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.

"The Darkroom" is an utterly uninteresting drama-thriller with little to like about it.**SPOILERS**Stuck in a mental institution, Richard Dawson, (Reed Diamond) manages to escape and heads off into the world, meeting young Stan, (Shawn Pyfrom) along the way and becoming friends. Still struggling with his memories and a series of visions involving a strange demon that he has been seeing for awhile, their friendship develops as he escapes from his troubled home-life involving Cheryl, (Lucy Lawless) and Bob, (Greg Grunberg) taking their marital problems out on him. Becoming convinced something is going on after getting clues to they're strange behavior, inside his secretive dark-room they find his deadly secret that puts them all in trouble and forces them to deal with the deadly consequences before more of his friends are harmed.The Good News: There was a few parts here that worked. Mainly, if the segment featured a demon-attack of some kind, it worked well, which includes him freaking-out from the drugs and hallucinating the demon emerging from the muddy-pit with its clawed hand and the ensuing fight with the security guards that enables his escape. Others include the attack at the homeless park, where the tied-up victim is stalked by the demon, is attacked and then turns to him, before having a great reveal later on with the discovery sequence. The cabin sequences are really enjoyable as well, with the tied-up friend being discovered followed by an incredibly chilling sequence where the killer toys with them for an excruciatingly-long time, and it's immensely effective because of that. With several ensuing brawls, a couple of fine stalking scenes within the area as well as a couple gory murders and the genesis for a series of his earlier dream sequences, it's the film's unquestioned highlight. Those dreams are usually nice, accomplished by a series of flash-edits featuring something clearly horror-based with a short-but-still-clearly-defined vision of what's going on. Witnessing several appear to be tied up with invisible chains as they bleed profusely from slit throats, to quick shots of the demon emerging from a muddy pit and blood-covered gardening tools and chains, these are all quite enjoyable and definitely manage to set-up the film's premise quite nicely and giving a few effective shock jolts from time-to-time. There's even an effective solo sequence where he becomes the victim he usually observes, chained up in the same manner by chains moving through the air by an invisible force, stalked by the demon and then attacked, getting a bit more blood in here but also offering up a pretty decent scene. The last plus in here is the film's nudity, nicely provided by a superb shower scene from an unlikely source that is really worthwhile due to how provides it, and a little sleazier one from captive women in photographs. These here are the film's good points.The Bad News: There was a lot of problems with this one. One of the biggest faults here is the fact that the family home-life depicted wasn't interesting at all. Another one in a long-line of films to think depicting having a married couple quarreling is thrilling entertainment, these scenes just keep popping up for no reason other than to give an excuse as to why he's not around them all the time, and by the time they're on their third fight in as many days, it's old news and not worth exploring anymore. This goes hand-in-hand with the other big problem, that hardly any of this could be horror if it wasn't dealing with the demon. These guys becoming friends and their misadventures around town are just agonizing and endless, provide very little horror and interest, and in a horror film, to be left wanting about it when it isn't doesn't really endear itself too highly. That is the biggest issue, as it deals with a murderous demon and frightening visions, but it hardly ever feels like true-horror because it's too busy focusing on other useless areas that don't offer up anything all that interesting. Even more troublesome is that the central plot line manages to force up several rather immense plot holes due to how it's carried out, and is perhaps the biggest problem with this one. The fact that the film shows us the events in question weren't that far from home, to think no one would find him in the amount of time elapsed is laughable, and how it goes on just doesn't make any sense at all. Even more is the interactions while they're together, as it's painfully evident that he's a figment-of-the-imagination, yet despite some acting as though he is, other times he's not and appears to be there, despite the logical conclusion that it's all cyclical as to him visiting himself when he's younger and interacting with him. That whole part is a mess and is never really sorted out at all. The thing with the demons-constantly-appearing is also never explained, as there's nothing given as to why they show up, what they are or what they mean. They just disappear at the end, which is where the film shows its last flaw. The ending here is just way too laughable and clichéd to really do much and it results in eye-rolling, not a feeling that should be expected when it gets to that part. These here are the film's problems.The Final Verdict: Despite having enough good stuff to really make it worthwhile, the fact that it overall just isn't all enough to overcome them is the real problem here. Really only recommended for those who are fans of the cast or enjoy these kinds of mind-trip films, while those that don't should heed caution.Rated R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence and Nudity

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.

Dark Room features an excellent cast, that hit all the right notes. Reed Diamond, Shawn Pyfrom, Lucy Lawless and Greg Grunberg of Heroes fame should be commended on a job well done. I did have one major issue with this film, however they made up for it in the end, with a very satisfying, and surprisingly happy ending. I definitely agree with the previous reviewer, that this is not really a horror movie. I was expecting something along the lines of Hostel, or other recent examples in the extreme horror revival, looking at the cover, but you certainly do not get that here. Other then some bloody trippy flashback moments, this is really more a mystery/thriller/drama about a man trying to recover his identity. The issue I speak of is what I was gearing up to slam this movie for, and thats the cop out ending. I won't reveal it here, but it's a classic example of recent genre features overdoing the twist, at expense of the majority of the film, leading up to it. It worked in the past with efforts like Sixth Sense, but it's becoming quite tiresome now. However Dark Room doesn't end on that note, and goes on to deliver a satisfying ending, that came full circle, and overall left me satisfied. I love extreme horror, but I'll judge this for what it truly is, a slightly above average mystery/thriller, with an A list cast, of extraordinary actors'.