‘In Search of Darkness: Part III’ Conjures Up a 5-Hour Feast for Horror Fans

Filmmaker David Weiner has a rather sunny disposition, but he’s spent the last few years in search of darkness.

The documentarian and veteran entertainment journalist is putting the final touches on In Search of Darkness: Part III, the concluding chapter in a trilogy of documentaries that explores the horror films of the 1980s (both the obscure and the classic).

The In Search of Darkness films, as well as Weiner’s sci-fi focused In Search of Tomorrow, have gained a small but dedicated fanbase, which has contributed to the funding of the films.

“We’re making this directly for the superfans who are in from the very beginning, helping define our trajectory,” Weiner tells The Hollywood Reporter.

Weiner never imagined he’d make a third installment of In Search of Darkness. After all, the previous two each topped four hours, so what more could there to be to say? But as it turned out, the fans wanted more, and Weiner had more people he wanted to talk to.

“So many people said, ‘I could watch this 24/7. I could watch every decade. Please keep making these movies,’” recalls Weiner, who has written deep dives on classic films for THR. “This is the longest In Search of Darkness we’ve made yet, and it’s entirely driven by what the backers and the fans have asked for.”

The film also hails from executive producer Robin Block, founder & CEO of CreatorVC. It clocks in at an astounding five hours-plus, and features 70 interviews from horror luminaries such as filmmaker John Carpenter and A Nightmare on Elm Street star Robert Englund. This time around, there are some bucket list interviews who haven’t made it into previous installments.

“We went all the way to Japan to track down Screaming Mad George, who has done insane effects for Poltergeist 2 and turning a young woman into a cockroach in Nightmare on Elm Street Part 4,” says Weiner.

In Search of Darkness: Part III has a sale through Halloween, and those who purchase will get their names in the credits. Fans can also send in a brief video explaining why they love ‘80s horror, and some of those testimonials will make it into the feature in the end credits. The fim arrives on digital in November, with physical copies estimated to ship in January.

Says Weiner of honoring his fellow horror aficionados: “I want to give back to that community.”

The exclusive clip below gives a taste of the doc and how it ties together both the films of the decade and the larger cultural moment in which they lived.