Synopsis:

Originally entitled the Door With Seven Locks, The Chamber of Horrors has very little if anything to do with horror. Essentially, A wealthy man is on his deathbed at the start of the film. Around him are his butler, maid, physician, chauffer and another attendant of ill-defined position. Knowing his death is certain, the man identifies that his son is to receive all of the benefit of his estate. Additionally, he has set aside tidy sums of cash for all those who are around his bed, in appreciation for their assistance in his last hours. In the event that his son should die, the balance of his estate is to go to his son's first cousin. A lovely young woman living in the countryside of Great Britain. The monies set aside for them prove to be too little and this band of "courtesans" does all it can to secure the totality of this estate for themselves. They are willing to do anything from deception to murder…if necessary. The Seven locks refer to the crypt/vault that the Lord of the manner is entombed in. It bears seven locks that require seven keys. When one of the keys disappears, those in control begin to escalate their plan for keeping the money all "in the family". Chamber of Horrors is truly a more appropriate title than the European title of The Door with the Seven locks in that, once you begin watching the movie you are immersed in a chamber of visual and aural horrors that go on for far too long.

Audio/Video:

The audio is presented in a mono platform that suffers from a great degree of suppression and muffling. At times the presentation is so awful that you have no idea what anyone is saying. As there are no subtitles available on the disc, you are left wondering what you missed on far too many occasions. Furthermore, the audio is tinny and the dialogue though poor in it's own right, is pretty severely mangled. Some of the audio "treats" are a doubling and tripling of the voices, a great deal of background noise and an overwhelming drowning score that further muddies the experience.

The video much like the audio is full of every mistake, scratch, pixellation, chroma noise and any other mistake you can think of. It's presented in full frame and the image ranges from poor to awful. Quite a bad transfer. Considering the novelty of the title, it's possible that this is the best transfer available however; this version of the film is simply horrible.

Extras:

The extras for the film include, the film's original opening titles as well as background information on the making of the film and the actor's involved in its creation. There is also a still of the film's rating, demonstrating the approval of the film society's declaration that the film is suitable for adult audiences.

Overall:

I wish I could say that this is a serious thriller from the forties but I can't. This played more like the Three Stooges- show- you- how- to- solve- a- crime, than a thriller worth of the title "thriller". It's a very slow moving film that's marred by over-the-top awful performances and a leading lady who really set new heights in the ridiculous. The only good thing I have to say about the film is that it ended an hour and a half after it began. Dismal story dismally acted and poorly presented. If you are looking for a good mystery try Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes, just avoid this stinker like the plague. Skip it