Michelle (Kaylee DeFer) is a somewhat petulant, tortured soul. She is pretty blonde, and in possession of a throaty, scratchy voice guaranteed to dissipate into an airy rasp should she be moved to scream in horror - and she has plenty of reason to here.Told in sometimes confusing flashbacks, Michelle has been institutionalised because she caused an accident which killed three of her friends whilst under the influence of alcohol. She's not particularly remorseful, showing scant regard for any rules or regulations at the rehab facility. Daniel (Tobias Segal), who seems well-meaning, and Rachel (Elisabeth Rohm), who is in authority, are revealed as having their own dark secrets, a revelation that attempts to vindicate Michelle's earlier lack of respect for them - even though she cannot possibly have known of their out-of-hours activities.They are religious extremists, steering their faith towards 'purging' inmates of their sins by torturing them at a secret location. And there you have the plot. We spend the rest of the time watching Michelle try to escape their clutches.The low budget on display works in the film's favour, with non-slick locations revelling in their enclosed dinginess and grainy imagery. We are expected to side with Michelle but given scant reason to, other than the fact that the other characters are more misguided than she is. It is unspectacular but solid, with good performances and a good atmosphere of hopelessness. It isn't quite 'torture porn', but there are some nasty inferences all explained by a familiar perversion and the easy target of religious abuse. There are some nice moments of melancholy - flashbacks of innocent children playing contrasting well with the sporadic bouts of violence - but where 'Darkroom' falls down is that it isn't terribly involving due to the unsympathetic, sketchy characters.

They say where there are shadows there is also light. Unfortunately in the Dark Room, you only get the Dark. In this case it does stand for bad. Maybe the only "shining" moment of the script, could be the time line(s) the movie tries to establish. But even that isn't really that well thought and executed.The acting is below average, but the script does not help either. Having a predictable story with cardboard characters, with no real threads, a lead that is supposed to have some "trauma", she is trying to escape (metaphorical escape combined with a physical one), might sound somewhat intriguing in script form, but the finalized product is not worth your time. Even "torture" movie "fans" have a lot better quality movies to choose from

Darkroom (There Are No Links to Purchase this movie on DVD).This was written by two-time writer Michaelbrent Collings, and directed by Britt Napier. This was Napier's debut as a director. The cast consists of Britne Oldford as Jean, Christian Campbell as Larry, Tobias Segal as Daniel, Elisabeth Rohm as Rachal, and stars Kaylee Defer as Michelle -- whom I loved in Red State.The pros about this film. There are many. The quality of filming is outstanding. The scenes are tight, and dramatic. The dark and light contrast works. The video footage is done well. The acting by each of those listed above, very well done. And this is rare in horror films. But I applaud all performances. The director did a great job of telling the story. The story, sick and twisted, and pretty solid.The cons. I wish there weren't any. I really wanted to like this film. But over all, I didn't really care either way. And for me the issue came down to pacing. In Darkroom, Michelle is locked away in an institution for being wasted while driving and causing an accident that killed three of her friends. Her counselor, Rachel, wants to help -- but if Michelle won't open up about the past, then she doesn't see Michelle getting released any time soon. Jean, on the other hand, is new to the group, and due to full participation, is quickly released. This upsets Michelle. Rachel helps those in the institution by getting them work with a "friend." The giant mansion is a photo studio for models. Only it's really a torture asylum for those who sin and refuse to repent. Run by a sick family of siblings (Larry, Daniel and surprise-surprise Rachel), they lock women in the basement and convince them that confessing and admitting sin is the only way to forgiveness and salvation. There is still no escape, but at least you can die knowing you are now right with God.Trapped in a basement room with a television (to watch the horrors unfold against other sinners) Michelle realizes that she ... and Jean, are in a lot of trouble. The only trouble is, pacing. It is 24 minutes into this short 81 minute movie before anything "really" happens, and even once it does start happening there is a viewer-disconnect. I didn't feel any sense of ... urgency on behalf of anyone in the film. Neither to torture, or escape . . . Again, the actors did a great job. I think the writing and directing were good, too. There just seemed to be something lacking.There is plenty of violence. A lot of use of drills, box cutters and wrenches. There is partial nudity, and some "bad" language. All in all, I can only give Darkroom 3 out of 5 Tombstones.http://www.philliptomasso.com/

I rented this today based on the 7.8 score it was showing here.A few hours later and I felt compelled to join IMDb and try to correct the status by making my first ever comment in the vague hope I can save a few people a couple of hours of their time.This is without any doubt one of worst movies I've ever seen. The characters are completely flat, the acting appalling and the story is simply non-existent.I know this can often be the case in low budget horror movies, even some that have become cult classics, but when you add ...... it's not in the least bit frightening ... there is zero suspense ... there's nothing to make you jump ... and there's not even much blood for the gore fans.It fails to press a single button. There's not even enough here to achieve the so bad it's entertaining moniker.