‘Fear Chamber’
Azteca Films, 1972

starring: Boris Karloff, Julissa, Isela Vega and Yerye Beirute
directed by: Juan Ibanez

the plot: A team of scientists lead by Dr. Mandel (Karloff) uncovers a strange signal emanating from beneath an active volcano. Below the surface of the earth, they discover a new life form—a sentient piece of rock that can communicate telepathically. After testing the rock, Mandel determines it requires food—specifically, the blood of a human in “an extreme state of fear”—to live. The doctor, his daughter Corrine (Julissa) and his assistants Helga (Vega) and Roland (Beirute) construct an elaborate “fear chamber,” full of snakes, spiders and faux Satanic rituals, into which they thrust unsuspecting women so as to obtain fear-filled blood. The rock grows and the doctor decides to end the experiment, but soon has a nervous breakdown. Corrine goes on vacation and Helga and Roland are left in charge. They quickly fall under the spell of the rock and begin kidnapping and torturing young girls in order to discover the secrets the rock promises to reveal.

why it’s good: “Fear Chamber” is absolute, trashy madness suitable for “MST3K”-style mocking. Karloff is, rather justly, given top billing in the credits, even though he disappears for most of the film. The plot doesn’t make much sense—what did the rock eat all those years when it was trapped under the volcano?—and the sequences set inside the “fear chamber” are chock full of ridiculousness, with plenty of fake spiders, prop skeletons and a murderous dwarf. Despite that, “Fear Chamber” is pretty decent, at least for the first 45 minutes. Once Karloff ducks out, the film spirals out of control. Roland, the dimwitted assistant, spends all his time asking the rock about where he can find diamonds so that he may become “king of the world.” Meanwhile, Helga starts putting the moves on Roland for reasons unknown. And just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, Helga and Roland hire a prostitute to do a little striptease for the rock.

why you should own it: Previously unavailable, “Fear Chamber” makes its U.S. debut on a sharp DVD from Elite Entertainment. The disc features a nice transfer of the film and audio commentary from the director. Be warned, though—this one is for Karloff completists only.