BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Ploydsge just watch it!

Supelice Dreadfully Boring

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

mark.waltz To recent film audiences, Michael Gough is best known as Alfred, the Butler, in the first few of the "Batman" movie franchise. But to classic horror movie buffs, he's the forgotten master of terror, brushed aside to obscurity among names like Tod Slaughter and Lionel Atwill. But in rediscovering the series of British grand guignole near masterpieces, I have come to gain an appreciation for the artistic end of the horror movie game, where he, tall and lanky like Boris Karloff and Vincent Price, and not nearly as obvious in his horrific activities like Bela Lugosi or the forgotten Tod Slaughter. In this film, he's the proprietor of a private museum of terrors, and when a series of gruesome slaughters begin to plague London, Scotland Yard goes to see him, not as a suspect, but to aide them in their quest to find the maniacal killer, because of his knowledge of the type of tortures used to knock off the victims.The killings themselves are done very subtly, but indicate the gruesome ways in which people are killed. A jilting lover gets the guillotine; A nosy shopkeeper becomes a bloody mess thanks to a pair of ice tongs. The very first scene in the film has a woman looking through a dual kaleidoscope, and screams out in agony as blood drips quickly down her body. By doing all of this subtly, the filmmakers really make the viewer prepare for the unexpected, yet when these creepy murders do occur, the way they are presented will still have you either jump, go into a quick shock (then be convulsed with laughter over the ingenious way they are presented), or drop your jaw and want to re-wind to see it all over again. The number of Gough's victims also includes his young assistant (Graham Curnow) who has basically been blackmailed into silence, and then is later drugged into committing his own murder so Gough will be able to keep him in check. The finale, set at an amusement park, is a riveting conclusion to what deserves to be added to the list of "The best horror films you've never even heard of."

Hitchcoc I saw this as a child. The opening scene where a young innocent woman uses a pair of gift binoculars. As she looks through the eyepieces, spikes come shooting out, through her eyes and into her brain, killing her. Apparently, there have been a series of murders of women that the police have been unable to solve. A journalist who writes about gruesome murders harasses the police over their perceived incompetence. He is anathema to the authorities, but they don't have anything they can prove. He has a partner, a young man who follows his every wish, and they have their own black museum, which is a place where weapons used in murders and serious crimes are displayed. As things progressed, there are more and more hideous events. The journalist is always there when things happen. The ending is when it all falls apart. While the movie is good to look at, there isn't much to recommend this.

Scott LeBrun It's a shame, really: with a delightfully lurid and catchy title such as "Horrors of the Black Museum" and advertising that hyped a special "Hypno-Vista" process, this could and should have been more fun. It's reasonably amusing, but its good moments are spread pretty far apart amid a lot of talk and a slow pace (even so, the movie only runs 79 minutes long).Fiendish murders are plaguing the city of London, and prominent crime expert / journalist Edmond Bancroft (Michael Gough) just loves it to write about it. He definitely has a flair for the sensational. This sets him at odds with the weary Scotland Yard detectives investigating the case, including Superintendent Graham (Geoffrey Keen, whom one may recognize from his appearances in several James Bond franchise entries) and Inspector Lodge (John Warwick).The movie can boast a couple of nifty gadgets: binoculars that shoot needles into unwary eyes, a pair of ice tongs, and a miniature guillotine. The title derives from the collection kept by the Yard of hideous murder implements; Bancroft also maintains an impressive collection of his own.Helping to make this little horror film palatable are gorgeous CinemaScope photography and an excellent cast also including June Cunningham as Bancrofts' fed-up girlfriend, Graham Curnow as his loyal assistant Rick, the lovely Shirley Anne Field as Ricks' gal pal Angela, Beatrice Varley as shop keeper Aggie, and Austin Trevor as Commissioner Wayne. But Gough, not surprisingly, thoroughly dominates the proceedings with a delicious hammy performance. One could never accuse Gough of not giving a role 100% percent, and he doesn't disappoint here.Overall, this is a mild diversion and no more.Six out of 10.

Sean Jump Though younger viewers will remember Michael Gough more for his role of Alfred in the 1989 version of Batman (and its sequels), Mr. Gough had a long and distinguished career in film. He played Arthur Holmwood to great effect in Horror of Dracula, and went on to play the villainous lead in a number of other horror films. Horrors of the Black Museum is a very good thriller which Gough dominates from beginning to end with his strong on screen presence and distinctive, rich voice and aristocratic mannerisms. Gough was a consummate professional, but it really seems that he had a lot of fun playing the role of Edmond Bancroft, the arrogant and rather shady crime writer who feeds off of murder like an insatiable parasite. The cast does a fine job overall, including Graham Curnow as Bancroft's assistant, Rick, a young man with great ambitions who can't seem to break out from his boss's stifling shadow. Plus, there are two particularly beautiful ladies on hand: June Cunningham is spectacular as Joan, Bancroft's rather rebellious kept woman, and Shirley Anne Field is pretty and appealing as Rick's girlfriend, the innocent Angela. The story is well-written, takes several twists and turns, and gradually goes from being a straightforward murder mystery to something of a mad scientist's tale. There are many clever touches in the movie, particularly with regards to the several highly creative death scenes, and the climax is genuinely shocking and tragic. Though not especially bloody by modern standards, Horrors of the Black Museum pushed the envelope for explicit violence for its day, and thanks to a well-managed build-up of drama and suspense retains its ability to thrill even in the 21st century.