39. Doom Room; movie review

 

DOOM ROOM

Cert TBA

90 mins

BBFC advice: TBA

For far too long I believed that Doom Room was a failed attempt to out-surreal David Lynch.

Its plot appeared to be garbled, it's acting is rather stilted, its violence was disturbing and its dialogue was akin to a machine-gun volley of profanities.

Then came the final 20 minutes and suddenly the opaque veil was lifted and right at the end, a beam of light shone and it all made sense.

Doom Room was first released at festivals in 2013 as Nightmare Box and starts Johanna Stanton as a woman who wakes up in an enclosed room with no memory of how she got there or, indeed, any of her past.

As she tries desperately for a way out, a very strange mix of characters come into the room, disappear and then return.

Among the actors is Nicholas Ball. Yep, remember TV's Hazell? Ball was a pin-up of TV in 70s and now I discover he is 75!

I digress.

The young woman doesn't understand the connection to these people nor why some want to help her while some seem bent on persecuting her.

But she knows that she must escape the room and to do so she must piece together how and why she arrived there.

As the mist finally lifts, she has to confront a memory of experimental sex which might play a part in her predicament.

Yep, there is plenty of kinky stuff during Jon Keeyes' film - particularly of the sadomasochistic variety.

Initially, it seems to be entirely gratuitous but it all makes sense in light of the movie's conclusion.

And here's the rub... the critics of Doom Room on internet movie database have said they thought it was such a hotchpotch that they gave up on it.

Those who rate it more highly stuck it out to the end.

Perseverance definitely has its rewards in this case although some might argue not enough to justify suffering an hour of bewilderment.

Reasons to watch: Intriguing and, in some eyes, erotic

Reasons to avoid: Violent and twisted

Laughs: None

Jumps: One

Vomit: None

Nudity: Yes

Overall rating: 5.5/10

Did you know? Doom Room's name was changed from Nightmare Box. The film has been on the festival circuit for six years and has won 12 awards.

The final word. Jon Keeyes: “I’ve always wanted to do a movie that really twists the perceptions of reality and creates some bizarre and surreal characters that may or may not exist in reality. The movie is a dark journey filled with horror, violence, sex, guilt, shame and how people deal with the consequences of their actions." ComingSoon.net

 

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