In Darkroom, Michelle is forced into a therapy program to avoid jail time for vehicular manslaughter. She got drunk, got behind the wheel, got distracted, and got three of her friends killed. Rachel, the woman who runs the program, is especially hard on Michelle, demanding she publicly ask forgiveness for her crimes and speak the truth. Michelle is given the chance to leave on a work release program, and finds herself trapped in a derelict mansion, facing psychological torture and more.

Darkroom is obtuse. It's central imagery is a perversion of disciplinary action among Jehovah's Witnesses. If you don't know what the New World Translations is (briefly scene before the final act of the film) and aren't familiar with isolation as the primary punishment in that faith, you're missing a lot. That's a problem. It's hard to tell if Darkroom is meant as some satire of religion or specifically uses very light Jehovah's Witness imagery just because.

About the clearest connection to the satire/criticism reading is Michelle's insistence on "The Truth." Jehovah's Witnesses have one interpretation of the Bible, The Truth, handed down from the highest level of their church. Anyone criticizing The Truth or preaching an alternate interpretation of the Bible is subject to punishment. It's a slightly more merciful version of shunning, where the sinner is not permitted to engage with the faith except for family who live in their house and the elders. Only the elders can restore their standing and only if they submit to the truth and confess to all their sins.

Rachel and the other victims in Darkroom, all drawn from the same therapy program, are psychologically and physically tortured until they admit The Truth. However, these victims--criminals though they may be--are never given any hint as to what they are supposed to confess. We see three women go through various stages of the bizarre religious-torture, each repenting for different variations of their sins; no one does enough to achieve salvation.

Director Britt Naplier goes for a very stylized approach to Michaelbrent Collings' screenplay. Nothing is played for realism. It all has an exaggerated, almost cartoonish quality to it.

Our hero Michelle, especially, is a tough nut to crack. Kaylee DeFer really commits to the performance, but the performance is more of a stylized storytelling device than something meant to be realistic. Michelle is the criminal who views herself as a victim. Based on the flashbacks, she really isn't responsible for the deadly accident, but that's besides the point. She did commit a crime in driving while drunk and that crime is connected to the death of her friends.

Darkroom is a torture film ala Hostel, yes, but it is attempting to say something greater about crime and punishment. Many of these treatment programs for drug addicts and other offenders have this strong Christian foundation. They demand that the person give herself to God, ask God for forgiveness, take guidance from God--give her entire life to God so that maybe, one day, she'll be worthy of forgiveness. Those who do not prove repentant enough may still be punished even if they complete the program. That's what happens to the victims in this film.

Drinking and driving is bad. It's dangerous. It puts everyone in harm's way who comes near the driver and, yes, does lead to horrible accidents like the one Michelle is in. Catching and punishing offenders if important. Demanding they turn their lives over to Jesus, God, or Cthulhu in order to return to society is absurd. That's the horror of Darkroom: crime and punishment as proselytization.

Darkroom is currently streaming on Netflix.