calvinnme Karloff plays a dual role here as twin brothers, the oldest of which is heir to the family fortune and lands. The children's' father fears the old prophesy that as the family began, so will it end, and it began with a younger jealous twin killing the older twin. This is what he fears will happen again since the younger twin inherits none of the lands that the older one does. Furthermore, the younger twin's right arm is paralyzed, giving the younger twin even more reason for bitterness and ultimately jealousy and murder. The prophesy also says that the murder will occur in the "Black Room" just as before. A family friend states the obvious - seal off the black room so that it cannot be used and thus the murder will never happen. The father does that, and erroneously rests easy.Well, history doesn't exactly repeat itself. The older twin, Gregor turns out to be evil, and the younger twin, Anton, though disabled and without property of his own, is a good and generous soul. Gregor invites Anton home to "help him" - which, unknown to Anton, is actually part of a devilish escape plot by Gregor whose subjects are boiling over with rage from all of the women who have gone missing in the castle over the years. Both brothers take a fancy to the daughter of Colonel Hassle, Thea (Marian Marsh), though Thea actually loves a soldier. Thea is quite uneasy with the affections of Gregor, given his polite but menacing demeanor and all of those rumors about missing girls. So how can Gregor manage to both get the girl and get away from the angry villagers? Watch and find out. The plot is extremely clever and ironic, Karloff's acting is superb with his roles seemingly tailor made for him, and the supporting players are very good, but there really isn't much atmosphere in this one to the point that it is really difficult to classify it as horror. Its strength is in its screenplay and in Karloff's performance, not its visuals. Still, I'd recommend this one.

TheLittleSongbird Boris Karloff is reason enough to watch any film that features him. After hearing much about his performance here, that it was one of his best, I knew I wanted to see The Black Room. And I'm glad I did. The supporting cast are only competent, with only the alluring Marian Marsh making a really good impression, mainly because of some bad accents and also because the characters don't get enough time to shine properly. I also think the film could have been a tad longer. However, The Black Room is a handsome-looking film, with suitably Gothic production values and crisp photography. There's a haunting- but never too obvious- music score, as well as solid direction and scripting. The story is tautly written and moves quickly. It is admittedly standard in basic concept, but it is always involving and suspenseful, I did like that the debauchery, torture and sadism was largely implied than shown as it did add to the suspense factor and the ending is splendidly ironic. But The Black Room is worth noting primarily for the performance of Boris Karloff. His dual role as two brothers called for a hateful and sympathetic side, two sides that Karloff in one of his best performances brings across brilliantly. Overall, a very good film with a truly great lead performance. 8/10 Bethany Cox

The_Void The Black Room was released during a golden period of horror; and as such has been largely forgotten with the Frankenstein and Dracula films remaining enduringly popular. I suppose the problem is that it doesn't really fit into any genre; there's not quite enough horror for it to be considered a horror film, and while it has a period setting; it's not exactly a historical drama either. However, that for me is what makes it interesting; there wasn't another film like this one made around the same time, making The Black Room somewhat unique. As a side note, I also believe this to be an influence for the classic Giallo The Red Queen Kills Seven Times. The story focuses on the birth of twin brothers. This is bad news for the family concerned - wealthy barons - as legend has it that the younger brother will kill the older inside 'the black room' as happened many years earlier. They decide to have the black room sealed up and the brothers grow up. The older is left in charge of people in his consistency, and cuts an unpopular figure. He then calls his brother back to their home, apparently to help him run his affairs.The most memorable thing about the film is undoubtedly the dual role for Boris Karloff. He plays the role of the brothers very well and since both are so different, he is really able to show what a great performer he was. This really is Boris Karloff's film; and one of his characters is featured in almost every scene. Of course, this film was made before the age of computer effects; so naturally it was rather more difficult then to have both characters on screen together. Director Roy William Neill handles this very well, however; it's always obvious how it's done, but through sleight of hand; the director manages to give the appearance that they're both on screen at the same time. It has to be said that the first half of the film is a bit slow; but it soon picks up and the second half is really very interesting. The atmosphere is really good too; the director creates a thick Gothic feel for the film that really benefits it; the few scenes taking place in a graveyard are a particular highlight, as is the title location; 'the black room'. Overall, this is a very good little film and well worth the effort of tracking down.

Bill357 When I was a boy people didn't own many videotapes. All the big Hollywood blockbusters were about twenty bucks each (eighties money) and every kid I knew had a collection of bargain tapes recorded in SP mode. One of my absolute favorites was the Goodtimes Home Video release of The Black Room.In my humble opinion this is the best horror film of the thirties, even better than the much touted Universal horrors. The first time I watched it, I was almost instantly mesmerized by the look and feel of this movie and by the incredible dual performance by Boris Karloff. The script is simple, to the point, and brilliant with a great ironic twist ending.The idea of a serial murderer trysting with young unmarried women and filling a pit with their corpses seems very daring for it's time. This is one of the few purely psychological horror films of the era but with a foreboding Gothic atmosphere and plenty of superstition that gives it the feel of the supernatural.Interesting note: The scene where Gregor (masquerading as Anton) is confronted by Anton's dog and treated cruelly by it's seemingly beloved master is repeated decades later in Karloff's Black Sabbath where he returns home having been turned into a vampire.