Darkroom (1989)

B-movie legend, Nico Mastorakis produced this late entry to the category and surprisingly enough, it was his first effort at a true slasher film. After Island of Death built him a career in exploitation cinema, Nico remained in the kingdom of low-budget thrillers with a solid track-record from the pictures that he was involved with. Many focused on murder-mystery/serial killer plot points, but Darkroom is his first real attempt at a stalk and slash flick.I really enjoyed Mastorakis' The Zero Boys from 1986 and people have often citied that it could sit alongside Friday the 13 et al as a traditional killer in the woods yarn. However it owes much more to 'The Hills Have Eyes' or 'Deliverance' whereas this is most definitely more of a traditional cycle entry.Janet (Jill Pierce) returns home to her family farm in order to spend more time with her boyfriend Steve (Jeffrey Alan Arbaugh). Unbeknownst to the youngster, a maniac killer is stalking the vicinity, dressed in a bright yellow rain coat. This is an artistic psychopath because after he butchers his victims, he takes pictures of them and develops them in the darkroom of the title. As more and more people die, it looks like Janet is his main target.Lack of originality is a criticism that's hard to level at the slasher genre as its familiarity is what has given it a style of its own and a cinematic personality. However this lazily delivered and lackadaisical offering really feels like it lacks even the slightest amount of effort from everyone involved and has absolutely no suspense, pace or excitement.The plot mainly concentrates on the mystery element and the development of characters to help build a good puzzle for the audience. Unfortunately for director Terrence O'Hara, the marketing team working on the picture must have been missing from the pre-production meetings when the whodunit aspect was discussed, because the killer is shown not only on the box-art of most prints in circulation, but also in the trailer for the feature. He must've been furious when he found out!There are a few themes running throughout the movie that show some ambition from the screenwriters, alas they are poorly handled and not properly developed. The killer is extremely brutal and some of the killings are quite menacing if not graphically appealing. Gore hounds will be disappointed with the lack of any gooey effects (almost everyone is murdered off-screen) and despite the endless scenes of stalking, the director struggles to build any trepidation or atmosphere.The cast come across as amateur throughout and the porn-level of dramatics soon begin to grate at the strings of your patience. There were also some serious casting errors. Sarah Lee Wade played Cindy with flair and her bubbly character was well-received and conveyed with a flamboyance that was hard to dislike. I would have felt sympathy for her if she had played the role of the final girl. That job however went to Jill Pierce who came across as arrogant, cold and she completely lacked any presence or charm. This was her movie debut and did enough to give her a few more parts in films, but she was very unapproachable here and helped add to the tedious proceedings.And there we have the real problem of Darkroom. It's basically forty- five minutes of story stretched in to an hour on a half of screen time and it really feels like the director was struggling to fill scenes with the empty script that he had. With better actors, the character development and the family feuds could have added a bit of depth to the plot. But as it stood, it became a tiresome expedition of monotonous waiting around for the psychopath to turn up. By that time I was expecting something, anything to lift me from a near-catatonic state, but the kill scenes were equally as effortless and disappointing.The direction from first timer Terrence O'Hara was flat and uninspiring, but some of the cinematography was lush. The dialogue was quite random ("I don't trust air I can't see?") and there were no real attempts from any of the on-screen characters to try and build a bond with the audience.It's a shame, because this was a debut movie for many of the people involved in it, so with that eagerness under their belts and a fairly good budget, it could have been SO much more. It's a real mystery as to why it has come across as a feature without heart and a lack of interest from the crew involved with it. Perhaps it may be rather interesting to genre enthusiasts for the Nico Mastorakis links and the photography aspect of the murder's methodology, but aside from that it's best left in obscurity.

Darkroom is first and the only movie in Terrence O'Hara filmography. I don't really know if it's good or not 'cause this slasher flick is very average but certainly watchable if you have a few beers in your fridge. The plot is pretty basic for a slasher flick - someone is killing people in the forest area. There is no suspense and you will see only one quite good death scene (axe in the back). No gore at all, just some blood here and there. Normally I would say it's not worth to hunt down this little flick (it's actually pretty rare), but for a slasher freaks it definitely should be seen. 'Darkroom'for sure had a potential to be a good stalk and slash flick and the executive producer was Nico Mastorakis most known from his cult classic 'Island of Death' and quite good survival horror 'Zero Boys'. If you find it give it a chance. 5 out of 10.

A psycho-killer is on the loose at Janet Templeton's family farm.When Janet's sister is brutally murdered,her boyfriend and her family become targets of the killer's psychotic and passionate aggression."Darkroom" is a fairly routine slasher flick that offers literally nothing new for the fans of this sub-genre.The pace is painfully slow and almost all the killings are committed off-screen.The acting is bad and there is absolutely no suspense."Darkroom" was produced by Nico Mastorakis,but his sleazy and infamous "Island of Death" is much better than this piece of mediocrity.Give it only a look,if you are a collector of obscure and forgotten slasher flicks.5 out of 10 and that's being generous.

1988 grade-b entry into the horror/gore genre. Beautiful and creative opening credits, followed by a lame movie with the usual premise and some obviously amateur actors.Insane killer formed by childhood trauma, family in isolated rural location, and a few halfhearted red herrings to distract us from the killer's real identity.