero & Ninja Terminator). This is the longest sacrifice I have ever seen, while Arkham is holding the sacrificial knife over his head about to thrust it into the flesh of a lingerie clad Angela, well, it felt like it took him ten minutes to lower the blade, with the film cutting back and forth from him to Richard battling cultist and traversing the corridors and bridges of the Hell dimension, it's totally ridiculous, I was howling. Second, I love the old school matte paintings and composited optical effects used to being the Hell dimension to life, even if they reused the same images over and over, padding out the run time.
The film then jumps ahead 20 years, Richard has since retired from the force, grown a moustache, and become a schlubby bounty hunter who moonlights as a sword-master - don't worry, his sword skills most certainly are crammed in here for a reason that becomes apparent later in the film. Richard is sought out by his former cop buddy Eddie Green (Jay Richardson, Evil Spawn) after he gets a visit from a young guy named Terry Nash (Christopher Barkett, The Aftermath) at the police station, who turns out to be Angela's kid that Richard save two decades earlier, who says he is still being hunted by the cult, and he has proof that both Brian and Arkham are still very much alive. In-between the opening Hell dimension scenes and Richard actually meeting Terry, we get a action-sequence of Richard attempting to apprehend a bounty that turns into a fun Cobra-esque grocery store shootout. I love grocery store scenes in old flick, it really brings back the nostalgia for the old product packaging that I grew up with, it really triggers me in a good way.
Now we have Richard and Terry tracking down these seemingly immortal warriors of Satan, but also on the case is an intrepid lady reporter Stacey (Patricia Schiotis) whose been investigating a series of full moon murders dubbed "The Demon Slasher" murders in the newspaper, gets herself mixed up in the Satan-cult shenanigans. Also making appearances in the fairly convoluted storyline grieving father are Guy Zupan (Joe Pilato, Day of the Dead) whose daughter was killed by the cult, and a psychic named Madame Oleska (Dawn Wildsmith, Surf Nazis Must Die). Of course all roads lead back to the Hell dimension from the start of the film where it seems that maybe Teresa is not quite dead either.
It's a fun, pulpy satanic-occult thriller, the direction of Burkett is sometimes seems shaky but he gets the job done, and there was real talent behind-the-scenes. The film was photographed by William Stromberg and his son Robert, the former who directed one of my favorite low-budget monster drive-in flicks The Crater Lake Monster, and the later of whom also created special effects for this flick, plus he went on to create award-winning awards for Avatar, and to direct the big-budget Maleficent (2014). We also get old school stop-motion effects work from Jim Davidson who also worked on Bride of Re-Animator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Batman Returns and Titanic.
I was a huge fan of Steve Barkett's The Aftermath, which was similarly a vanity project, and he won me over again with this one. The occult storyline offers plenty of opportunities for action set-pieces with Burkett whooping some ass, and we get some tasty cool old school, special effects work, including miniatures, forced perspective and stop-motion to bring a demonic creature to life. There are shoot-outs, sword-fights, and fisticuffs aplenty with the schlubby Barkett being a pretty cheese-tastic leading man. A lot of the effects are not exactly seamless, and can look pretty hokey to modern eyes, but I just love it. For a film released in 1990 this feel like a late-70s drive-in production, and I love that about it. Is it good? Well, it's fucking entertaining, so yeah. If you're a fan of Satanic cult flicks like The Brotherhood of Satan, Enter the Devil or The Devil's Rain, or just of schlocky drive-in fare, like Burkett's The Aftermath, this is definitely going to be a cheesy good time.
Audio/Video: Empire of the Dark (1990) makes it's Blu-ray debut from VCI Entertainment on a region-free disc BD/DVD combo, presented in 1080p HD and framed in 1.85:1. It generally looks very food, solid colors, decent blacks, perhaps a tad waxy at times, but overall solid with appreciable film grain, solid colors and pleasing depth and clarity. The source is in terrific shape as well. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. The track is clean and well-balanced, lacking depth, but sounding just fine.
Extras are plentiful, on both the Blu-ray and DVD discs featuring the feature and some extras we get a Audio Commentary from Steve Burkett & Chris Burkett; Chattanooga Film Festival Interview by Dustin Kramer with Steve Burkett & Chris Burkett, plus a selection of short films. Starting off with the 7-min Black Tea (2022), a short film by Laura Barkett McQuay, the daughter of Steve Burkett, which is a very cool witchy take, very stylish, well-made all around. We also get the 22-min Night Caller (1973), a student film also starring Steve Barkett and directed by Dan Gilbert. It's a great short film with atmosphere, loved the shocker ending on this one, based on a story by Ray Bradbury. The last extra found on both disc one and two is the 3-min Trailer for The Aftermath.
The third disc, a DVD, is dedicated to additional extras, here we find the 11-min Steve Barkett Interview with Buster Crabbe (Flash Gordon); and the 79-min Splat From The Past Retro Podcast Interview with Steve Barkett. The 3-disc Blu-ray/DVD arrives in a clear keepcase with flipper tray housing the three discs, plus we get a Reversible Wrap featuring fan-made artwork by Benjamin Marra.
Special Features:
Disc 1: Blu-ray - Feature + Extras
- Steve Burkett & Chris Burkett Audio Commentary
- Chattanooga Film Festival Interview by Dustin Kramer with Steve Burkett & Chris Burkett (47:51)
- Black Tea (2022) - Short Film by Laura Barkett McQuay (7:33) HD
- Night Caller (19:73) - Short Film by Steve Barkett (22:21) HD
- The Aftermath - Trailer (3:03) HD
Disc 2: DVD - Feature + Extras
Steve Burkett & Chris Burkett Audio Commentary
- Chattanooga Film Festival Interview by Dustin Kramer with Steve Burkett & Chris Burkett
- Black Tea (2022), a Short Film by Laura Barkett McQuay (7:33) HD
- Night Caller (19:73), Short Film by Steve Barkett (22:21) HD
- The Aftermath - Trailer (3:03) HD
Disc 3: Extras
- Steve Barkett Interview with Buster Crabbe (Flash Gordon) from 10.1.70 (10:30)
- Splat From The Past Retro Podcast Interview with Steve Barkett (79:02)
- Reversible Wrap with Fan-Made Poster on Reverse Side by Benjamin Marra
Screenshots from the VCI Entertainment Blu-ray:
Extras:
Buy it!
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