Chamber of Horrors (1966)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Captivating movie !

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

This was originally intended as a pilot for a series. It even ends with a teaser for the next episode. It rises above average TV as it has a lot of good acting in the cast. Patrick O'Neal is in top form as the slasher/murderer. This is a full 9 years before he would be a sinister husband of robots in the Stepford Wives, but this role proves he could bring off sinister roles very well.Wilfred Hyde-White brings off his role as a criminologist very well and his presence beings a respect to the proceedings. For a television production, this has a large cast with the lovely Laura Devon as the main accomplice for O'Neal. She looks great including a still rare shot at this time period for television of her lovely backside walking away from the camera.(Fully Dressed of Course).The plot is predictable but gruesome as a condemned man tries to avenge his enemies. Still the setting of the House of Wax (sort of borrowed from 2 earlier movies) works quite well. The premise of this would still work today as a series with the right cast. Amazingly most of this cast is no longer around.Hy Averback, a veteran TV director is the reason it plays so well. Several members of the cast including Wayne Rogers worked with him often and that might be one of the reasons this one works so well.The special effects are done slickly and cheaply which is not unusual during 1960's television because at this same time the Star Trek production crew was dumpster diving at Desilu to create the sets for that series. The period sets here are impressive though they existed and were used in other series such as The Wild Wild West.

This chiller is universally lambasted – mainly for its derivative plot and the fact that it was originally intended for TV – but the result is fairly stylish nonetheless (thanks largely to its evocative period setting)…though decked-out with the unnecessary, indeed ludicrous, gimmick combo of "Fear Flasher" and "Horror Horn" (warning signs of very little at all!). Patrick O'Neal zestily hams it up as the suave madman villain (we first see him pulling a gun on a preacher in order to perform a wedding ceremony involving his deceased cheating fiancée!) and who, after the self-mutilation – under water! – of his own hand during the train journey to the penitentiary, replaces it with assorted deadly weapons (most memorably, a synthetic hand exploding to reveal a gun underneath)…which, naturally, come in handy {sic} when he embarks upon a vengeful crusade of terror against the people who condemned him; more than 15 years before PIECES (1983), he intends to create a human composite from their various body parts! In hindsight, the "House Of Wax" subplot – allowing amateur criminologists Cesare Danova and Wilfrid Hyde-White (having a ball as always) to do their own sleuthing on the side – is quite redundant, but it does make for a rather nice climax in which O'Neal's own figure acts as "deus ex machina" in his eventual come-uppance. By the way, Tony Curtis' split-second 'gag' appearance is a genuine head-scratcher: just what was the point of it – did he simply happen to be on the premises or, perhaps, owe a favor to the studio?

An aristocratic, sociopathic strangler, Cravatte(Patrick O'Neal, evoking the spirit of Vincent Price with his quietly mad psychopath and demented eyes)in Baltimore(..who removes his handcuffed hand, which was locked to a steel wheel, with an ax after escaping from a train into the sea below a bridge)hides out in New Orleans under a different name, choosing a stunning streetwalker to assist(..unknown to her;she thinks it's a blackmailing scam)him in a series of vengeful crimes retaliating on the key figures who planned to send the killer to the gallows. The true motivation, besides his insanity, that provides him with the desire to kill is the loss of his hand for which he blames the ones who caught him, for being "responsible" for his trauma.The detective team of the debonair, sophisticated sleuth Anthony Draco(Cesare Danova, with his Italian looks and charm)and his protégé, the cerebral criminologist Harold Blount(the delightful, incredibly likable, unflappable Wilfrid Hyde-White), along with side-kick dwarf assistant Pepe(José René Ruiz),will join forces with local law enforcers Inspector Matthew Strudwick(Philip Bourneuf),at first resisting them as mere amateurs until they help capture the killer at the insistence of Cravatte's blustery, cigar chomping Mrs. Perryman(Jeanette Nolan,chewing scenery as a wealthy multi-married voice of authority, whose monetary contributions and prestigious name certainly carry an influence), and Sgt. Jim Albertson(Wayne Rogers). What makes this Holmes/Watson type sleuthing team so unique is, when they aren't helping their peers solve crimes, that they run a wax museum whose exhibits are based on notorious murderers, their victims & devices.If you want a proper description of what the film looks and feels like, imagine if William Castle directed a Hammer film. Baltimore is akin to the fog-infested, cobble-stone streets of London . With macabre humor, some lurid elements regarding Cravatte's dwelling places and selection of "adventuress" women, the deranged methods for which the killer does in his victims(..Cravatte uses an assortment of weapons, such as a meat cleaver, surgical knife, and gun, hooked on to a device he ordered connecting to where his missing hand use to be) , the House of Wax setting which never gets old, and a spirited cast who add extra fun to the sordid atmosphere of the premise. For a film made for a television audience, this is a good looking production....great sets, costumes, use of shadow, and professional camera-work. Director Hy Averback might be looked at as a hack, because his film seems so similar to other directors and companies churning out these type of films at the time but his smörgåsbord of ideas and styles impressed the hell out of me. I think a lot of horror aficionado/buffs will have fun with this one.I think some might penalize this for not being too original. The "House of Wax" setting, which I've always been a fan of, really provides some very amusing bits not to mention the final showdown between our hero and the killer, especially in how Cravatte meets his end. But, the setting has been used before. The killer's affliction, by his own hand, and how he murders folks, has been seen before..the idea of a hook-handed killer doesn't exactly seem fresh, even at that time in 1966. And, many might find the two gimmicks of the "fear flash" and "horror horn", which were all the rage back then, rather hokey. I dunno..I find these gimmicks an amusing part of a cinema from yesteryear. While the story is indeed a wicked one, it's still a film made with a television's audience in mind, so sadly the violent elements are tame, off-screen stuff. Marie Windsor, as a brothel's Madame who lends her place to Cravatte as a hideout because he pays well, and Tony Curtis as a card-playing client in the Red Light District, have small roles.

"Chamber of Horrors" is one those obscure movies, probably available only at Portland video/DVD store Movie Madness. It portrays serial killer Jason Cravette (Patrick O'Neal) on his way to jail when he has to cut off his hand to escape. So, he returns to Baltimore and resumes his murders.Yes, the plot is pretty routine, but this movie is unique. The star is Cesare Danova, better known as Mayor Carmine DePasto in "Animal House". Does that give the movie a feeling of silliness? Maybe, but the movie mostly feels very neat. Also, the judge is played by Vinton Hayworth, aka Gen. Schaeffer on "I Dream of Jeannie". So Bluto Blutarsky and Jeannie are linked by a hook-handed maniac! Go figure! But overall, this movie is a real treat. Fans of 1960s camp will surely love it. And it might just save your life one day...A murder mystery in Baltimore. I try to imagine if one or both of Baltimore's two famous sons (by whom I mean Barry Levinson and John Waters) had directed this movie. Hmmm...