The one thing about Sam Raimi’s movies is that good or bad, very few of them age poorly. Even for a movie made in the early nineties at an age where every studio were seeking to duplicate the success of “Batman,” Raimi makes “Darkman” his own movie. It’s a superhero movie in the horror vein where our masked dark avenger is also a deformed an unhinged Frankenstein monster. Something in the vein of Brundlefly, Liam Neeson really does offer up a wildly unique and off the rails performance.
This is years before he’d become the Oscar caliber performer, which means here he’s allowed to be so much more inventive and bolder. His performance as Peyton Wilder aka Darkman is fun, and weird, and creepy. The one scene that perfectly summarizes “Darkman” is the iconic scene in the carnival. There Wilder attempts one day of normality with his long suffering wife before it’s all shattered by a rude carnival worker. We all know how this devolves, and it’s such a batshit insane sequence of events that it still inspires a grin from me. “Darkman” is aided by a high caliber of supporting performers including pre-Oscar caliber Frances McDormand, and Larry Drake as the series’ recurring villain Robert Durant.
If you’ve yet to discover “Darkman,” I highly recommend it as it still watches very well and features so much classic Raimi tinted horror.
The 4K UHD transfer includes a restoration From The Original Camera Negative In Dolby Vision (HDR-10 Compatible) as approved By Director Sam Raimi And Director Of Photography Bill Pope.
The re-release carries over a lot of the same material from the previous Blu-Ray release with about two or three new segments. For the 4K UHD, there’s a new audio commentary with filmmaker and Darkman Superfan Josh Ruben, while the Blu-Ray features the same commentary, as well as a slew of Deleted Scenes from the film. For the older bells and whistles carried over, there’s an audio commentary with director of photography Bill Pope, “Dissecting Darkman,” is an archival interview with Liam Neeson and co-star Frances McDormand, “The Name is Durant” with Larry Drake is a great sixteen minute interview with character actor veteran Larry Drake who discusses typecasting, and his enjoyment with working on “Darkman,”
“The Face of Revenge,” an interview with Makeup Designer Tony Gardner who explores the film’s grotesque imagery, including our titular hero’s charred face. “Henchmen Tales” is a thirteen minute look at the other bad guys and thugs in the film, and “Dark Design” details the production design interviewing Randy Ser. There’s a vintage Making-Of with production designer Randy Ser and Philip Dagort, another vintage making-of with the original cast and Sam Raimi, Original TV Spots, the original theatrical trailer, and a Still Gallery which features Posters and Production Stills, Behind The Scenes, Make-Up Effects And Storyboards.