The Darkroom

Remind me the old good horror films! Is worth it watch it!

This one has a pretty good plot but it didn't appeal to me at all. It starts out with a young kid being discovered with blood all over his hands, and he spends the next 15 years in a mental institution, because he has no memory of what happened or who he is. Along comes a researcher with an experimental drug that might unlock the now adult guy's mind and help him. The movie then leads us on a journey as the guy escapes the hospital and makes friends with a young kid and gets involved in his life. The kids alcoholic Mom "Lucy Lawless" is remarried to a jerk, and things get a little unsettling as the kid and his new friend decide to follow his step-dad to see what he is developing in his darkroom, and where he goes at night. There is a pretty good dose of blood and gore towards the end when everything is revealed, and story wise, the movie is not that bad. Not my cup of tea, but I can see how some fans might enjoy this movie.

I had not heard of this one before, and was pleasantly surprised. There are horror elements, and blood and gore, but more important, the story is involving. The Actors credible, and the exposition pulled me right in. A good story of a man with amnesia, fighting off his own private monsters, and given a test medication to help him remember his bloody secret.

It seems that many movies today seek out a "twist" in the plot to surprise the audience. I can honestly say that I did not see this one coming, until it was finally revealed. The plot device led to a satisfying conclusion.

I gave the film an eight out of ten, Professional all the way, from acting, editing, production, and direction. It worked, and I liked it.

Reed Diamond plays a man suffering from amnesia who's been in a mental asylum for over a decade after he was found wondering the back roads with blood on his hands. The doctors want to test out an experimental new drug that'll return his lost memories if it works. But when the drugs give him hallucinations of a demon, he chooses to escape instead. While outside he befriends a young boy whose stepfather (Greg Grunberg) mistreats his mother, won't let her near the darkroom in his basement & acts suspicious in general.

While the general 'mystery' of the film is a tad easy to identify way before it's revealed, I found Mr. Diamond's acting to be enthralling enough to keep my attention throughout. (In the interest of full disclosure, I've been a huge fan of his since Homicide and his brief, but extremely pivotal, role in The Shield up through Journeyman & Dollhouse) Not a great film nor a good one, but serviceable enough. Although I did like it better than the previous films that I've seen from Director/writer Michael Hurst (Room 6, Pumkinhead 4, Mansquito)

Eye Candy: one fleeting pair of boobs in a hallucination

My Grade: C-

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.