31 Days 31 Horror Movies! Day Thirteen: Darkman (1990)

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Darkman

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Selecting this film will be disputed since most people consider it a superhero flick, but it's really a monster movie with elements of the superhero genre.

Director Sam Raimi wanted to follow-up Evil Dead 2 with an adaptation of The Shadow. Yes, that Alec Baldwin film. But he wasn't able to get the job. Instead they hired the director of Highlander. There can be only one! So, Raimi decided to create his own superhero instead. And with the success of Tim Burton's Batman the studio was eager to greenlit the picture. Darkman would be one of three movies cashing in on Batman's success in 1990. The other two were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Dick Tracy.

But, Raimi pulled a fast one since Darkman isn't really a superhero film per say. It's more of a horror movie inspired by the ones made in the 1930s by Universal. Darkman doesn't really dabble in the superhero genre till the third act. And it's interesting to see how he handles the two conflicting genres and how he plays around with tone.

Casting is also interesting. Raimi had originally intended for Darkman to be played by Bruce Campbell, but the studio wasn't too crazy about him. So, Liam Neeson was chosen instead. Which was a smart decision. Campbell is cool and all, but he isn't talented enough to play a role like this. Neeson, on the other hand, was perfect. He really captured the tragic monster but also the superhero aspect of the character. As for the leading lady, they went with the unconventional choice of Frances McDormand. She's more of a serious actress than damsel in distress. L.A. Law's Larry Drake was cast as villain Robert G. Durant (awesome name) who's like the `90s version of Peter Lorre.

Darkman is about a scientist named Peyton Westlake (what a name) who is working on skin repair. He's dating a lawyer who discovers that one of her employers is involved in a real estate scheme. So, the guy sents Durant to clean up the mess. But in the process blows up the apartment that Westlake and his girlfriend live in that also doubles as a lab and leaves Westlake for dead. The problem is that Westlake isn't dead. They think he is because during the explosion, Westlakes body, in a cartoonish way, is blown out of the building and into a nearby river. So, all they found was body parts left behind. He is found, but not identified, and taken to a hospital where they try to fix him up. He's now completely disfigured and has nerve damages that cause him to easily have male PMS. He escapes from the hospital and goes into hiding at an abandoned warehouse. There he continues his studies in skin repair. He manages to create one...but it only lasts 99 minutes in the daylight. That's why he's DARKman. Only at night he can escape from looking like a monster. So, he uses this to create masks and starts battling the villains.

Yeah, it's a bit silly, but that's the charm of it. Towards the end there is a scene where the villain is standing at a construction site, with his fists in the air, shouting, "I built it. I built it ALL!!!" It's so campy, but great. It's also great how Raimi switches back and forth between horror and action. One minute you feel bad for the guy. It's a tragic character. Then the next minute you're amused by the ridiculousness of it. One minute it's dark and serious and the other it's light and action packed. But at the same time there's this consistant silliness to it. The film is childish, but very fun to watch. It's great entertainment. And definitely very underrated. It's amazing that Evil Dead 2 is considered a classic, but this isn't. It did have some success though. It did well-enough at the box office to spawn two direct-to-video sequels and a comic book series, including one where he teams up with Ash from Evil Dead. There was also a couple of books.