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"

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.

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.

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.