Dark Tower (1987 film)

Dark Tower is a 1987 horror film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Michael Moriarty, Jenny Agutter, Theodore Bikel, Carol Lynley, Kevin McCarthy and Anne Lockhart.

Dark Tower
Directed byFreddie Francis (as Ken Barnett)[1] [2]
Written byRobert J. Avrech
Ken Blackwell
Ken Wiederhorn
Produced byJohn R. Bowey
David Witz
Sandy Howard
StarringMichael Moriarty
Jenny Agutter
Carol Lynley
Theodore Bikel
Anne Lockhart
CinematographyGordon Hayman
Edited byTom Merchant
Music byStacy Widelitz
Production
company
Sandy Howard Productions
Distributed byFries Distribution Company
Release date
  • February 1, 1989 (1989-02-01)
[2]
Running time
91 minutes
CountriesUnited States
United Kingdom[3]
LanguagesEnglish
Spanish

It was set and filmed in the Spanish city of Barcelona from a story by Robert J. Avrech.

Plot

After a window washer plunges to his death from a Barcelona high rise, several people come to investigate, including security consultant Dennis Randall (Michael Moriarty). He cannot locate a problem, but decides to investigate further when more gruesome deaths take place inside and around the office building. His investigations appear to show a sinister force behind all the deaths, a supernatural entity, that hates humans.

Cast

Production

Ken Wiederhorn's script for Dark Tower found its way to producer Tom Fox who produced the film under his production company Greenfox Films in collaboration with Howard International Pictures.[4] Wiederhorn had been intended to direct, but lost the opportunity when financing took longer than expected to come through.[4] Fox however would eventually offer Wiederhorn the opportunity to write and direct Return of the Living Dead Part II.[4] The movie was filmed on location in Barcelona.[5] Due to dissatisfaction with the quality of Dark Tower, specifically the special effects quality, Freddie Francis had his name removed from the film with producers replacing it with the pseudonym Ken Barnett.[6] Francis' dissatisfaction with the experience of making Dark Tower would lead to him returning to his primary role as a cinematographer and never direct again. [6]

Release

After being filmed in 1987, Dark Tower would have theatrical runs in Europe in 1988.[2] The film was not released theatrically in the United States and instead was released to home video in February 1989.[2]

Reception

TV Guide awarded the film one out of five stars, calling it a "dull, talky, and incoherent haunted-skyscraper suspense thriller."[7]

References
  1. '"Dark Tower (1989)". tcm.com. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  2. '"Dark Tower (1989)". tcm.com. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  3. '"Dark Tower (1989)". bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  4. Biodrowski, Steve (May 1988). "Many Faces of Ken Myers". Cinemafantastique. Fourth Castle Micromedia. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  5. Buxton, Darrell (2020). Dead or Alive - British Horror Films 1980 - 1989. Midnight Marquee & BearManor Media. ISBN 1644301245.
  6. "Rob Hardy BSC / Ex Machina". British Cinematographer. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 24 Oct 2019.
  7. "Dark Tower Movie Trailer, Reviews and More". TV Guide. 2018-05-23. Retrieved 2018-10-09.


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