Truly Dreadful Film

From my favorite movies..

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

The deeply attractive Jenny Agutter (WALKABOUT) and the not-so deeply attractive Michael Moriarty (THE STUFF) team up with director Freddie Francis (LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF) for this POLTERGEIST-inspired supernatural horror flick set in a tower block. It's derivative stuff at best, a rerun of other films that are far better and more effective, but DARK TOWER ain't so bad.Sure, it has a few pacing problems, but Agutter is always a watchable actress and any film with Kevin McCarthy in it has to be good. Plus, the film does manage to summon up a halfway-decent atmosphere of chilly shocks and lurking evil, moments of unease that are punctuated by some brutal "accident"-style deaths a la THE OMEN. The opening scene of a Peeping Tom window cleaner falling to his doom is a goodie, and then later there are some scenes ripped off from THE LIFT as a mystery elevator bumps off a few other lower-cast-list actors. The ending of the film goes into POLTERGEIST territory (and even THE EXORCIST) as a medium and a parapsychologist are called in to investigate the evil, and come face to face with a bunch of flying killer tools (cool scene) and a rubbery blue zombie that bursts out of the concrete, seeking revenge. The zombie is actually pretty weird looking and effective and the ending, while obvious, a keeper.It's clear that there were some production difficulties with this film because the director's name is a pseudonym on the credits. In actual fact, two directors teamed up to make this one, although I'm not clear if one left and another completed the film, or whether it really was a joint effort (although I doubt the latter). Freddie Francis made loads of effective British horror films in the 1970s but nothing in the film reveals his presence. Similarly, Ken Wiederhorn was responsible for the decent Nazi zombie shocker SHOCK WAVES but direction here is pedestrian throughout. The good news is that, having been filmed in Barcelona, the film has some decent, authentic locations and, in Agutter, a highly attractive female lead.Unfortunately, Michael Moriarty – something of a horror regular in the 1980s – gives his worst-ever performance and one of the worst ever acting performances I've ever witnessed. Wooden just doesn't describe his blandness here. Thankfully, the Austrian Theodore Bikel turns up late with a fine turn as the investigating parapsychologist, and even later on, Kevin McCarthy (INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS) steals his scenes as a drunken medium on his final case. So it's not all bad, just run-of-the-mill with some decent bits. And one more thing – the scene in which Agutter is chased through the corridors by the camera is yet another homage, this time to THE EVIL DEAD. I'm not complaining.

A newly built office building in Spain is plagued by a series of fatal accidents seemingly caused by a murderous presence. British legend Freddie Francis was the original director on this film, but problems led to 'Shock Waves' director, Ken Weiderhorn, taking over. Neither wound up taking credit.Larry Cohen regular, Michael Moriarty, stars as a company man investigating the deaths and Jenny Agutter is on hand as the building's chief architect. The once ravishing Carol Lynley has a nothing part as Agutter's assistant, and Kevin McCarthy shows up briefly. The most entertaining character is that of a paranormal investigator who Moriarty contacts midway through. Theodore Bikel livens up the dull precedings with a quirky portrayal of a man so desperate to make contact with something supernatural that he winds up talking to an air conditioner at one point.Indeed, this is a dull effort overall. With directors and a cast like that, I was expecting something much better and far less pedestrian. The story doesn't have a lot of meat to it, but that doesn't mean they couldn't have done something special with what they did have. Alas, I guess the inspiration just wasn't there this time around.The big reveal behind the haunting is as predictable as they come, and the climax feels like it would be more at home in a 'Tales from the Crypt' episode. 'Dark Tower' isn't an unwatchable mess, but it's something you could easily skip without feeling as if you missed out.

Architect Agutter is haunted by her dead husband in a skyscraper she designed, and when people start getting knocked off mysteriously detective Moriarty comes in to investigate. Incredibly boring attempt to rip off both `Poltergeist' and `The Shining', it was so uninteresting that I couldn't make it through the whole thing in just one sitting. Nothing happens, it just keeps building up and building up to absolutely nothing and leaves you wondering why you just sat there for 91 minutes? Why did an actor like Michael Moriarty waste his time with this? 2 out of 10, completely uninteresting.

I'd been meaning to rent this for a while, and finally last night, I did, and I must say, I liked it.Jenny Agutter ("American Werewolf in London") plays Carolyn Page, the head architect of a new skyskraper, towering over metropolitan Spain. Things are going well until a window-washer drops twenty-eight stories off the pulley, and lands on the top executive of the building. Michael Moriarity plays Dennis Randall, who is brought onto the case of the murders. Incidentally, he is also having an affair with Carolyn, who is haunted by her dead husband. In fact, so is the building, and as more people die, and Dr. Max Gold (Theodore Bikel) an exorcist, is brought in, the real secrets of the dark tower are slowly revealed, leading up to an exciting climax with a few unexpected twists.Entertaining movie, with extremely effective music. If anything, see the movie for the music. It really envokes a feeling of dread, especially in the end chase scene. The movie plays well, and is well-acted. The ending has some surprising twists, and the only flaw was the somewhat silly looking demon. Other than that, a good movie, which gets quite tense towards the end, and has great music. Check it out.