Too much of everything

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

"You are in a house. Maybe your Own. Maybe one you've never seen before. You feel it... something evil. You run, but there's no escape. Nowhere to turn. You feel something beckoning you. Drawing you into the terror that awaits you in the DARKROOM!"I just watched the complete series of Darkroom over the last couple of nights and was completely surprised by how compelling, effective, creepy and amusing the short stories were in this anthology series. There was a nice variety to the tales in tone and length, with a certain cleverness within their imaginative twists and turns. Ending on a killer note. They were well-made and ably brought across with sound technical delivery despite the cheap looking origins.The memorable intro is ominously unnerving and from the photographic darkroom James Coburn effortlessly narrates with a wry touch. Familiar faces in the cast show up, some even before hitting it big. Interesting to see some genre film-makers attached; Paul Lynch (Prom Night, Humongous), Curtis Harrington (Queen of Blood, The Killing Kind & Ruby) and Rick Rosenthal (Halloween 2). Other than one story I didn't care for (Daisies), I really enjoyed this creative, if short-lived series. Some of my favourites were 'Make-Up' starring Billy Crystal and Brian Dennehy, 'The Partnership' starring David Carradine and 'Exit Line' starring Samantha Eggar and Stan Shaw. Well worth a look if you were entertained by the likes of 'Night Gallery' and 'Alfred Hitchcok Presents'. ...

James Coburn hosted this short-lived anthology series where he presented each tale literally from a darkroom, where he would develop pictures that would relate in some way to the story. This only ran for 7 episodes, and the reason may have been because it so relentlessly cynical and downbeat, with rarely a happy ending for anyone. This might work once or twice, but for most of the 16 segments it must wear the viewer down, and make them turn it off. Did feature future stars like Helen Hunt and Billy Crystal. "Night Gallery" did this sort of thing better. Not yet on DVD, but was on YouTube for awhile. Universal studios owns it, so perhaps Shout/Scream Factory will release it?

I remember watching this show as a kid, and I loved it! LOL. All my friends would talk about the latest episode the next day at school.Of course, I've always been a fan of horror anthologies (Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, Amicus films). I can still remember many of the stories from this series, most or all of which seem to have been written by one of my favorite horror writers, Robert Bloch (author of Psycho and original creator of virtually every twist ending ever seen in such tales).It's possible I'd watch Darkroom today and not find it as "cool" as I did when I was a kid, but I'd certainly watch if for no other reason then to see just how well I remember the stories. I'd love to have this series on DVD.Some memorable moments:The toy soldiers coming to life... The voodoo doll that doubled as a chew toy... Claude Akins with a circular saw... Talking flowers and the secrets they tell... The thing under the fun-house (that enjoyed a slice of pie for dessert)... A double-cross involving murder and that guy from Eight Is Enough (Grant Goodeve)...I could probably recall more, but that's not too bad considering I haven't seen this show since I was 10.Hopefully, someone will decide that this series deserves a rebirth on DVD.

Only lasting six episodes, Darkroom proved why anthology series can work, and why they can't.Way too many of the short segments were clichéd (oh no, yet another 'man has a chance to change the past' story), obvious and dull. And then they'll throw in a story like "The Boogieman Will Get You", or the one with Billy Crystal to tease you into watching again, hoping for one good moment to make sitting through the bad moments worthwhile. Every so often they delivered, but not enough to work on a whole.James Coburn tried to give the show a presence, but a show like this lives and dies by it's writing, and all too often it died.