The Black Room (1935)

hyped garbage

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

"The Black Room" is a clever little thriller from Columbia Pictures that gives Boris Karloff a dual role.Karloff plays twin brothers from a powerful family. The oldest is the kindest of gentlemen, and the youngest is wickedness personified. When Bad Karloff is bad, he's really bad, fond of murdering women and burying their bodies in a basement pit. His subjects are on to him and call on Good Karloff to take his place. If only it were that simple. Bad Karloff adds his good brother to his collection of corpses, confident that a prophecy in which he dies by a knife held by his older sibling can no longer be fulfilled. Again, if only it were that simple.Karloff is terrific in both parts, and there's a fine atmospheric touch, not surprising since "The Black Room" was directed by Roy William Neill, the unsung genius who guided Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce through 11 of their 12 Sherlock Holmes movies at Universal.

Fans of Boris Karloff are in for double the pleasure with this early Columbia film. He portrays twin brothers, and though the good versus evil twin concept has been done before and since, Karloff gives it a neat twist based on legend and prophesy. With the titled 'Black Room' lending the picture a mysterious and frightful backdrop, an ancient curse proclaims that a younger brother will one day rise to slay the older. I thought it fairly clever that Gregor de Berghman would renounce his barony only to turn around and victimize poor Anton to remain in power and win over the lovely Thea Hassle (Marian Marsh). Gregor's dispatching of Anton lent new meaning to giving his brother the shaft, and for a while there, I was holding out hope that Anton would have survived his ordeal and found a way out of his predicament. But dead is dead as they say, and Gregor would soon enough get his. The fun was in trying to figure out how the younger Anton would eventually fulfill the ancient curse. There was nothing in the rule book that said he had to be alive to do it, which gave the picture an ironic and fitting conclusion.

If you're going to have a plot involving an evil twin, who could do it better than Boris?The evil Baron Gregor, who has a habit of luring women from the local village and then "disposing" of them, has a public relations problem. Everyone hates him, and he seems to spend most of his day fending off assassins. So why not invite his nice twin, Anton, to come for a visit, let the villagers meet the "good guy," and then take his place? Clever old Gregor, and of course he wants the hand (and other bits) of the lovely Thea as part of the deal.There are plenty of horror-movie clichés, such as Balkan military uniforms, sealed rooms, terrified peasants, scary hounds, and of course the storming of the castle. But there are some really wonderful touches here and there: like the shot when Thea's father sees Gregor/Anton in the mirror, or the look on Thea's face when they announce her lover's sentence.And at the center is the great Boris, doing wonderful characterizations as the two brothers. Along with "The Body Snatcher," I would rate this film at the top of Karloff's performances.

The Black Room was released during a golden period of horror; and as such has been largely forgotten with the Frankenstein and Dracula films remaining enduringly popular. I suppose the problem is that it doesn't really fit into any genre; there's not quite enough horror for it to be considered a horror film, and while it has a period setting; it's not exactly a historical drama either. However, that for me is what makes it interesting; there wasn't another film like this one made around the same time, making The Black Room somewhat unique. As a side note, I also believe this to be an influence for the classic Giallo The Red Queen Kills Seven Times. The story focuses on the birth of twin brothers. This is bad news for the family concerned - wealthy barons - as legend has it that the younger brother will kill the older inside 'the black room' as happened many years earlier. They decide to have the black room sealed up and the brothers grow up. The older is left in charge of people in his consistency, and cuts an unpopular figure. He then calls his brother back to their home, apparently to help him run his affairs.The most memorable thing about the film is undoubtedly the dual role for Boris Karloff. He plays the role of the brothers very well and since both are so different, he is really able to show what a great performer he was. This really is Boris Karloff's film; and one of his characters is featured in almost every scene. Of course, this film was made before the age of computer effects; so naturally it was rather more difficult then to have both characters on screen together. Director Roy William Neill handles this very well, however; it's always obvious how it's done, but through sleight of hand; the director manages to give the appearance that they're both on screen at the same time. It has to be said that the first half of the film is a bit slow; but it soon picks up and the second half is really very interesting. The atmosphere is really good too; the director creates a thick Gothic feel for the film that really benefits it; the few scenes taking place in a graveyard are a particular highlight, as is the title location; 'the black room'. Overall, this is a very good little film and well worth the effort of tracking down.