Film

Darkroom

Other titles called Darkroom: the 2013 film.

A slasher that trades camp for genuine dread. Janet returns home to a remote farmhouse where a killer documents victims through a camera before murdering them. It's intimate and claustrophobic, anchored by strong practical effects and a real sense that no one's safe. For fans of slower-burn horror that trusts atmosphere over jump scares.

TMDb rating2.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love lean, nasty 1980s slashers where an isolated farmhouse and a killer who photographs his victims generate the dread, and the violence lands hard.

Skip it if you need a fast, polished thriller with clever plotting; this one is rough-edged, takes its time with the family, and its brutality is bleak.

What it asks of you: It runs a brisk 85 minutes, but its opening is a slow, sour family reunion before the killings begin, so it needs patience to build.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Friday the 13th1980

The template for everything that follows: isolated setting, masked killer, inventive murders, and a final girl who fights back. It has the same DNA as Darkroom but with more cultural reach and undeniable craft.

But The pacing feels glacial by modern standards, and Jason doesn't even appear until the final act. Some find the misogyny of early slashers difficult to sit with.

Friday the 13th poster

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre1974

Raw, visceral, and genuinely disturbing without showing much blood. It builds dread through sound design and composition. Darkroom shares its commitment to making you feel hunted in a rural nightmare.

But Shaky camerawork and a gritty, almost documentary realism can feel exhausting. It's relentlessly grim with no moments of levity.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre poster

Prom Night1980

A Canadian slasher with an elegant masked killer and a mystery that actually holds together. It's tighter and more propulsive than Darkroom while maintaining that same sense of intimate danger among a small group.

But The body count is lower and the kills less inventive than what you might expect. Some scenes haven't aged well in terms of dialogue and gender dynamics.

Prom Night poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Darkroom

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Peeping Tom1960

Both center on a killer who photographs victims as part of the murder ritual. Peeping Tom is the artistic ur-text that Darkroom inherits without knowing it.

A British thriller where a killer films his victims before murdering them—the exact concept of Darkroom, but made 29 years earlier and infinitely more sophisticated. Michael Powell creates something psychologically complex and visually ravishing that elevates the premise to art.

But It moves at a measured pace that demands patience. The 1960 context means some gender politics are knotty. Beautifully shot doesn't mean it's always pleasant to watch.

Peeping Tom poster
More like this (8)

The Burning1981

Summer camp slasher with practical gore effects that genuinely impress. The killer's motivation ties into real human trauma. It shares Darkroom's willingness to make violence hurt rather than entertain.

But The middle section drags with slow character building. The opening is shocking in ways some will find exploitative rather than purposeful.

The Burning poster

Happy Birthday to Me1981

A mystery-slasher hybrid where you're never quite sure who's killing whom. The twist lands hard. It has the same rural-adjacent setting and family-secrets-run-deep energy as Darkroom.

But The plot gets convoluted and the final reveal strains credibility. The film tries to be smarter than its budget allows.

Happy Birthday to Me poster

The Slayer1982

A lesser-known gem: a killer haunts a couple on an isolated island during a nightmare he's actually having. Atmospheric and strange, with genuine unease and creative kills that prefigure Darkroom's visual inventiveness.

But Very low budget shows in the acting and some technical choices. The central premise, while clever, can feel like a cheat.

The Slayer poster

Sorority House Massacre1986

B-movie slasher directed by Carol Frank with real style on a shoestring. It has Darkroom's willingness to be nasty and unglamorous. The killer's psychology actually matters.

But The acting ranges from competent to painful. Some sequences feel padded to reach feature length.

Sorority House Massacre poster

Madhouse1981

An underrated proto-meta slasher about horror actors being killed on a horror set. It's clever without being smug and genuinely tense. The confined setting echoes Darkroom's pressure-cooker intensity.

But The tone wobbles between serious and campy. The twist feels a bit forced on repeated viewings.

Madhouse poster

Anthropophagous1980

An Italian cannibal-slasher hybrid that pulls no punches. It's extreme and grotesque but built on real craft. If Darkroom made you want something rawer and less restrained, this delivers.

But Brutally graphic in ways that will alienate most viewers. The plotting is secondary to the shock value. It's genuinely difficult to watch.

Anthropophagous poster

Come True2020

Both films trust the audience to sit in discomfort and dread without providing clear answers. Family/institutional horror masquerading as something else. A slow-burning sense that nothing will end well.

A sci-fi horror about a mysterious sleep study that turns sinister. It has Darkroom's commitment to mood over explanation and that same claustrophobic sense of being trapped with something wrong. Visually stunning in an unsettling way.

But The plot is deliberately obscure and never fully explains itself. Some find the ending frustratingly vague. It prioritizes atmosphere over narrative satisfaction.

Come True poster

Eden and After1970

Both examine how ordinary people become capable of extraordinary cruelty when boundaries dissolve. Games, violence, and complicity. A world where social rules evaporate and horror replaces structure.

An Alain Robbe-Grillet puzzle-box where a game between student friends turns genuinely dangerous. It's a radical, almost surreal take on the 'murder game' concept. Darkroom in an avant-garde register: the same moral rot and escalating violence, but formally strange and intellectually rigorous.

But Deliberately obscure and non-linear. French experimental cinema logic means motivation and plot are secondary. Some sequences feel gratuitously long. You'll need to sit with confusion.

Eden and After poster

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