The Dark Backward Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		2.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		2.5

The Dark Backward Blu-ray Movie Review

One man's trash.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 2, 2026

A curiously interesting yet largely unlikable slice of (literal) trash cinema masquerading as a satire, writer/director Adam Rifkin's The Dark Backward might seem unique but can be compared to more than a few earlier films including Street Trash, Repo Man, Nightbreed, How to Get Ahead in Advertising, and almost anything by John Waters with a dash of Troma. That might seem like decent company to be in, but this 1991 black comedy doesn't exactly aim high and still generally misses its mark, never really making much of a statement while painting in broad strokes and unfunny jokes. The biggest gag will be on first-time viewers, though: most of 'em will likely give up before the credits roll.

Much like The King of Comedy's darker descendent Joker, The Dark Backward offers a depressing visit to trash-filled streets as its skinny protagonist fails upward after trying stand-up. But here, nebbish Marty Malt (Judd Nelson) is first introduced as an aspiring comic before we know he's also a garbage collector alongside his exuberant, enabling, and accordion-playing pal Gus (Bill Paxton), a filthy and unshaven man who apparently eats anything. They occupy a trash-filled dystopia not far removed than the world of Brazil, where a faceless mega-corporation known as Blump's has its name plastered on every billboard and product. It's clear that Marty's jokes are awful and everyone but Gus knows it; this even includes Marty's put-upon waitress girlfriend Rosarita (Lara Flynn Boyle, one of several thankless roles here), who later leaves him for the exact same reason that causes his life to change dramatically.

A presumed "bug bite" on Marty's upper back has grown into an actual hand, you see. It'll soon grow into a full-sized third arm, and Gus sees this as the gimmick he needs to finally get ahead in comedy. He pitches the big idea to talent agent Jackie Chrome (Wayne Newton), who eventually agrees to book Marty at bigger venues and this also leads to a TV tryout with the help of greasy executive Dirk Delta (Rob Lowe). But through it all -- more shows, larger audiences, a guest appearance on the talent show Twinkee Doodle -- poor Marty never really earns much in the way of laughs, and of course he's blamed for it rather than the short-sighted ignorance of his two biggest enablers.

The Dark Backward earns a few points for the hellish, trash-filled world it manages to create on a low budget which, along with a persistent circus-like score that lands somewhere between Danny Elfman and Killer Klowns From Outer Space, remains its most memorable element. It also has a surprisingly stacked supporting cast that also includes small to microscopic parts for James Caan (as a quack doctor, seen below), Claudia Christian, Robert "King" Moody, Tony Cox, and even Billy Bob Thornton if you look hard enough. But The Dark Backward really doesn't have much to say and feels like a serious test of viewer patience as it drags onward, stretching what should have been a 30 minute short film into something more than three times that length. The end result is fitfully decent but dotted with a few seriously repulsive moments (Gus, for example, even licks a naked female corpse at one point), and they all feel like cheap, grade-school attempts to garner audience reaction. Simply put, The Dark Backward doesn't have much material to work with and, much like Marty's unsuspecting audience, now we have the unfortunate task of having to sit through it.

So yeah, I didn't like this one. But I sat through it... so if you've already done that and enjoyed it, Sony's new Blu-ray might be of interest to you. But for reasons outlined below, it really doesn't score all that much higher than the studio's old Special Edition DVD release, with the only consolation being that that disc has long gone out of print.

The Dark Backward Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Dark Backward's crude but colorful world isn't given much love on Blu-ray, as Sony's fairly unimpressive 1080p transfer is quite obviously sourced from the same master as their 2007 Special Edition DVD. Fine detail is extremely limited here, tangible textures are almost totally absent, and there's quite obviously been at least some amount of filtering applied as evidenced by the general lack of grain. The film's blend of vivid and grungy hues doesn't seem all that adversely affected, retaining their proper sickly tones with no obviously attempts at manipulation, but even that element isn't perfect since some of the brighter colors, such as red, are prone to bleeding. The pervasive shadows are often prone to modest amounts of black crush. To top it all off, there's a persistent amount of telecine wobble which often makes the entire film feel as if it's vibrating ever-so-slightly, and the film also appears to be slightly panned and scanned to fill the 1.78:1 frame* rather than maintaining the DVD's original 1.85:1 aspect ratio.

So why didn't it score even lower? Due to The Dark Backward's gross-out aesthetic, several of these problems aren't necessarily "troublesome" in the technical sense... even the pervasive wobble, which only contributes to a vague sense of visual nausea that kinda works to the film's advantage. Additionally, the higher bit rate and other fundamentals likely help this 50GB Blu-ray to outperform the much older DVD's transfer. There's nonetheless lots of room for improvement here, though, as The Dark Backward's 35mm roots and dependence on all-practical effects might actually look pretty impressive with careful treatment of its source material. This one's right up Vinegar Syndrome's alley, for sure.

* - This is just a guess. The Blu-ray's 1.78:1 compositions don't have much headroom and, if this an open-matte presentation, everything would be even more uncomfortably close. Of course, I could be wrong.

The Dark Backward Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix offers a faithful presentation of The Dark Backward's original two-channel stereo roots, which manage to create a decently loopy and attention-grabbing atmosphere due to the constant use of circus-like music and other cues to keep the sonic energy level high. Dialogue is decently crisp and overall fidelity seems good too so, from a technical sense, there doesn't seem to be near as much room for improvement her as the visuals. That said, a new 5.1 or even Atmos remix would actually do wonders for The Dark Backward's gonzo atmosphere so, if a boutique label re-release is ever planned, I'm sure that's something die-hard fans would appreciate.

A lossless Spanish dub, as well as optional English and SDH subtitles, are offered during the main feature.

The Dark Backward Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with poster-themed cover artwork. The bonus features mirror those found on Sony's 2007 Special Edition DVD, which is great news for fans of the film as they're quite extensive.

• Director Introduction (2:55) - This short 2006 intro with writer/director Adam Rifkin (mostly shot in a garage) is totally unrehearsed and he seems pretty irritated... which seems to be the point, I guess.

• Cast & Crew Commentary - This legacy track features writer/director Adam Rifkin, producer Brad Wyman, and actors Judd Nelson and Bill Paxton, and like the intro is very loose and low-budget. There's a persistent echo and many of the participants talk over each other, which makes this feature-length track a fairly chaotic experience but there are nonetheless quite a few interesting stories told if you're curious.

• Blump's Squeezable Documentary (30:06) - Similar to the audio commentary in that the same four participants are featured (albeit separately), with each talking about their individual contributions to the film including Judd Nelson and Bill Paxton's respective characters. Rifkin talks quite a bit about his childhood love of movies, shopping the script around, gradually directing the film, and much more.

• 15th Anniversary Q&A (39:10) - Adam Rifkin introduces this 2006 Q&A session from a 15th anniversary screening recorded at the Arclight Theater in Hollywood with himself, Brad Wyman, Judd Nelson, and Bill Paxton. Not surprisingly, a lot of the stories and general questions here were already covered on the audio commentary and documentary above, which makes this largely redundant.

• Deleted Scenes (17:50) - Rifkin again introduces this collection of unnamed and rough-looking clips trimmed from the original cut of the film, which he says ran roughly 3 1/2 hours long. (I guess these were the best ones, which really isn't saying much.)

• Outtakes (6:12) - The cast and crew members goof around for your enjoyment.

• Cannes Promo Shorts (5:04) - Created in 1988 to raise money for the film. (They didn't work.)

• "Catch My Dreams" Clip Compilation (3:31) - A rap music video promoting The Dark Backward with clips from the film, and it's surprisingly not terrible. The artist is uncredited, oddly.

• Animation from the Film (1:31) - Rifkin introduces the short Tom and Jerry-style cartoon clip seen during the film (in full color this time), and would be really good if Itchy and Scratchy didn't already exist back then.

• The Head Nerd (1:26) - Adam Rifkin tells a short story about being cast as an extra in Sixteen Candles. I didn't see this listed among the old DVD bonus features, so it was presumably an Easter egg.

• James Caan (1:59) - Another short story, this time about Caan's casting, and again likely a DVD Easter egg.

The Dark Backward Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Writer/director Adam Rifkin first wrote his script for The Dark Backward when he was only 19, a bit of trivia that he's recounted in many interviews over the years. But the film didn't actually get financed, filmed, and released for several years after that and, judging by its theatrical reception and reviews, it didn't connect with many people. Yet it's grown enough in stature to now be considered a minor cult hit, one that earned a 2007 Special Edition DVD which loaded the little-known film with attention and extras. That OOP release has been lightly repurposed almost 20 years later on Blu-ray, but it sadly doesn't offer much in the way of tangible improvements in any department. It can at least be seen as a modest upgrade or sidestep that's obviously much cheaper and easier to get than tracking down the expensive DVD, so there's that, but it's almost impossible to recommend The Dark Backward sight unseen.