Product Details

• Directors: Josh Eisenstadt
• Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: North American Pict.
• DVD Release Date: March 10, 2009
• Run Time: 108 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001O3M37K
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #235,692 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Adam Waltz (Edward Furlong) is in a blood drenched horror film produced by Connor Pritchett (Lance Henriksen). Detective Shields (Tony Todd) tries to unravel the mystery of real murders before the ghost of Scarlett May can strike again.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Lance Henriksen and Tony Todd are wonderful together! March 12, 2009

By Horror-Fanatics.com

Format:DVD

I always urge people not to judge movies by their covers (and in some cases, trailers). Even with this notion, you still can't help but take interest because it's the cover that gives the first impression. Typically direct-to-video flicks will have a good cover. That doesn't necessarily mean that the movie is going to be as good. There's a reason why most of these things never make it into the theatres any. Some studios put cleavage or graphic violence on the cover to lure you in. I guess where I'm going with this statement is that the cover for Dark Reel looks just as typical as any other straight to DVD horror cover. It's horrible, and doesn't really do it justice. If you were to judge it, you would think that it's nothing more then a low budget mess. That's actually what I thought Dark Reel would be like. Surprisingly, Dark Reel is not all that bad. Yes it is low budget, but it sure doesn't look that way.

In the movie we follow Adam Waltz's unsure journey as he wins a contest for a walk on part in an upcoming pirate b-movie called "Pirate Wench." There he meets his favorite actress Cassie Blue (Tiffany Shepis). Later in production, Adam meets the rest of the cast and crew and begins to rehearse his "one" line. In the meantime, there's a serial killer running loose on set, killing off some of the cast members. The lead investigator on the case is Shields (Tony Todd), and along with his partner they question the crew as to who might be the one responsible. When one of the pirate wenches turns up dead on set, the studio calls for re-writes and decides to give Adam a much bigger part, complete with more dialog. The story later ties in with the real unpublicized murder of actress Scarlett May, who was killed in 1958....

The "Scarlett May" side of things is a nice touch and really sets the tone during the opening credits. The problem is that I couldn't piece it together with the plot involving Edward Furlong's character. For awhile it just made no sense to me. The movie really didn't need the backstory or supernatural elements. It just feels like a recycled homage to Wes Craven's "Scream." There is a killer loose on set going after the actresses, but the death scenes are so few and far in between. After the first hour I forgot that I was even watching a horror movie. The opening credits display severed body parts and an ounce of blood, but it just takes way too long for the killer to appear later on screen with the mask that's displayed on the DVD cover. The pacing is way off and if you're expecting to see a "blood and guts" kind of movie, you will be very disappointed. There's hardly any horror in this horror story. Perhaps that's the most horrific thing about it.

The movie needed some trimming here and there, because it drags on a little too much for a slasher flick. It does focus a great deal on the characters and that's always a good thing. The problem with that is it's too much. Maybe I should have expected a character study. The main focus of the plot is the relationship between Furlong and Shepis' characters. They build a friendship which eventually leads to romance, and then love. Now, I love both Furlong and Shepis, but their on screen relationship is hard to believe. Well, maybe just in parts because I actually thought the love plot worked. Seeing Adam and Cassie together was kind of cute. Love comes in all shapes and sizes, and some decent acting can make it better. Tiffany Shepis continues to impress me with her work and her talent just gets better with every film. I say the same thing about Furlong, though I still want him to go for the much larger roles. He's too good for this kind of job. Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun film January 20, 2013

By Mike Evans

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Shepis and Furlong were awesome on screen. Great job and production quality. Real fun film. I'm definitely going to check out more films from this director.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Wasted potential April 12, 2009

By N. Durham HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Dark Reel starts out promisingly enough, with the ghastly murder of Scarlett May (Alexandra Holden) being committed years earlier, leading us to meeting an uber-fan named Adam (Edward Furlong) who has won a contest to be an extra in the latest film starring his favorite B-movie actress Cassie Blue (Tiffany Shepis). Not long after that, more murders start occuring, and Adam starts seeing apparitions of Scarlett. There is much potential in Dark Reel that sadly gets wasted due to the fact that the film is poorly paced, and overall pretty boring as well. The gore effects, when they do occur, are pretty well done, but the various in-jokes and a sleepwalking performance from Furlong don't help matters any. Genre stalwarts Lance Henriksen and Tony Todd are here as well, and chew up as much scenery as they can manage to do. All in all, despite its slowness, Dark Reel is worth a look for slasher/mystery fans, but don't expect much from it in the least.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Sooo Boring ! June 7, 2011

By Dr. Metal

Format:DVD

I had high hopes for this movie. After all Edward Furlong, the teeny star of Terminator 2, was in it, and I have never seen a movie that he was in that wasn't good. Well, sorry to say, but this time my luck with good ole Eddie would finally run out. And its not his fault that this wanna be Horror flickt is so aweful...
THe biggest problem is that there is basically no real plot here, just a jumbled together kind of story that any 6 year old could come up with in no time. Honestly, its that bad- something about a woman that gets killed by a vicious guy and then comes back to haunt people as a ghost, whenever a certain part in a movie is played, but its only 1-2 people that can actually see her in that movie part! No exaggeration, its just that bad, and that's the plot, except that a killer is apparently taking revenge for her, oh man, spare me.

The acting. all execpt for Furlong, is terrible; it feels as if the actors are all amateurs (although they're not).
The bottom line is: THis isn't even a B movie, as others have written its more like an F movie and that stands for failure! Enough said.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Good production, ultra weak story May 9, 2009

By The Tao of Netflix VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Horror, especially B horror, is my ultimate favorite, and, that being the case, my standards get very relaxed in this genre. It takes very little for me to become a rabid fan of film. I really wanted this to fall w/in that category, but it doesn't. On one hand, the production values are surprisingly good - good camera work, obviously high quality camera, good lighting, good(ish) sets, decent cast, etc. So all of that made the movie certainly watchable, but it was the plot that left much to be desired. The movie mostly meandered through without any real or cohesive direction. There was this killer bit, but then there was also this ghostly influence bit. The two were not harmonized in any meaningful manner, and made it feel empty, as if someone was just shooting random scenes and later splicing them together to fill a disc. So again, it was watchable because of the production quality and cast, but the lack of a good story line keeps this from achieving 3 or more stars. And the kid from terminator got fat.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Had a great time with this wonderful film August 9, 2009

By SMS

Format:DVD

Dark Reel is part horror, part thriller, part comedy and an all around enjoyable experience. In this Giallo-esque film, Ed Furlong of T2 fame plays a down on his luck loser who wins a walk on role alongside the movie star of his dreams played by the amazing Tiffany Shepis. What he doesn't know is that there is a murderer on set who seems to be obsessed with an unsolved 1950's murder case. The Black Dahlia-esque murder of starlet Scarlett May.
Every character in this film is distinct and quirky and a whole lot of fun to watch. As much as it is a suspense film it also spoofs the b-horror industry and the ruthlessness of Hollywood. This film is classier than many low budget horror films as exemplified by scenes such as the one where Tony Todd's detective character questions Lance Henriksen in an amazing verbal sword fight.
If you are looking for a straight out gore fest with no story or unique characters then this is not your film even though there are some very brutal death scenes.
But if you are looking for a great, fun filled ride of a film that never takes itself too seriously then this is for you.