Darkroom (1989) User Reviews

Boring slasher.

[Fella_shibby · 4/10 · 21 April 2021]

I saw this recently for the first time and what a waste of time.

Generous with a 4 cos of the settings of that of a remote farmhouse, nestled deep in the countryside and the only neighbors is a couple and they disappear very early, making the area even more secluded.

This is a boring slasher with almost zero nudity inspite of a shower scene, clothes changing scene n a sex scene.

Wait, even the sex scene is offscreen.

The guy with the mullet hair looked like a slimmer version of Brian Thompson. He gets injured in an offscreen scene but pops up in the end as a hero.

Ther is absolutely no the character development n we dont feel anything for any victims.

Warning: this film contains graphic mullet fondling.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 1 September 2018]

Produced by Nico Mastorakis, of Island of Death infamy, but directed by Terrence O'Hara, Darkroom is an obscure late-'80s horror that owes a debt to the Italian giallo genre in in its opening scenes, but which descends more and more into tired American slasher territory as the plot progresses.

The giallo elements are evident in the opening double murder, in which an unseen photographer, who has been spying on a married couple with his high-powered lens, dons yellow rain coat and rubber gloves before picking up a hatchet to kill his subjects. The maniac then sets his sights on the family of pretty teen Janet (Jill Pierce), who has gone to visit her folk at their remote farmhouse. One by one, the family members are picked off, leaving Janet and her mulleted boyfriend Steve (Jeff Arbaugh) to try and stay alive until help arrives.

With pedestrian direction, a weak script featuring dreadful dialogue and obvious red herrings, and most of the deaths occurring off-screen, Darkroom is, for the most part, predictable trash, O'Hara even seeing fit to throw in a gratuitous shower scene (for which I am grateful - it helped to alleviate the tedium). Admittedly, I was impressed by the number of family members who fall victim to the killer, and surprised by the film's flirtation with the taboo subject of incest (although, thinking about Mastorakis's debut movie, I shouldn't have been), but the majority of the film is so by-the-numbers that it all proves rather mundane.

4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for the creative opening credits, which were apparently the work of Mastorakis.

"Darkroom - we dare you to walk in, see what develops!"

[Stevieboy666 · 5/10 · 20 February 2021]

Waning - Do Not Watch The Trailer before the movie, unless you want to know the killer's identity beforehand!! Darkroom is set at a rural location where a family has gathered and an unknown (assuming you haven't watched the trailer) psycho with a passion for photography is on a brutal killing spree. Until very recently I had never heard of the film, it appears in none of my horror movie books. It was shot in under 2 weeks on a low budget and the acting is pretty amateur. We get the obligatory girl in the shower scene, though little nudity is seen, and whilst there is a sufficient body count the effects are nothing remarkable. Niko Mastorakis, who made the notorious (and bad) Island of Death, is producer and the film does have a part European Giallo look, the unknown glove wearing killer, the darkroom where the killer develops his photographs, etc. The most horrific thing on offer here is the character Steve and his prize winning mullet! I have scored this 5/10, partly down to the fact that I watched it on a really nice Blu-ray release, I love slasher movies and could happily watch them all day long, but your average horror fan may feel short changed by this entry.

So, what was this about again?

[paulclaassen · 3/10 · 15 October 2021]

'Darkroom' is a film I'm going to forget in an instant. This is simply not memorable, or believable.

The director lacks vision, and as a result the characters are two-dimensional and the events hard to swallow. The film revolves around Janet, who visits her parents' farm. Along for the ride, is her boyfriend, Steve - a photographer.

As it turns out, someone is taking pictures of the family members, and then killing them. The acting wasn't too great, and - as mentioned - nothing here was believable. It is a B-movie to watch only if there's nothing else to watch. It serves as a who dunnit murder mystery, but just not interesting enough.

'Darkroom' is a forgettable 80's horror movie.

Would I watch it again? No.

Birds and cicadas

[MrPither1939 · 2/10 · 6 May 2021]

It would be much easier to watch this bird and cicada soundtrack movie if it weren't for all the bad actors talking during the whole thing. If this review makes no sense, watch and you'll understand.

Very disappointing and forgotten entry from Nico Mastorakis

[LuisitoJoaquinGonzalez · 19 September 2011]

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.

Distinctly average

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 25 April 2021]

DARKROOM is another low budget American horror/thriller produced by Nico Mastokaris after he moved to the USA. It generally plays out like a low rent slasher although it has a lot more talk and less action than many similar genre entries which focus on the kills first at the expense of the plot. A group of characters come together at a house for a family reunion, but it transpires that one of their number is a murderous loon looking for revenge for past crimes. A double murder in the opening scene sets the tone, but this and the rest of that which plays out is completely average. The characters are flat, the unknown cast are okay but nobody stands out, and as a whole it's quite light on the bloodshed and horror content. The killer's identity is a disappointment as well because they've gone for the least imposing character in the entire cast.

"Jesus, talk about the boonies".

[lost-in-limbo · 4/10 · 25 April 2015]

Wow… that was creative use of opening credits (which supposedly Nico Mastorakis directed), but sadly that's where it ends. The obscure "Darkroom" is a very mediocre late 80s slasher produced by infamous film-maker Mastorakis (the man behind the controversial "Island of Death"). This run-of-the-mill psycho-slasher has maybe one or two effective stalk and slash set-pieces, but for most part it's a vapid experience level at its flatfooted direction, drawn out pacing, poorly disguised mystery and lacklustre performances (saved by Sara Lee Wade). Actually there's a lot wrong with it; however it remains viewable for some unknown reason. Where did they get this tacky sounding score from, it sounded like something that you would find in a TV episode. The setting does work to its favour though, being an isolated farmhouse (which looks like the one in another Mastorakis produced film; "Grandmother's House") and scrubby surroundings for this terror to unfold. Everything about it is telegraphed, from its attempts at suspense to its twisted reveal. There's nothing subtle about the writing, as the script delivers some strange dialogues, random developments and a typically clichéd back-story illuminating the killer's motivation. In the past he saw something he shouldn't and this made him a disturbed, ominous individual who likes voyeurism and snaps photographs of his victims before and after his done the deal. The pace plods with characters acting suspicious, but the back-end does pick-up the energy with the cat and mouse interplay, but it goes about it in a completely daft and contrived manner.

"I want you to die"

Slightly average slasher flick.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 5/10 · 13 June 2005]

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.

High gloss slasher schlock

[Woodyanders · 6/10 · 16 May 2019]

Janet (a solid and appealing performance by the fetching Jill Pierce) decides to visit her conservative family at their remote farmhouse located in the country. However, a vicious mystery killer spoils the family reunion by bumping off folks left and right.

Director Terence O'Hara keeps the standard, but still pretty enjoyable and engrossing story moving along at a constant pace, stages the murder set pieces with stylish aplomb, pulls out the stirring stops at the exciting climax, and throws in some tasty gratuitous female nudity for trashy good measure. However, O'Hara crucially fails to generate much in the way of any essential tension or creepy atmosphere. The by-the-numbers script by Rick Pamplin and Robert W. Fisher trots out such endearingly cornball slice'n'dice clichés as the Killer Who Refuses to Die and that longtime favorite The Psycho Hiding in the Backseat of a Car. The acting is strictly so-so, with the only stand-outs being Aarin Teich as the geeky Perry, Jeff Arbaugh as likeable hero Steve, who sports an absolutely hideous mullet; Sara Lee Wade as foxy blonde tease Cindy, and John O'Connor as crusty grandpa Hodge. David A. Makin's slick cinematography provides a pleasing polished look. Jerry Grant's moody synthesizer score hits the shuddery spot. A decent diversion for hardcore knifekill movie fans.

Skip it

[Scoopy · 2/10 · 30 May 2000]

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.

Stab-happy slasher fans should F-stop at nothing to focus their morbid attentions on 'Darkroom'

[Weirdling_Wolf · 8/10 · 8 February 2022]

I thought it might be time to throw some much-needed light on the sinisterly sleazy Nico Mastorakis-produced, bugged-out shutter-bug slasher 'Darkroom'. This frequently grisly, modestly menacing, late 80s blood-spiller about an especially vile, voyeuristic villain who not only gruesomely slices and dices his unsuspecting female victims, this exceptionally sordid, smut-swaddled skeezer also collects lurid photographic mementos of these gruesome murders to perversely prolong his sadistic pleasures! Having a serviceable plot, some delightfully grisly kills, and pleasingly photogenic scream queens, director Terrence O'Hara's unfairly neglected, body bag stuffing, blood-spattered B-slasher is wholly undeserving of its current anonymity, while the performances are rarely better than average, the earnest young cast gives it their best shot, and their collective twitchy energy adds much additional colour to Darkroom's sordid, dramatically underdeveloped, made-for-TV-Giallo charm! All that being said, this remains a bit of an odd duck, not quite a generic 80s teen-screamer, with no Argento amateur sleuthing, no limber camera acrobatics, and nary a black glove in sight, 'Darkroom' nonetheless develops its very own singular sinister shade of idiosyncratic doom! The more stab-happy slasher fans should F-stop at nothing to focus their morbid attentions on this terrifically tense, and most Axe-cellently creepy 'Darkroom'. Fans of John Carpenter's cult classic 'Someone's Watching Me!', and Lamont Johnson's sleaze-smeared 'Lipstick' might get an additional B-Movie buzz from this far from overexposed 80s shocker.

Smile damned! I want to photograph your corpse!!

[Coventry · 5/10 · 13 August 2011]

I picked up an old and dusty VHS copy of "Darkroom" at a nearby video store that was shutting down, and I actually even hesitated to spend 0,50€ on it. The synopsis and the cover image on the box – same one as illustrated here on the website – made it look like yet another cheap late 80's erotic thriller with a plot like there are thirteen in a dozen and a handful of tame & tedious soft-core sex sequences. I bought the VHS after all and can't say I regret it very much. Of course it is a predictable and largely inept attempt at making a slasher movie, but hey, at least it contains a few interesting elements and it didn't bore me to death. The plot is relatively simple and straightforward. Janet (an amazingly hot 80's babe) and her boyfriend Steve (a imbecilic mullet-guy who desperately wants to look like Patrick Swayze in "Dirty Dancing") are home at the isolated family farm to spend a weekend together. The farm homes Janet's mother, her two sisters, her grandfather and two cousins. Janet's father as well as her aunt and uncle mysteriously died in a fire several years ago. The only neighbors that live close to the family has been butchered by a maniac during the opening sequences of the film and now Janet's youngest sister Paula is missing. When they discover her mutilated body, they know there's a maniac killer amongst them. The climax of the film and the identity of the killer are perhaps too easy to predict, but "Darkroom" compensates the lack of originality through openly hinting at some clichéd taboo- subjects like incest, family feud and voyeurism. As the title suggests, the killer photographs all of his/her victims before, during and after the process of murdering them. The body count is also quite a lot higher than in other contemporary slasher flicks. And, even though most of the actual killing occurs off-screen, the murders and especially the way they are committed are barbaric and deeply unpleasant. Nice bit of trivia for horror fanatics: "Darkroom" was produced by the Greek writer/director Niko Mastorakis; infamous for the insane and widely banned "Island of Death".

An OK slasher flick....

[Deliberate_Stranger · 7 June 2009]

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.

Not worth the low rating

[Gravendal · 7/10 · 18 May 2022]

For being a movie rated 4,4 out of 10 i really feel this movie got a lower rating then what i was worth. It could have at least been a 5, 6 or as max 7 because i've seen way worse movies with higher score then what this have.

It's a typical slasher movie-story, but it sure don't give you clues of who the killer might be and that i do enjoyed with the movie.

Room that is dark

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 30 August 2022]

No pun intended - and not what the title is meant to say. Although I guess - well let's leave that aside though. Because we are talking about a slasher. A movie that has a low budget but still some interesting effects that is.

Acting wise do not expect too much, but it does what it has to. And I have seen far worse movies of course. Just be aware what you are about to watch - this is meant to entertain. It is just a movie after all. Nico Mastorakis the producer may have done better movies, but if you are a fan no one has to sell this to you either.

And by better I mean more ... well infamous. Crazier to a degree - this is almost by the numbers. Which does not have to be a bad thing of course.

Ineffectual slasher filler

[lor_ · 26 May 2023]

My review was written in July 1990 after watching the movie on Quest Entertainment video cassette.

Slasher film "Darkroom" starts well but sputters once the killer's identity has been revealed midstream. Direct-to-video feature is merely okay for target fans.

Best thing here is the opening credits sequence, imaginatively using frames of film to display the title cards as if magnified.

Film proper has a maniacal killer preying on victims in a family setting and taking photographs of same. Incest is the key plot gimmick as a childhood trauma solves the mystery.

As long as the characters and suspects are introduced in opening reels and the killer is confined to stalking footage, the film holds up, but once the cat's out of the bag it becomes boring. Finale has two characters thought to be dead bouncing back for a hokey fight.

No-name cast is game.

Mediocre Slasher

[ladymidath · 6/10 · 6 September 2022]

To be honest, I was hoping for more from Darkroom. I love 80s horror movies and even the bad ones can be fun, but this is pretty pedestrian. With better acting and a better script, it could have been pretty good, it really didn't hold my attention for very long and in the end, I didn't really care who was doing what to who. Watch this if you enjoy a horror that isn't too over the top with blood and guts. The problem is though, the antagonist isn't really that scary, the motive is weak and none of the characters are all that interesting.

If you want something better though, stick with the classics like Halloween and Friday The 13th.

Not cheesy enough to be memorable

[acidburn-10 · 6/10 · 8 February 2022]

'Darkroom' is a fairly entertaining slasher movie that tries to use the gimmick of voyeurism, but almost every other slasher also features that aspect, so its not highly inventive or exciting. What does set this entry apart is the interesting back-story which adds a unique twist to the proceedings, but the movie's title isn't really a clue on who the killer is, its just someone who uses it.

The plot follows Janet who returns home to visit her family at a remote farmhouse, deep in the countryside. But the happy reunion is cut short when someone starts taking pictures of the family members, before killing them one by one.

The mystery aspect really works well here as there's enough red herrings to keep you interested until the final reveal. However the acting is very amateurish which does add to the enjoyment, with some of the performances being down-right awful. The kills are mostly very tame and the last third of the movie does drag a bit, but this does have very decent production for a late 80's slasher movie with some nice creative shots and a great musical score that does provide a few tense moments.

Overall 'Darkroom' is an okay effort, but isn't cheesy enough to be memorable or scary enough to be underrated, but there's enough going on to keep you entertained for the most part.

Lackadaisical offering from Nico Mastorakis

[RareSlashersReviewed · 20 February 2004]

Dark Room was produced by Nico Mastorakis who himself has directed a number of underground genre pieces. His credits include Island of death, Edge of terror and the stalk and slash themed thriller Blind Date. This obscure late eighties effort generally keeps its roots in the murder-mystery sub-category that Mastorakis is so fond of working with. It includes enough of the typical clichés to make it one of those slasher/thrillers that were commonplace throughout the decade, although the cover description would lead you to believe that it's ‘a tale of sexual repression and revenge.'(!)

Janet (Jill Pierce) is an attractive teen that's returning home to her family farm after a long stay with her outrageously mulleted boyfriend Steve (Jeffrey Alan Arbaugh). She's picked a bad time to come back, because an unseen someone has just murdered a cheery blonde and her husband with an axe, only a few miles away. The killer watched his victims through a camera before hacking them up and then taking photos of their bloodied corpses as they lay lifeless on the floor. When Janet arrives we get to meet the rest of the Templeton family that consists of a whole heap of likely suspects or would-be-psychopaths. Firstly there's Steve the boyfriend (mullet), who's a professional photographer by trade and makes strange disappearances every time someone gets killed. Mark (Allen Leiberman) is Janet's cousin who apparently ‘… wanders of all the time and disappears for hours on end.' His brother Perry (Aarin Teich) seems a little mysterious and likes to keep quiet. Paula's (Abigail Lenz) apparently gone missing, whilst her boyfriend George (Timothy Hicks) ‘was always a little on the wild side.' Grandpa (John O' Connor) takes an incriminating runner every time the Sheriff stops to talk to him, and their mother Nora (Stella Kastner) seems to be a little too tense for my liking! Cindy (Sara Lee Wade) is the cute and cheeky blonde younger sister that's hardly mass-murderer material but says, very saucily, that she would ‘… like to help Steve find his fishing pole!' Hmmm, sounds like trouble! After they all share dinner, Janet takes a shower (well someone would have to) stripping completely naked with only a thin window net to cover her modesty. With timing that train passengers would kill for, up pops the psycho photographer, brashly leaning a ladder against the porch so he can climb up and get some snaps of the soap splashed teen in all her glory. He then proceeds to get in the house and open her suitcase, before playing touchy-feely with her underwear (luckily he refrained from sniffing them!) The next day, relatives' start getting murdered by the mystery cameraman who seems to have his eyes (or lenses) on Janet, which means that she must be the true object of his insanity…

Dark Room is one of the ever-increasing numbers of yawn-inducing whodunits that have very little - if anything – to redeem taking the time to watch them. The basic problem is that Terrence O'Hara has spent so much time trying to make an intriguing mystery that he's forgotten the fundamental elements that are necessary to make a good film - Structure and pace, and this doesn't have either. The puzzle may have rated this higher if the killer wasn't clearly shown on the front cover, which pretty much ruins any point in seeing this at all. Woeful amateur porn-star acting didn't help matters and the only character with any charisma was the charming little Cindy. Her cheeky flirtatious persona was rather appealing, she was at least a lot better than the bimbo left to battle the killer who lacked any allurement whatsoever.

You've got more chance of seeing Jill Pierce win an Oscar than you have of finding any gore or suspense in this rubbish. Most murders are committed off screen and on occasion you'll see a shot of the corpses splashed in blood after the deed has been done. (Wow!) The movie could have ended quite satisfactorily at the sixty-minute mark but instead it drags on for another twenty-two, which was not only unnecessary, but it was also extremely unpleasant. At least the pathetic script managed to spawn the odd inadvertent giggle by its outright stupidity. The movie is rife with dialogue like `I don't trust air that I can't see' (what?), but even so, it's hardly worth paying for.

The fact that this is an obscurity from the eighties will invite most completists to hunt it down for nothing but the fact that it's rare. But be warned it really doesn't warrant a purchase when the murders are so lackadaisical and the dramatics are simply horrid. It's not even really a teen-kill movie; it's more thriller than Halloween inspired hack and slasher. It's not only really bad, but it's also painfully boring, so I really recommend that you give it a miss. Try one of Mastorakis' better efforts instead.