In Search of Darkness is the sensational new documentary about 80s horror. It’s an almost four and a half hour long marathon doc that covers all the greatest hits of horror from its greatest decade. In Search of Darkness is the ultimate look at the era of horror history and the perfect way to celebrate Halloween this year.
In Search of Darkness’ executive producer Robin Block spoke with us from his company CreatorVC’s Halloween party to answer a few of our questions about the film and tell us about their special physical copy promotion ending today. The film is available to buy on blu-ray and dvd and today is the last day to get it directly HERE. You can also get a special copy of the film featuring Corey Taylor from Slipknot HERE and a fantastic collector’s edition bundle Elvira version of the movie HERE.
Here’s our exclusive interview with Robin Block and Happy Halloween!
Andrew Hawkins: It’s a great pleasure to be talking to you. Give us a brief summary of your film in your words. Who is In Search of Darkness for?
Robin Block: In Search of Darkness is the greatest, most definitive look at 80s horror movies that’s ever been created. It’s very important to know that this was a crowd funded film. This is for the fans, by the fans. And it’s very important to realize that, that ethos is integral to our DNA as filmmakers.
So, we are fans first. We work by going into the community and bringing all of those stakeholders: directors, actors, fans, influencers, YouTube creators, journalists, merchandisers all together to celebrate the one thing they all have in common, which in this case was a real love and affection for 80s horror. In Search of Darkness is a love letter to 80s horror movies by the very people that’ve been most influenced by it.
So, are you a diehard 80s horror fan? Did you grow up like many of the people in your film; going to the video store and embracing the genre?
RB: Absolutely. I was a latchkey kid. I grew up in a little single-parent household. I’ve spoken to so many people that share that. It’s weird because when I was a kid it was scary, but as an adult I find those movies to be a real sense of comfort.
A few years ago, I found myself getting really into VHS cover art and drawn to go to screenings of movies that I used to love as a child and as a young teenager. And I didn’t understand why or what was so compelling, but actually what you’re doing is you’re revisiting your childhood self. And you’re sort of getting the comfort from going back in time by watching these movies because you remember how it was the first time you saw them.
The difference is that we’re adults now. We have different tastes. We understand the world in more detail. So, part of what In Search of Darkness does is it’s recontextualizing pop culture. Not only are we getting to revisit these incredible movies in a way which is hugely affectionate and nostalgic, we’re understanding how they were made and learning about their impact and what they mean. Not just for the inner child in us but what they mean in terms of their legacy for us now.
Certainly. That’s an interesting aspect of your film as well. You have so many people who were involved in the making of these movies that have so much history to tell. How was it for everyone that you got involved to be a part of this? Did everyone just completely embrace it and want to tell all of their stories because the documentary is so rich with that.
RB: On the whole, it’s like trying to build a massive snowball. You start very small and you try to build momentum. Very strategically I looked to get people on the outside; like people who were journalists. I set up an advisory team filled with journalists, and in fact I chose my director David because he was in my advisory team and I really liked him. He wanted this to be his debut feature so I said, “Let’s do it.”
One of the first people I brought on board was Ben Scrivens from Fright-Rags who’s in the film. I love Fright-Rags. And then we got people like Ryan Turek, so I wanted to be quite strategic in the fact that if I had an inside view with journalists and industry, it would make it easier when I started to work with talent. If I’d gone to actor’s first as a complete unknown, it would have been much harder. But because we had some very reputable names attached to the project early on, it made it easier.
I remember having a very lengthy chat with Barbara Crampton who spoke to me about the fact that she was very uncomfortable with the fact that the film was going to be crowdfunded because she had had problems with crowdfunding. And I totally understand where Barbara was because she is someone who is really, really engaged with her fanbase. She’s an incredibly smart and genuine woman and she grilled me for an hour on the phone, and after that she decided to participate. When I got to meet her at the premiere we talked about it and I said, “Y’know getting you on board Barbara was a tipping point for this production.”
How was the premiere at Beyond Fest because it looked like a huge celebration.
RB: We had our premiere in Hollywood at probably the best genre film festival in the world. There were queues around the block getting into the packed screening, and it was absolutely phenomenal. It was one of the best experiences. I’ve been to premieres before, but not my own and not on this scale and it was incredible. Just the love and the affection in the air for this particular era of cinema was; you had to be there.
I took about 200 posters with me and we got through them all. I was signing posters all night. I introduced the film on stage, we were part of a panel in the middle; and I’m a real believer that what created VC and what I’m all about is enabling fandom to get closer to the world that they really care about. And what we’re really seeing is the beginning of community powered entertainment.
This has been a huge success. Beyond Fest was way better than I ever imagined.
Yeah, community is extremely important right now when so many people are coming together online through horror. The fact that In Search of Darkness premiered right after a marathon of Tom Atkins movies is almost too perfect considering you start the film off with The Fog.
How amazing was that and did you get a chance to talk to Tom Atkins at Beyond Fest?
RB: Yeah! So, it was my first time meeting Tom. I had a chat with him as I was walking in and I thanked him for being in my movie.
Tom Atkins represents everything that’s incredible about 80s horror. Y’know he’s a big deal. Whenever we post up about Tom Atkins, everyone goes crazy and the stats go through the roof. And he’s in the film a lot and he’s funny as hell and charismatic as everything.
It was perfect timing. Beyond Fest were incredible partners and they did an amazing job. It was a flawless premiere, and I was very nervous. And I’m not a nervous person. When I was up on stage giving my introduction it was very emotional. I was choked. I was like, “This is your movie.” Now this isn’t our movie, we’re crowdfunded. This is four and a half thousand peoples’ movie.
The reception for In Search of Darkness has been resoundingly positive. How is that, and what do you think about the critical and audience acclaim so far even before it’s come out?
RB: Um, it’s a really good question. It surprised me. I knew we had something really good, right. And I knew that from the first promo that I put out, which was like a 60 second little video one of my colleagues and I put together and it went viral very quickly, I knew that with the aesthetic and the timing and the era that we were trying to represent; I knew that this was going to be something quite special. But I was so nervous during the premiere.
We’d had a focus group of about 70 backers look at a rough cut and they were mostly all really positive. We had like 69 massive y’know, “This is gonna be really big.” So I was a little bit less worried. But I did not anticipate the amount of positive press, the way the fans have embraced what we’re doing; they love it. Y’know we’re not making films for the critics; we’re making films for the fans and they love it.
It’s a multitude of reasons why. I think honestly the movie is not a complex movie. It’s very straight forward and very well told. David Weiner, my director, did a phenomenal job on making sure the interviews were brilliant and that we moved quickly through the era. It’s like a nostalgic rollercoaster ride and y’know I want In Search of Darkness to be like a big warm blanket that you put on when you’re at home and you’ve got your feet up and it’s all cozy and you just drift off back in time.
That’s how I want everybody to feel that watches this movie. And literally, that exactly what people have been posting up and I love it. We’ve learned so much from this experience and we can’t wait to do it all over again with 80s sci-fi.
Get your copy of In Search of Darkness HERE