Monday, July 12, 2021

Horrors of the Black Museum (1959)

A superbly dark yet campy horror. Someone is killing young women in London with various gruesome methods including a guillotine. The police in the form of Superintendent Graham (Geoffrey Keen) are baffled by the crimes as there are no clues. However, noted crime writer Edmond Bancroft (Michael Gough) seems to have a lot of information on the crimes...

Which is no surprise because he has his own black museum filled with brutal and sinister weapons of murder, his assistant Rick (Graham Curnow) is using the weapons to commit the crimes thanks to the control exerted on him by Bancroft. However, Bancroft begins to become reckless as his chosen victims no longer are random but are scores to be settled...

Although very silly at times, Bancroft's "computer" is hilarious for example and some of the murders are completely over-the-top, the film has some moments of real campy horror. The police are completely hapless in this one, remaining fairly clueless despite all of the blatant clues left all over the place by Bancroft and Rick. A good fun horror film that is not to be taken seriously.