Darkroom - The Complete SeriesDarkroom was one of the lesser known Rod Serling styled anthology horror shows from the US. It managed to hit the spotlight awhile back when the film Frequency lifted the premise from the episode Stay Tuned, We'll Be Right Back. I didn't think I was familiar with the series but the opening credits sent a few memories flooding back of catching bits and pieces of the show on TV. Darkroom's credits really do stand out especially due to David Shire's hauntingly eerie score. The show follows the standard formula of two (and in some cases three when the odd short story is added) stories bookended by a host. James Coburn really shines as the show's host. Love the dude's voice, it's really badass sounding. Halloween II director Rick Rosenthal helms a few episodes which will be of interest to fans. Also a highlight for me was the episodes penned by horror fiction legend Robert Bloch. Darkroom stars quite a few familiar faces including Brian Dennehy, David Carradine and Helen Hunt. I was quite surprised to see Billy Crystal turn up in an episode! The best episodes for me were The Boogyman Is Going To Get You and Catnip because they really got the classic EC vibe down and could stand alone as great short films. Although a few of the episodes fell flat for me (the downside of the episodes short running time) and perhaps could have been fleshed out, I really enjoyed this series. I'm sure fans of 80s horror will have as much of a blast with the series as I did. There's a little of everything storywise so fans will find something to dig their teeth into . It's a shame Darkroom only lasted a season but in a way it's good that it didn't and the show didn't descend into mediocrity like so many do. Madman have put together a really nice looking set and for a change us usually duped folk in R4 land get the only offical release first. I guess the rights for the US and UK have tied up its release. It's a great looking transfer so fans of the series will be able to ditch their bootlegs and old VHS tapes for this 2 disc set. There's no extras but I guessing that seeing as this show only had one season there wasn't much footage available. No doubt many of the big names who starred in the series would be reluctant to acknowledge they were a part of a cult horror show. The lack of extras is made up by the inclusion of a booklet containing a reproduction of the original presskit used to pitch the show to the networks. Darkroom is a great companion piece to Madman's previous release Kolchak: The Nightstalker and an essential release for fans of US horror. One of the year's best releases for me.
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