The Darkroom (2006)

The people who have ripped this movie so far are the brain-dead sort who only rent flicks by genre, and then get all p----d off if a film deviates one jot from their preconceived least-common-denominator concept of that classification that has been drilled into their little pea-brains by FANGORIA or some other source of pubescent wisdom. The problem is that in their rush to share their ignorance with fellow know-nothings, folks of this ilk are often the first to comment here at IMDb, poisoning the well for fine "genre-benders" such as DARKROOM during those crucial first weeks and months on the rental spaces, before titles are steeply discounted or disappear altogether due to lack of appreciation by the general public for their true nature. It would be tempting to attribute comments by the likes of "moonfog_sof2" and "learagent" as part of "dirty tricks" campaigns on behalf of rival film distributors, but 1)most movie companies are not that savvy about the business world, and 2)clowns like the two mentioned above usually seem sincere in their hyperbole-filled wrong-headedness. If you recognize a friend with these annoying tendencies, please gently twist their arms to include some clear-cut disclaimer in their movie "summary" lines (such as "Haters listen up:" or "To my fellow dimwits:").Even people who have seen a representative sampling of more than one hundred movies in their lifetime (including at least 10 of IMDb's 100 most popular of all-time) are unlikely to see DARKROOM's twist coming any earlier than they guessed the turn in CRYING GAME or SIXTH SENSE. Clairvoyant people who say they ALWAYS see twists coming probably should refrain from movie-watching, and certainly not bad-mouth passable flicks with ratings of "1" or "2" out of 10 and exaggerated carping to those of us that don't have their gifts of ennui and negativity.

The Darkroom starts in a hospital where an amnesia suffer (Reed Diamond) has spent the last 15 years, he was found wandering on a forest road covered in mud & blood & nobody has any idea who he is least of all himself. However a Dr. Allen (Ellie Cornall) who works for a private company has developed a new drug designed to help people remember & it's currently going through clinical trials & this guy has been chosen as a human Guinea pig, Dr. Allen administers the drug & the man has violent convulsions. When he recovers he claims not to remember anything & is taken back to his room, however on the way another patient attacks some members of staff & in the confusion he manages to escape the hospital. Once outside in L.A. he befriends a young boy named Stanley (Shawn Pyform), the more time he spends around Stanley the more he remembers as if Stanley was once part of his life all those years ago...Co-written & directed by Michael Hurst I actually thought The Darkroom was a pretty decent time waster, sure it ain't going to make anyone's top ten best films anytime soon but it's perfectly watchable in it's own right. The script by Hurst & producer Mark A. Altman which takes itself extremely seriously is basically one long build up to it's twist ending & not much more, I have to say I thought the ending was pretty good as it wasn't too over-the-top or silly & is pretty cool. I personally didn't see it coming until late in the film & I don't think it's twist which is too predictable either. I'm sure if you sit down & pick the film apart then you could probably find all sorts of plot holes but as an immediate out the blue twist I thought it worked very well. However, the film is maybe a touch on the slow side & the impatient among you may not last the ride, several things aren't exactly explained clearly & it tries too hard at the end to tie everything up together & give itself a feel good happy ending. I thought the character's were good as was the dialogue without being outstanding, I thought it was something just that bit different & overall I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked The Darkroom, I also thought the mystery elements were pretty engaging & they at least kept me watching.Director Hurst does alright, the film doesn't have much style but it's well made at least. I'm not really sure who the target audience for The Darkroom is as it's not really a horror film, I would struggle to call it a thriller as well so I'm not sure. This is a hard one to categorise as it has elements of both. This contains quite a few gory blood spurting slit throats which are quite graphic although they occur mostly during dream sequences & there's also a mud monster thing as well that turns up every so often. The special effects are fine with the slit throats looking particularly good & I'm pleased to report I didn't notice any awful CGI computer effects.Technically the film is good & a hell of a lot better made than many recent straight-to-video low budget horror themed junk out there, it's well made throughout with decent production values & it actually looks like a proper film. The acting is OK, Xena: Warrior Princess (1995 - 2001) star Lucy Lawless is the only recognisable cast member as far as I was concerned.The Darkroom is a good attempt at a psychological horror film with a twist & in that regard it's a watchable effort, it's nothing that will change your life but you could do a lot worse that's for sure.

This was such a waste of time. Danger: If you watch it you will be tempted to tear your DVD out of the wall and heave it thru the window.An amateur production: terrible, repetitive, vacuous dialog; paper-thin plot line; wooden performances; Lucy Lawless was pathetically hackneyed.Seriously flawed story, completely unbelievable characters. The two worst concepts in film and t.v. are: (1) the evil twin, (2) amnesia. There are no twins.The plot "twist"? Outrageously simplistic and obvious - like watching a train coming down the track in the middle of the day on the prairies. It doesn't even resolve properly. The evil is not punished for the original crime.Please, please, please - don't watch this even if its free and your only other choice is to go to a synagogue.

That might be a bit harsh for me saying that, but sadly so far in his directing career its true. Just have a look at what he as done so far. They barely make it past the 3 star mark.Why did I watch this movie? 2 reasons. Lucy Lawless and Heroes star Greg Grunberg. Lucy was outstanding in this movie, her performance carries the whole movie. I do hope she gets a "blockbuster" and breaks into the bigger league of actors, she clearly has the skills. Greg was not so impressive, typical TV acting style.The movie is oddly categorized as a horror. The only "horror" is short flashbacks, and they last a max of 2-5 seconds with a little blood in them. I personally would call this more a "drama/thriller".But no matter how interesting the story actually is, bad directing, editing and acting (appart from Lucy) destroys it. You get no real connection to the actors, something which is very important in a story like this one. You just sit there watching feeling nothing. Its like watching a bad TV soap....actually I think the TV soap would be more interesting.My advice: Stay away from this movie...or better yet just stay away from anything Michael Hurst is involved with.