IMDb RATING
6.0/10
1.4K
YOUR RATING
A one-handed madman uses various detachable devices as murder weapons to gain revenge on those he believes have wronged him.A one-handed madman uses various detachable devices as murder weapons to gain revenge on those he believes have wronged him.A one-handed madman uses various detachable devices as murder weapons to gain revenge on those he believes have wronged him.
José René Ruiz
- Senor Pepe De Reyes
- (as Tun Tun)
Leon Alton
- Tour Group Member
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn addition to being obviously inspired by House of Wax (1953), this film uses several sets designed for the 1953 film, including the House of Wax itself.
- GoofsWhen Jason places the "bride" victim on the bed near the beginning of the film, in close-up her eyes are gazing straight up and her mouth is slightly open. But, in the next shot, her gaze is lower and her mouth is practically closed. Also, the pillows around her head change.
- Quotes
Anthony Draco: Can you describe him?
Marie Champlain: He's... he's tall and uh... he's dark and um... uh... soft-spoken. He moves very quietly. What's wrong me? He's the easiest man in the world to identify. His right hand is missing.
- Crazy creditsAlthough he played a major character in the film, Patrick O'Neal's name does not appear in the ending credits. His name only appears at the end of the opening credits as "and PATRICK O'NEAL as 'Jason.'"
- Alternate versionsProduced as a TV series pilot, this film was determined to be too violent for the small screen and given theatrical distribution instead. Added for this release was an exploitation device called the "Fear Flasher/Horror Horn", ostensibly to warn the audience of the "Four Supreme Fright Points" (although it was not applied to the picture's most explicitly violent moment, the climactic fate of the villain). This device was explained in an introductory sequence narrated by William Conrad. Upon first showing on US network television, both the device and its explanation were deleted, but in subsequent syndication to local stations in the 1970s and '80s, some such prints were seen.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Deadly Earnest's Spooky Colour Marathon (1975)
- SoundtracksAn der schönen, blauen Donau, Op. 314 (On the Beautiful Blue Danube)
(uncredited)
Music by Johann Strauss
Played at the party
Featured review
The horror school of William Castle
"Chamber of Horrors" is deliciously absurd and tacky horror of the 1960s, and I love it wholeheartedly! The plot of the film was intended as the pilot for a TV-series, but eventually it was considered too gruesome and shocking for television. So, instead, director Hy Averback and his crew turned the concept into a long-feature film and added a few redundant but contemporary popular gimmicks like the "Fear Flasher" and the "Horror Horn". These features are obviously inspired by the marketing tricks invented by the legendary William Castle ("The Tingler", "13 Ghost", ...) and warn viewers when supposedly shocking sequences are about to start, so they have the time to cover eyes and ears. Cute but derivative, of course, and quite unnecessary because "Chamber of Horrors" is already sufficiently inventive, entertaining and compelling without having to use silly gimmicks.
I'd really wish that someone in Hollywood would pick up the idea and produce the overdue TV-series after all! The concept is inspired by the 1953 classic "House of Wax" and set in Baltimore around the end of the 19th century. The local wax museum proudly exhibits gruesome real-life crimes and the series would feature the museum's two curators as amateur-criminologists that outsmart the police and solve macabre murder cases. Clever! The first assignment for the handsome Anthony Draco (Cesare Danova) and the witty Harold Blount (Wilfred Hyde-White) is apprehending the crazy Jason Cravatte, who strangled his fiancé with her own hair and married the corpse afterwards. Cravatte is arrested and sentenced to death, but he escapes during prison transport by chopping off his own manacled hand and throwing himself into the Baltimore River. With a hook for a hand and a sexy French prostitute as an accomplice, Cravatte returns to Baltimore with the fiendish plan to kill everyone who wronged him in court.
Vintage Grand-Guignol material, in other words, and "Chamber of Horrors" is fantastically entertaining thanks to its bizarrely twisted plot details, grotesque scenery and vivid acting performances. Patrick O'Neal is so delightfully sinister and menacing as the homicidal Jason Cravatte that even his famous lookalike Vincent Price couldn't had played the role better! The script also introduces numerous intriguing supportive characters that were clearly supposed to become recurring regulars in the series, so it's a crying shame the format didn't go through. Even in the extended 99-minutes version, the gore and bloodshed are rather limited, so feel free to keep watching when you see the Fear Flasher and hear the Horror Horn.
I'd really wish that someone in Hollywood would pick up the idea and produce the overdue TV-series after all! The concept is inspired by the 1953 classic "House of Wax" and set in Baltimore around the end of the 19th century. The local wax museum proudly exhibits gruesome real-life crimes and the series would feature the museum's two curators as amateur-criminologists that outsmart the police and solve macabre murder cases. Clever! The first assignment for the handsome Anthony Draco (Cesare Danova) and the witty Harold Blount (Wilfred Hyde-White) is apprehending the crazy Jason Cravatte, who strangled his fiancé with her own hair and married the corpse afterwards. Cravatte is arrested and sentenced to death, but he escapes during prison transport by chopping off his own manacled hand and throwing himself into the Baltimore River. With a hook for a hand and a sexy French prostitute as an accomplice, Cravatte returns to Baltimore with the fiendish plan to kill everyone who wronged him in court.
Vintage Grand-Guignol material, in other words, and "Chamber of Horrors" is fantastically entertaining thanks to its bizarrely twisted plot details, grotesque scenery and vivid acting performances. Patrick O'Neal is so delightfully sinister and menacing as the homicidal Jason Cravatte that even his famous lookalike Vincent Price couldn't had played the role better! The script also introduces numerous intriguing supportive characters that were clearly supposed to become recurring regulars in the series, so it's a crying shame the format didn't go through. Even in the extended 99-minutes version, the gore and bloodshed are rather limited, so feel free to keep watching when you see the Fear Flasher and hear the Horror Horn.
helpful•71
- Coventry
- Mar 20, 2019
- How long is Chamber of Horrors?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 20 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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