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The Dark Backward

Play trailer Poster for The Dark Backward R 1991 1h 40m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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45% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 60% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Life changes for a garbageman/would-be comic (Judd Nelson) when a third arm starts growing out of his back.

Critics Reviews

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Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle Rated: 3/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Keith Breese Filmcritic.com just too off-putting Rated: 2.5/5 Aug 22, 2007 Full Review Brian Webster Apollo Guide Odd and twisted, The Dark Backward has plenty to thrill admirers of ugliness and enough food for thought to interest the rest of us too. Rated: 74/100 Aug 20, 2007 Full Review Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault A seriously weird, seriously cool surreal black comedy. Rated: B Apr 9, 2007 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Aug 29, 2005 Full Review Jon Niccum Lawrence Journal-World Strange and hilarious Rated: 4/5 Apr 23, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (63) audience reviews
phillip o If you're into the strange and unusual, this is the one for you. Not for the squeamish Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/03/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the more original films I've ever seen. Paxton gives an incredible performance. Rifkin fan for life from this film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Unforgettable, dark humored, hillariousness, all star cast. CULT CLASSIC. Take me back to the late 80s vibe. Inspirational. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member My absolute favorite movie ever! Alan Rifkin does a beautiful job drawing you into his Blumps fueled journey. He takes you down a bizarre path, stops you, then takes you again. The cinematography is exceptional. The actors were all top-notch. I heard that Judd Nelson was first rejected--too much of a 'pretty boy'. He was desperate for the role and so went to comedy clubs in character. That's dedication. This movie is wonderfully crafted. It achieves a level of depravity that rivals John Waters. Bill Paxton is a human cockroach. He plays it spectacularly. The script is genius. The writing brings you to new levels of absurdity. I'm laughing, and not "on the inside". This movie is not for the feint as it is definitely a journey of the senses. I actually own 2 copies in case I lose one. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member If you wanna know where Super Creepy Rob Lowe originated, watch THIS film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Brilliantly twisted and just weird as a dark comedy. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Dark Backward

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Cast & Crew

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Adam Rifkin

Director

Judd Nelson

Marty Malt

Bill Paxton

Gus

Wayne Newton

Jackie Chrome

Lara Flynn Boyle

Rosarita

James Caan

Dr. Scurvy

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The Dark Backward

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Movie Info

Synopsis Life changes for a garbageman/would-be comic (Judd Nelson) when a third arm starts growing out of his back.
Director
Adam Rifkin
Production Co
Backward Films
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 5, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$7.9K
Runtime
1h 40m
Sound Mix
Surround