One of those dreary Mexican productions that Boris Karloff made toward the end of his career, "The Fear Chamber"'s only attraction for the great but now aged and ailing star must have been the paycheck. The plot, already described elsewhere, is ludicrous, the set looks like somebody's basement, and the effects are cheap.It's always worth seeing Karloff, but otherwise the only attraction is the supporting cast which includes various beautiful women, including Isele Vega (best known for "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia"), who are called upon to add some sex to the mix. The lesbian scenes make no sense within the context of the story, but they may at least prevent you from fast-forwarding to the conclusion.

Thankfully, he didn't live to see this turkey released.The plot is simple. A scientist (Boris) finds a living rock from the center of the Earth that promises the secrets to the universe, but requires the adrenaline of terrified women to live. He realizes that the rock is a murdering creature, and suffers an episode (excusing him from having to appear in the rest of the movie until the very end.) The rest of the film is filled by bad Mexican actors and strippers wearing granny panties. Which just goes to prove, illegal aliens are just doing JObs Americans won't do, because I couldn't imagine any American wanting to appear in this tripe.This movie would have been lost to history had it not had Karloff's scenes in it. It's too bad the Karloff estate, which jealously guards his image today, can't get this and other dubious works pulled from distribution.

When Karloff completed work on The Curse of the Crimson Altar for Tigon in the UK, many believed it would be his last film. He had spent some time in hospital during the shoot, and there were a few teary eyes when the shoot was finally over and he flew home. So imagine the surprise of everyone concerned when it turned out he was already contracted to appear in another four films! This group of Mexican horrors included such near-classics as The Fear Chamber, The Incredible Invasion, Isle of the Living Dead and House of Evil. These films were all shot in a matter of weeks, with Karloff's scenes shot in California, and the rest down in Mexico. He was obviously quite frail by this point. The majority of his sixties films featured him either in a wheelchair or at least sitting/ lying down for the majority of the time, and The Fear Chamber is no exception. Despite the obvious limitations however, he still puts in a great performance.The Fear Chamber has one of the most ludicrous plots I have come across, which given the amount of "bad" films I've watched is really saying something. To summarize: a telepathic rock which feeds on the chemical produced by fear is kept alive by an ambitious scientist and his misfit band of assistants, including his insipid daughter and her heroic boyfriend, Mexico's answer to Tor Johnson, who from now on will be referred to as Lobo, a sex-maniac dwarf, a predatory lesbian with a predilection for torture, and some kind of turban-wearing hippy guru, reminiscent of a young George Harrison.Now that sounds like a great basis for a movie, and it certainly starts off strong. Disguised as a refuge for women looking for work, the scientists force one after another into the Fear Chamber, which is what a bad acid trip in a ghost train must be like. It is full of cobwebs, snakes, skeletons and satanic rituals, and the women finally scream themselves into unconsciousness. The precious fear juice is then extracted in the lab and fed to the hungry rock. Carried back to their beds, they wake up believing it was all a bad dream. Meanwhile Lobo develops an obsession for diamonds and has some sort of telepathic link with the rock. He also sports a lobotomy scar, which leads you to suspect that the casting sessions for this film were held at the Mexican Insane Asylum.Karloff's character sustains an injury early on in the film, conveniently (for him) leaving him bedridden until the final reel. This is unfortunate, as when he's off the screen the films dips low, and I mean really low. The assortment of unusual characters manage to entertain some of the time, but when the focus is on the burgeoning love story between Karloff's daughter and her boyfriend you feel yourself reaching for the fast forward button. This film has been released on DVD before, but this is the version to pick up. Not only does it feature an excellent transfer and soundtrack, it also comes with a deleted scene (see a Mexican go-go dancer get savaged by a tentacled rock!) and an excellent commentary by the writer and director of the American half, Corman veteran Jack Hill.So in a nutshell, this is a film worth purchasing as a)it stars Boris Karloff, who is worth watching in any old rubbish (which is just as well, as he never seemed particularly picky with his roles) b)It's cheap c)It's a fascinating insight into the world of low budget movie making and in case I forgot to mention it, d) It features half-naked Mexican women being tortured in the haunted house ride from hell.

With all due respect to the review above, I found this psychotronic classic delightfully fun. This is a Mexican-American co-production with the usual bad dubbing and cheesy sets, but if you love late '60's drive-in horror trash in the Joe Bob Briggs mold, you will NOT be disappointed! See! A rock monster who communicates in Moog™ noises! See! A goofy lug named Roland display his talents as a Tor Johnson wannabe! See! A Vegas style big band strip tease with breasts and bare white walls for a backdrop! See! Boris Karloff do his level best to bring some class to this low budget, bloody romp...and succeed! One final note of warning...this film is currently offered as part two of a double feature DVD that RetroMedia has put out (it's also available for rent on Netflix); the first flick, "Island Monster," (1954) is absolutely terrible. Do NOT watch "Island Monster"!! It has NO redeeming value WHATSOEVER! You have been duly warned.