Chamber Of Horrors / The Brides Of Fu Manchu

Written by Musgo Del Jefe

My first clue should have been that Warner Bros. debuted their "Warner Bros. Horror Double Features" discs in December. The series has the promising tag of double features of horror films that have never been released on DVD. But, if you really had some gems from the huge Warner's vaults, wouldn't you debut the series in October? I'm afraid this first set answered my question.

The first film on the disc is Chamber Of Horrors. This 1966 horror film is an amalgam of the horror film trends of the mid-'60s and an illustration of how television had changed the horror genre. The movie starts with a "grave warning" - one that would make William Castle proud - that there will be scenes so terrifying that management has put visual and audible warning in place for the viewer. There is the Fear Flasher (a flashing red light around the screen) and the Horror Horn (a wailing siren) to warn you when to turn away and close your eyes.

This gimmick is actually pretty clever. The viewer is warned that it will go off at "four supreme fright points" during the film. One, that creates the suspense of waiting for the warnings. Two, the sound of the siren and the flashing red lights caused more stress for me than the "fright points" they were warning me about.

The movie, while American, is solidly based in the British tradition of horror films. The setting is turn-of-the-century Baltimore. But the foggy Baltimore of the movie would easily pass for London. The film starts with Jason Crevette (played wonderfully by Patrick O'Neal) forcing a reverend to marry him to a dead bride. Once turned in by the minister, Jason disappears and the police are at a stand still.

Enter our next British influence, Draco and Blount are owners of a local wax museum (very British) that specialized in Murder Through The Ages. They also seem to play the parts of Sherlock Holmes and Watson - operating outside the police to help solve murders. They are played off the police (who might as well be Scotland Yard) by an Inspector that doesn't want their help and a Sergeant (played by future Trapper John from M*A*S*H - Wayne Rogers) who's their friend. Draco and Blount are helped by my favorite horror genre tradition - a dwarf named Pepe.

Once on the job, Draco and Blount quickly solve the murder with the help of Pepe and Jason is sentenced to death. This felt like the end to a TV show episode. In fact, the movie comes from a pilot about a wax museum where these two would solve murders each week. The Second Act of the film starts quickly - it's nice to see the plot pick up again just as it was lagging. Jason escapes his transport to prison and during a "Supreme Fright Point" loses a hand.

That's an important plot point because it transitions the film to essentially what becomes the second episode of the film. This one is a very British take on Jack The Ripper. It also bears some resemblance to the Vincent Price thriller The Abominable Dr. Phibes. The wax museum boys assume that Jason is dead and that they're solving a completely different set of murders. Little do they realize that Crevette has a whole slew of attachments for his hand including cleavers, scalpels, and hooks.

Once again, Sherlock and Watson (Draco and Blount) are clever in the way they resolve the "second" case of the film. You can really see where this might work in a television format. The direction is solid - although a little derivative of the British horror films look and sound. The wax museum angle is a nice diversion that allows the additional telling of murders by our heroes. It reminded me in parts of the way Night Gallery used the paintings to tie into the story they would tell.

The second film in the set is The Brides Of Fu Manchu. This 1966 is British, but unlike Chamber, it doesn't embrace the trappings of the horror genre. In fact, I'd be hard pressed to even call this a horror film. The film is equal parts mystery and spy film - with much of the suspense coming from detectives trying to solve the mystery of disappearing women.

The Brides Of Fu Manchu is the second in a series of five Fu Manchu films. Brides follows the successful The Face Of Fu Manchu. In all five films of this series, Christopher Lee plays the lead character. Fu Manchu is a typical villain, always looking to take over the world. He's equal parts Ra's Al Ghul (a Batman villain that would come about in the early '70s) and Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers' universe.

The film starts very abruptly with what is probably the last couple minutes of the first film in the series. Everything blows up and Fu Manchu has obviously been killed. But a minute later he's back with a new plan. The plan is about as basic as a thriller plot can get. Fu Manchu is kidnapping the daughters of leading scientists to force them to help him build a Death Ray. What's funny is that his description of the Death Ray device sounds like they are building him an iPhone.

Fu Manchu stays one step ahead of Scotland Yard from his evil lair. The mystery isn't really a mystery and the thriller isn't that thrilling. Lee doesn't get enough of a chance to overact as the title character. But he's definitely the bright spot. There are some fun scenes with ninjas popping in and out of London locales to kidnap the daughters.

Brides is a let-down after the promise of Chambers on this disc. You don't get any extras with the "Horror Double Feature" - so the movies have to carry the day. This double feature comes up one film short. I'm going to keep my eye on this series - Warner's has a ton of great films that haven't seen the light of day on DVD. Maybe their saving their best for next October.

ICONS OF HORROR

Written by El Fangorio

Following their Icons of Adventure box set released earlier in the year comes Sony’s Icons of Horror series, a quartet of genre films heralding from Britain’s legendary Hammer Studios. All of them are premiering on DVD for the first time, making it a special release indeed, as most haven’t been seen since the days (nights) of the late, late show. They all herald from the ‘60s with each title offering something unique, making it perfect for those nights when only a certain type of horror film will do. There’s three that star Christopher Lee, there’s two that involve monsters, there’s one that’s filmed in black and white, and there’s two that are shot in widescreen. Best of all, they all clock in at under 90 minutes.

Starting off on disc one is 1960’s The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, starring Paul Massie, Dawn Adams, and Christopher Lee. The good Dr. Jekyll, in his efforts to study the darker side of man, injects himself with a serum that causes his inner demons to manifest as his alter ego, Mr. Hyde. When Dr. J. finds out his wife is having an affair, it’s up to the good doctor to try and keep his senses lest his alter ego catches wind. This version isn’t too much different than others except that they chose to make Hyde less of a monster and more of a predatory ladies man, which is, let’s face it, not real scary. It doesn’t help that the make-up effects consist solely of facial hair for Jeckyll and smooth-shaven for Hyde, making it all the more unbelievable when nobody notices it’s the same person. It’s easily the weakest of the four titles at hand but is more than justified by it’s scrumptious color cinematography, shot in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and mercifully short running time.

Disc one continues with the series’ other widescreen outing, The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb. Released in 1964 and directed by Hammer studio head Michael Carreras, Curse is the second of Hammer’s Mummy sequels and is known to many fans as not only the worst of the series but also the worst of the entire Hammer collection. The story is typical mummy fare with an undiscovered tomb being desecrated by scholars, resulting in an ancient curse and a resurrected wrapped one. With its history, I was expecting a lot worse but was pleasantly surprised to find the mummy sequences to be well-shot and exciting and at times, even a little gory.

Disc two opens up with one of the most anticipated Hammer releases, 1964’s The Gorgon. Playing a lot like their earlier The Reptile, The Gorgon opens up with the mysterious death of a local villager at the hands of an unseen creature. The townspeople prefer to turn a blind eye to the incidents, fearing local legends of a monster that can turn people to stone, leaving the mystery to be solved by the victim’s relative. From its decaying castles to misty forests, the look of The Gorgon is pure Hammer at its finest. Another outing directed by Terrence Fisher with an emphasis on style, this is a great example of how the studio was able to revamp early gothic horror via eye-popping color. The title creature, almost always in shadows, is one of the best and truly eerie.

Capping off the collection and, in my honest opinion, saving the best for last, is Scream of Fear. It tells the timeless tale of the already-fragile heiress (this time played by Susan Strasberg) who comes home from the asylum only to start seeing corpses (again). Is she relapsing? Or is this like every Jimmy Sangster script ever written? Needless to say, this had already been done several times by Hammer and Sangster, namely with Paranoiac and Nightmare, but who cares? This time it’s the best. Strasberg is a hell of a screamer and for good reason: those creepy-ass run-ins with her father’s corpse are some real shockers. Filmed in glorious high-contrast b&w, Scream of Fear is a textbook example of what the format was still capable of and thanks to Sangster’s script, the pace is never dull.

Sony does the Hammer fan proud by giving all of these transfers the high-definition treatment. They truly look spectacular with two of the titles, Mummy and Jekyll being their original versions, preserving some minor cussing and an extended ending for the latter. All transfers are anamorphic with digital mono audio, always sounding crisp and clean. Alas, the only special features offered are each of the titles’ theatrical trailers, which also look stunning (The Gorgon’s being the rarely seen British version). It also bears noting that the cover artwork was voted on by the fans in a web poll, proving just to what extent Sony went to make the Monster Kids happy.