[Dark Reel]
Plot:Murder, mystery and mayhem as B movie fan, Adam Waltz, wins a Walk on Role in a film Featuring Scream Queen, Cassie Blue. Thinking his luck had changed for the better he steps into chaos with a killer loose and no one on the production safe. Adams role gets bigger with the murder of an actress, and the studio chief's low-budget thriller becomes big with the new publicity... Everyone is a suspect. Who is the killer? Why are they doing this? and who is next?

Cast:Rick Baker, Matt Bushell, Christina Desiere, Edward Furlong, Jake Grace, Lance Henriksen, Whit Hertford, Alexandra Holden, Ethan Kogan, Scott Leet, Julia Lehman, Brooke Lyons, Nicole Malgarini, Jacey Margolis, Mercedes McNab, Justin Neill, Kate Orsini, Jeff Parise, Rena Riffel, Kevin Ryder, Tiffany Shepis, Tony Todd, Tracey Walter, Emmanuel Xuereb.

My Thoughts:Pretty good slasher noir.

Review:"Dark Reel" is an indie attempt at newing up the slasher film subgenre. The film follows the myth of an actress murdered back in the 50's by a sinister film director who she meets at a bar. Scarlet May was her name, but no one was ever charged and arrested in connection with the murder. Now fast-forward to present day, a slasher movie fanboy named Adam Waltz (Furlong), has won a walk on role in a low-budget pirate flick, starring alongside one of his favorite actresses...Cassie Blue (Shepis). Adam has not been exactly a winner when it comes to love, as his last girlfriend broke up with him due to his lack of direction and goals.

But he hopes the chance to star in a film alongside Cassie will change all of that. Once the two meet, she immediately takes an interest in him, and Adam does the same with her. Their relationship seems to be blossoming, until a horrible murder takes place..with an indie actress being the victim. More murders soon follow, leading to Adam and Cassie having to unravel a mystery which involves Scarlet May's ghost, and a killer who dresses up as Scarlet while they dispose of their victims. "Dark Reel" blends old Hollywood-dom with new-age slasher movie-dom.

It works for the most part, but only because Tiffany Shepis and Edward Furlong have good on-screen chemistry. The two play interesting characters, who are fun to watch. And play their roles pretty darn well. Shepis also has a certain kind of look to her which will always make the viewer suspect her as the killer in a slasher movie. As did I with this movie. And so in that regard, when you have an actress who can make the viewer highly suspicious of her character, that's always a plus. Especially when you're talking about a slasher/murder mystery film.

"Dark Reel" also sports some wonderful supporting cast appearances by Lance Henriksen, who plays a disgruntled producer, Tony Todd who plays a sarcastic cop who's investigating the mysterious deaths, Mercedes McNab, who plays a slightly-caniving and envious B-movie actress, and Alexandra Holden as Scarlet May herself. Todd and Henriksen provide most of the films comedic moments, which includes a scene where the two engage in verbal combat while Todd's character is questioning Lances character about the murders.

The movie also works well because it doesn't take itself too seriously. A film like this can't be super serious, and the films writer and director knew that. There's alot of campy moments in this movie, as well as cheesy ones, and also tongue-in-cheek scenes where the flick pokes fun at the Hollywood infrastructure, how fanboys are treated, and how people in the industry are behind-the-scenes. It really mixes in alot of clever and smart noir and spoof moments with the mystery behind the killer, the ghost of Scarlet May, and who might be the murderer.

There's a very tight story here which kind of makes you question everyone's innocence or lack thereof, and nothing is better in a slasher movie than not being able to figure out too early as to who the killer is. There are some small flaws to "Dark Reel". Like any movie has issues, this movies issues mostly come from the supporting cast beyond the people such as Todd, Henriksen, and Mcnab. Once those three characters are pushed to the back of the line via a demise or story arc that doesn't include them at the time, the movie gets weak on strong characters.

And we're basically during the films finale, left with alot of over-acting, and annoying characters who you just hope get picked off as soon as possible because you just can't stand them. There's also not alot of deaths in the film, no high body count here. Although it's not surprising because the film obviously concentrates more on the murder/mystery aspect of things. So blood, gore, and gruesome kills sort of take a backseat. Lastly, the end reveal as to who the killer is, while it fits perfectly into the tragic Hollywood story...it does come off a bit cliche and predictable.

"Dark Reel", beyond those few issues is still a good watch however. It's a B movie with an ensemble cast and some pretty good performances. Slasher film fans might be disappointed at the lack of kills, but the films story works well enough, or should work well enough to satisfy most.

Positives:Good acting and on-screen chemistry by Furlong and Shepis. Interesting and decent story, good supporting cast.

Negatives:Beyond the veterans like Todd, McNab, and Henriksen, the supporting cast is weak, the end reveal is predictable, no great kills and a low amount of blood and gore.

Overall:Three out of four stars.





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