Grade: D
Synopsis: A corrupt feudal lord (Boris Karloff) murders and impersonates his younger twin (Boris Karloff) to further his own ends.
The Black Room, despite some good production and a great dual-role for Boris Karloff, is terminally boring. In fact, it seems that the filmmakers were more interested in showing off the novelty of having Karloff talk to himself then in telling anything resembling a suspenseful story.
It all goes back to the screenplay, which opens with a useless exposition sequence, which basically lays out the plot of the entire film. That they can do this in just a few minutes should probably tip you off to the fact that there’s only about 15 minutes worth of story in this 70-minute feature.
To pad the running time, there’s a tired sub-plot involving a girl the evil twin wants and the noble young man he frames in order to get her, as well as lots and lots of exposition.
The kicker is that, if the filmmakers had just tweaked the formula a bit, they could have had a decent movie. Karloff is good in the dual-role and there’s gothic atmosphere to spare. Cut the opening scene, make the good twin turn evil under the influence of the older brother (thus giving one of Karloff’s characters an actual arc) and you’ve got something.
But unfortunately, we’re stuck with a recycled story that fails to hold our interest. Karloff fans may want to give it a look for the dual role, but that’s about it.
