Fear Chamber

One of the handful of dirt-cheap American / Mexican horror films headlined by Boris Karloff before the horror legend passed away, "Fear Chamber" a.k.a. "Torture Zone" is "good" schlocky fun. As long as viewers go in knowing to expect an over the top level of cheese and a complete dearth of quality, they can have some fun with this. Whatever one may think of these movies, it's admirable that Karloff kept soldiering on, despite being in weak health.

The main reason to watch is to see Karloff once again give his all, even to movies that really didn't deserve his level of professionalism. Written by American cult favourite Jack Hill ("Coffy", "Spider Baby") and Luis Enrique Vergara, it tells of scientists discovering a "living rock" within a volcanic crevice. Dr. Karl Mantell (Karloff) deduces that it needs to feed upon people when they are at their most terrified.

Directors Hill and Juan Ibanez don't concern themselves with being terribly coherent, instead just throwing wacky characters into the mix to keep it just odd enough. Yerye Beirute is a hoot as an utterly demented goon named Roland, a guy who's given to uttering "I'm the king of the world" long before Leo DiCaprio made the phrase famous. Mexican superstar Isela Vega is likewise fun as a determined, cold-blooded scientist named Helga. Carlos East is okay as another of the eggheads; Julissa plays Mantells' daughter.

Stupid, poorly filmed, and indicative of its (lack of) budget at every turn, "Fear Chamber" still manages to entertain fans of this type of thing, despite itself. It's really Karloff that makes the big difference. Even in light of the "quality" level here, and his own ailing health, he remains compelling.

Five out of 10.