Tobe Hooper Appreciation Society: 2026

Thursday, April 9, 2026

Release of Article "WHERE IS THE LIE? The Home Video History of 1979's 'The Dark'"

A version of this article was first published in Issue #19 of The Physical Media Advocate, a monthly/bi-monthly zine dedicated to movies and home media curated by Ryan Verrill, creator of the Disc-Connected channel and co-founder of boutique production and distribution companies, Someone's Favorite Productions and Antenna Releasing. Support him at his Patreon, or you can buy the published issue #19 if you want to compare the versions, which should show you what my crutches are free of inhibition.

But now, enjoy "WHERE IS THE LIE? The Home Video History of 1979's 'The Dark'," (supposedly) revised and refurbished, coming up to a year from its initial release.

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Available to view and download at the utilitarian haven Archive.org.

Hooper Score Sheet

The Good to Great:
1. The Funhouse (1981) - 8/10
2. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) - 7.5/10
3. Poltergeist (1982) - 6.5/10

The -------- --------- but Often Exquisite:

4. Eaten Alive (1977) - 6.5/10
5. Spontaneous Combustion (1990) - 6/10
(7.) Tobe Hooper's Night Terrors (1993) - 5.5/10
(8.) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) - 5.5/10
(9.) The Mangler (1995) - 5/10

The Odd & Endearing Sci-Fi -----:
(6.) Lifeforce (1985) - 6/10

(11.) Invaders From Mars (1986) - 5.5/10

Impeccable, but Ultimately, Just a Dry TV Miniseries:
(10.) Salem's Lot (1979) (TV) - 5/10

The Admirable Avant Garde -----:
12. Eggshells (1969) - 5/10

The Not-Good Yet Quite-Good:
13. Masters of Horror: Dance of the Dead (2005) (TV Series) - 5.5/10
14. The Apartment Complex (1999) (TV) - 5/10
15. Toolbox Murders (2003) - 5/10
16. Mortuary (2005) - 4.5/10

The Not-Good but Certainly Redeemable:

17. "Eye" (from TV film Body Bags) (1993) - 4/10
18. I'm Dangerous Tonight (1990) (TV) - 4/10

The Ugly:

19. Masters of Horror: The Damned Thing (2006) (TV Series) - 2.5/10
20. Crocodile (2000) (V) - 2/10

... Secret Hooper Scorecard ...

Hooperama!

1/19/12 - A leaked official sales trailer for Hooper's upcoming film DJINN, set to be released sometime this year, pops up online.

7/2/10 - Hooper to receive the Total Icon honor at London's FILM4 FrightFest. A screening of EGGSHELLS and THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE will be held on August 28, 2010, with Hooper in attendance - his "first appearance in the UK for 18 years."

6/22/10 - Shock Till You Drop conducts a casual, occasion-less, but all-new interview with Hooper regarding The Funhouse.

11/14/09 - MovieWeb gets my hopes up and reports Guy Pearce and Helena Bonham Carter are joining "Tobe" Hooper's NEW PERIOD DRAMA King's Speech. Not true, of course, they really meant British director and HBO Miniseries John Adams-helmer Tom Hooper. MovieWeb has since fixed their booboo in the link above, but evidence still exists in the one user comment stating, "Tobe Hooper directing? Interesting..."

10/20/09 - FearNet publishes on their website Tobe Hooper's introduction to the recently released Robert Englund book Hollywood Monster.

6/17/09 - Tobe Hooper, not writing, but developing a horror novel with writer Alan Goldsher? Goldsher is a seeming writer worker-bee, working on everything from ghosted memoirs for NBA players and, surprise surprise, another horror collab book with Robert Englund, due this fall. According to Goldsher's Twitter, his Tobe Hooper project is called "Midnight Madness."