Darkman

For other uses, see Darkman (disambiguation).

Darkman
A cloaked man stands on a ledge of a construction site that's engulfed in flames, with the backdrop of a city during night-time while a couple of helicopters hovering near the site points their spotlights at the man.
Theatrical release poster by John Alvin
Directed bySam Raimi
Screenplay by
Story bySam Raimi
Produced byRobert Tapert
Starring
CinematographyBill Pope
Edited by
Music byDanny Elfman
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • August 24, 1990 (1990-08-24)
Running time
96 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$14 million[3]
Box office$48.8 million[4]

Darkman is a 1990 American superhero film[5] directed and co-written by Sam Raimi. The film stars Liam Neeson as scientist Peyton Westlake, who is brutally attacked, disfigured, and left for dead by ruthless mobster Robert Durant (Larry Drake), after his girlfriend, attorney Julie Hastings (Frances McDormand), runs afoul of corrupt developer Louis Strack Jr. (Colin Friels). An experimental treatment gives Westlake super-human strength and resilience, with the unintended side-effect of rendering him mentally unstable and borderline psychotic. Consumed with vengeance, Westlake continues his research with the new goal of hunting down those who disfigured him.

Based on a short story Raimi wrote that paid homage to Universal's horror films of the 1930s, and influenced by his desire to adapt The Shadow, Raimi struck a deal with Universal Studios to make his first Hollywood studio film. It was produced by Robert Tapert, and was written by Raimi, his brother Ivan, Chuck Pfarrer, and brothers Daniel and Joshua Goldin. Makeup effects artist Tony Gardner designed and created the elaborate makeup effects required to turn Neeson into Darkman.

Neeson's first action film in the main role, Darkman received generally positive reviews by critics and was commercially successful, grossing $48 million, above its $14 million budget. This financial success spawned two direct-to-video sequels (sans Neeson or Raimi) – The Return of Durant and Die Darkman Die – as well as adaptations including novels, comic books, and video games.

  1. ^ a b c "DARKMAN (1990)". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  2. ^ "DARKMAN (15)". British Board of Film Classification. November 7, 1990. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  3. ^ "'Darkman' Director Sam Raimi is Focusing on More Than Terror". The Morning Call. August 24, 1990.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference mojo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Parker, Ryan (August 20, 2020). "'Darkman' Turns 30: Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand and More Remember the Arduous Making of Sam Raimi's Influential Superhero Film". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.