- Actors: Patrick O'Neal, Cesare Danova, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Laura Devon, Patrice Wymore
- Directors: Don Sharp, Hy Averback
- Writers: Don Sharp, Harry Alan Towers, Ray Russell, Sax Rohmer, Stephen Kandel
- Producers: Harry Alan Towers
- Format: Colour, DVD-Video, NTSC
- Language English
- Region: Region 1 (US and Canada DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) (US MPAA rating. See details.)
- Studio: Warner Home Video
- DVD Release Date: 9 Dec 2008
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- ASIN: B001HZ4KGM
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 81,285 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:DVD
!!!WARNING. THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS, AND IS ONLY FOR CHAMBER OF HORRORS!!!
Prolific serial killer Jason Cravatte(Patrick O'Neal) has just reached a new low in his career, marrying the corpse of one of his victims. However, Cravatte's haughty Aunt Ewing(Jeanette Nolan) wanting her nephews' nefarious activities stopped asks amateur sleuths and owners of the local waxworks, Anthony Draco(Cesar Danova) and Harold Blount(Wilfred Hyde-White), to locate Jason's whereabouts and stop him once and for all. Cravatte is indeed arrested, hiding out at the boudour of Madame Corona. However, on the way to prison, Cravatte escapes by jumping off a train, and severing his own hand to avoid drowning. Soon, an even crazier Cravatte is back in Baltimore, seeking vengeance on those who were foolish enough to judge him guilty, his allies a young woman called Marie Champlain(Laura Devon) abnd a metal hook in place of his missing hand...
The Fear Flasher and The Horror Horn may sound like characters from a horror/porn crossover, but they are in fact gimmicks employed in this highly enjoyable period horror to warn the audience of a coming horrific attraction. In fact, Chamber Of Horrors is a bloodless affair, and although it is now nearly fifty years old, it seems to belong to a type of horror film made even earlier than that. Despite the gimmicks, it is very straight laced, with an involving story. It is also lavishly mounted and handsome.
Despite it being Patrick O'Neal's film, terrific as Cravatte, his adversaries Drago and Blount are also well cast, Danova and Hyde-White very likeable in their respective roles. The rest of the cast also impress, especially Tun Tun as Drago and Blounts' dwarf assistant Pepe, and also watch out for an uncredited cameo by Tony Curtis, playing a customer at the brothel.
The scenes where Cravatte hunts down and punishes those he regards as responsible for his incarceration are memorable, as is the finale in the wax museum, where Drago and Cravatte duel amongst the exhibits until Cravatte is literally hoisted by his own petard.
Once a regular on late night British television, Chamber Of Horrors seems strangely forgotten, and although available here only as a double bill, if I have whetted your appetite enough, it is available on a Spanish Region 2 release by Warner Bros and Impulso. 5 out of 5 for the film anyway, as it's a cruelly neglected little gem, one that deserves far better recognition.
Prolific serial killer Jason Cravatte(Patrick O'Neal) has just reached a new low in his career, marrying the corpse of one of his victims. However, Cravatte's haughty Aunt Ewing(Jeanette Nolan) wanting her nephews' nefarious activities stopped asks amateur sleuths and owners of the local waxworks, Anthony Draco(Cesar Danova) and Harold Blount(Wilfred Hyde-White), to locate Jason's whereabouts and stop him once and for all. Cravatte is indeed arrested, hiding out at the boudour of Madame Corona. However, on the way to prison, Cravatte escapes by jumping off a train, and severing his own hand to avoid drowning. Soon, an even crazier Cravatte is back in Baltimore, seeking vengeance on those who were foolish enough to judge him guilty, his allies a young woman called Marie Champlain(Laura Devon) abnd a metal hook in place of his missing hand...
The Fear Flasher and The Horror Horn may sound like characters from a horror/porn crossover, but they are in fact gimmicks employed in this highly enjoyable period horror to warn the audience of a coming horrific attraction. In fact, Chamber Of Horrors is a bloodless affair, and although it is now nearly fifty years old, it seems to belong to a type of horror film made even earlier than that. Despite the gimmicks, it is very straight laced, with an involving story. It is also lavishly mounted and handsome.
Despite it being Patrick O'Neal's film, terrific as Cravatte, his adversaries Drago and Blount are also well cast, Danova and Hyde-White very likeable in their respective roles. The rest of the cast also impress, especially Tun Tun as Drago and Blounts' dwarf assistant Pepe, and also watch out for an uncredited cameo by Tony Curtis, playing a customer at the brothel.
The scenes where Cravatte hunts down and punishes those he regards as responsible for his incarceration are memorable, as is the finale in the wax museum, where Drago and Cravatte duel amongst the exhibits until Cravatte is literally hoisted by his own petard.
Once a regular on late night British television, Chamber Of Horrors seems strangely forgotten, and although available here only as a double bill, if I have whetted your appetite enough, it is available on a Spanish Region 2 release by Warner Bros and Impulso. 5 out of 5 for the film anyway, as it's a cruelly neglected little gem, one that deserves far better recognition.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
9 reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Another Oddball Horror Combo From WB.
16 Dec 2009
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Just a little over a year ago Warner Brothers, trying to compete with MGM/Fox's MIDNITE MOVIE series, began releasing a number of DVDs of Sci-Fi/Horror/Cult films from the 1950s and 60s. The Sci-Fi and the Cult Camp Classic series are still with us but the Horror Double Features consisting of only two releases has already been discontinued. The presentations are bare bones (not even chapters are included although there are subtitles) but the films are in good shape. I guess the sales must have been really abysmal to pull the plug so early but then whoever came up with the pairings for these discs should have put a little more effort into it. While IT! and THE SHUTTERED ROOM (the other release) at least share the connection that they are both British films, there is absolutely nothing linking CHAMBER OF HORRORS and BRIDES OF FU MANCHU other than the fact they were made in 1966.
CHAMBER was intended to be the pilot for a proposed TV series featuring Cesare Danova and Wilfred Hyde-White as Wax Museum owners who also solve bizarre crimes but the show never materialized. This accounts not only for the dramatic lack of on-screen violence throughout but the unusual ending where a girl is found murdered. Shown in theaters instead, the WB marketing department came up with the "Horror Horn" and the "Fear Flasher" as gimmicks to hook people in which it did as the film was successful at the box office but no sequels followed. Taken on its own merits as an unofficial remake of HOUSE OF WAX (it even uses the same sets), CHAMBER OF HORRORS is pretty good with atmospheric old style cinematography and a delightful turn from Patrick O'Neal as the demented killer building a corpse from parts of the people who sent him to prison. Scary?, hardly, but quite enjoyable nonetheless.
In contrast THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU is a direct sequel to 1965's FACE OF FU MANCHU utilizing once again the talents of the dependable but underrated director Don Sharp and horrormeister Christopher Lee. This time though producer Harry Allan Towers cut the budget (Fullscreen instead of Widescreen and Eastmancolor instead of Technicolor) and it shows. Also gone is Nigel Green as Nayland Smith although Douglas Wilmer does an admirable job filling in. The story (written by Towers under his pseudonym of Peter Welbeck) has Fu Manchu kidnapping the daughters of famous scientists in order to coerce them into helping him build a death ray. It's really more of a thriller than a horror film but director Sharp does manage a few interesting set pieces and Lee does his best with the material. Not as good as CHAMBER but still entertaining, BRIDES really doesn't belong here and I wish WB had coupled it with the first FU film and found something else to put with CHAMBER.
CHAMBER was intended to be the pilot for a proposed TV series featuring Cesare Danova and Wilfred Hyde-White as Wax Museum owners who also solve bizarre crimes but the show never materialized. This accounts not only for the dramatic lack of on-screen violence throughout but the unusual ending where a girl is found murdered. Shown in theaters instead, the WB marketing department came up with the "Horror Horn" and the "Fear Flasher" as gimmicks to hook people in which it did as the film was successful at the box office but no sequels followed. Taken on its own merits as an unofficial remake of HOUSE OF WAX (it even uses the same sets), CHAMBER OF HORRORS is pretty good with atmospheric old style cinematography and a delightful turn from Patrick O'Neal as the demented killer building a corpse from parts of the people who sent him to prison. Scary?, hardly, but quite enjoyable nonetheless.
In contrast THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU is a direct sequel to 1965's FACE OF FU MANCHU utilizing once again the talents of the dependable but underrated director Don Sharp and horrormeister Christopher Lee. This time though producer Harry Allan Towers cut the budget (Fullscreen instead of Widescreen and Eastmancolor instead of Technicolor) and it shows. Also gone is Nigel Green as Nayland Smith although Douglas Wilmer does an admirable job filling in. The story (written by Towers under his pseudonym of Peter Welbeck) has Fu Manchu kidnapping the daughters of famous scientists in order to coerce them into helping him build a death ray. It's really more of a thriller than a horror film but director Sharp does manage a few interesting set pieces and Lee does his best with the material. Not as good as CHAMBER but still entertaining, BRIDES really doesn't belong here and I wish WB had coupled it with the first FU film and found something else to put with CHAMBER.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
1960's Horror Double Feature
21 Dec 2008
Format:DVD
"Chamber of Horrors" (1966) is reminiscent of the gimmick flicks of William Castle. Directed by Hy Averback (a TV director more at home helming such shows as "The Real McCoys" and "Burke's Law"), "Chamber of Horrors" features the in-film devices called the Fear Flasher and the Horror Horn to cue viewers to the terror to come. Despite these tricks, the film is an atmospheric thriller, lushly photographed in color. A condemned man (Patrick O'Neal) chops off his manacled hand to escape, then affixes assorted devices to his stump to chop, rip, and impale, and goes on a death spree. O'Neal makes a pretty good psychopathic killer.
"The Brides of Fu Manchu" (1966) stars Christopher Lee as the Asian villain who kidnaps the daughters of the world's leading scientists. The ransom he demands is that they build for him a death ray, a weapon he will use to achieve his goal of world domination. Lee joins the ranks of the many non-Asian actors who have portrayed Asians on screen, as diverse a group as Boris Karloff, Fred Astaire, Cedric Hardwicke, Peter Lorre, and Warner Oland. Douglas Wilmer as Sir Dennis Nayland Smith, Fu Manchu's nemesis, doesn't make much of an impression with Lee's deadpan delivery and aura of evil taking center stage.
"The Brides of Fu Manchu" (1966) stars Christopher Lee as the Asian villain who kidnaps the daughters of the world's leading scientists. The ransom he demands is that they build for him a death ray, a weapon he will use to achieve his goal of world domination. Lee joins the ranks of the many non-Asian actors who have portrayed Asians on screen, as diverse a group as Boris Karloff, Fred Astaire, Cedric Hardwicke, Peter Lorre, and Warner Oland. Douglas Wilmer as Sir Dennis Nayland Smith, Fu Manchu's nemesis, doesn't make much of an impression with Lee's deadpan delivery and aura of evil taking center stage.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Long awaited arrival
12 Dec 2007
Amazon Verified Purchase
After years of waiting, this cult favorite is finally (semi) available. Too bad it's not on DVD yet, but I'm hoping. *** 2008 Update. This film is now available on DVD ***
In brief the movie is about a man sentenced to hang for the murder of his fiancee`. After the murder, he marries the corpse holding the clergyman at gunpoint.
Demented? I'll say. After the trial, he is being transported by train to the prison. The guard handcuffs him to a brakewheel while he goes back for luggage. During this time the convict loosens the bolt holding the brakewheel, takes a fireax and jumps the train into the river ... where he escapes by cutting off his own hand with the ax. From there, the story centers around his revenge on those who sent him to prison vs the amatuer detective who tries to find out who is behind the latest seriel killings.
This is a semi-gothic horror show and is well done in spite of the melodrama. Some of the most interesting footage is of the wax museam, the chamber of horrors, at which Anthony Draco (the amatuer detective) works. It's a true mystery, although we as the audience know who the killer is. The sidelights of famous murderers of the past is as interesting as the psycotic man they are currently after. All in all a well done film themed in turn of the century Baltimore.
One of the unique features of this flick are the "horror horn" and the "fear flasher", which display and sound each time a grusome killing is about to take place. They are really superflueous though as no gore and little blood is shown in the picture. The most frightening thing about it is the soft-spoken killer who seems to strike out of nowhere and keeps eluding the police.
This film may not keep you glued to your seat in suspense, though I'll wager that you'll find it very entertaining and worth watching at least once.
Suitable for viewers age 8 and up (yes, I suppose a 7-year-old would be ok), this is a good cult classic which has been unavailable for much too long. Hopefully it will be on DVD soon.
Recommended.
~P~
In brief the movie is about a man sentenced to hang for the murder of his fiancee`. After the murder, he marries the corpse holding the clergyman at gunpoint.
Demented? I'll say. After the trial, he is being transported by train to the prison. The guard handcuffs him to a brakewheel while he goes back for luggage. During this time the convict loosens the bolt holding the brakewheel, takes a fireax and jumps the train into the river ... where he escapes by cutting off his own hand with the ax. From there, the story centers around his revenge on those who sent him to prison vs the amatuer detective who tries to find out who is behind the latest seriel killings.
This is a semi-gothic horror show and is well done in spite of the melodrama. Some of the most interesting footage is of the wax museam, the chamber of horrors, at which Anthony Draco (the amatuer detective) works. It's a true mystery, although we as the audience know who the killer is. The sidelights of famous murderers of the past is as interesting as the psycotic man they are currently after. All in all a well done film themed in turn of the century Baltimore.
One of the unique features of this flick are the "horror horn" and the "fear flasher", which display and sound each time a grusome killing is about to take place. They are really superflueous though as no gore and little blood is shown in the picture. The most frightening thing about it is the soft-spoken killer who seems to strike out of nowhere and keeps eluding the police.
This film may not keep you glued to your seat in suspense, though I'll wager that you'll find it very entertaining and worth watching at least once.
Suitable for viewers age 8 and up (yes, I suppose a 7-year-old would be ok), this is a good cult classic which has been unavailable for much too long. Hopefully it will be on DVD soon.
Recommended.
~P~
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