Horrors of the Black Museum Blu-ray - Michael Gough / June Cunningham

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Arthur Crabtree
UK 1959

A new restoration of this 1959 horror film starring Michael Gough and directed by Arthur Crabtree. Horrors of the Black Museum marked the first film in the "Sadian Trilogy" followed by Circus of Horrors and Peeping Tom.

A series of grisly, macabre murders sweep London and leave Scotland Yard completely baffled. Bancroft, an evil crime journalist is hypnotising his assistant to commit murders for his own crime stories and delighting in the Yard's embarrassment.

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The power of hypnotism provides the basis of this film that was released in "Hypnovision" (yet another promotional gimmick) A budding and frustrated mystery writer takes extreme steps to insure that his latest thriller contains accurate descriptions of horrible murders in this gory horror thriller. He decides that the best way to do this is to set up and witness similar murders first- hand, so, not wanting to bloody his own hands, he hypnotizes his assistant, turns him into a deformed monster and has him do the dirty work using a few devilishly clever gadgets that include binoculars equipped with spring-loaded spikes, a secret guillotine poised above a young woman's bed, and deadly ice tongs. Afterward, the writer drops the bodies in a vat of acid. Several people die before the assistant rebels and gets bloody revenge.

Posters

Theatrical Release: April 17th, 1959

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Review: Studiocanal (Cult Classics) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures: Also available on Blu-ray from VCI in the US:
Distribution	Studiocanal (Cult Classics) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:21:49.958
Video	2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 35,951,662,707 bytes Feature: 27,432,155,136 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit Commentary: LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Studiocanal (Cult Classics) 2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 35,951,662,707 bytes Feature: 27,432,155,136 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • NEW Audio Commentary with Kim Newman and writer/editor Steve Jones • NEW Interview with novelist and critic Kim Newman (21:47) • Hypnovista Introduction (11:20) • Original Trailer (2:55) • B&W Lobby Cards Blu-ray Release Date: January 15th, 2024 Standard Blu-ray Case inside slipcase Chapters 12

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Studiocanal (Cult Classics) Blu-ray (January 2024): Studiocanal, under their 'Cult Classics' marquee, have transferred Arthur Crabtree's Horrors of the Black Museum to Blu-ray. We reviewed the Network, bare-bones, PAL DVD back in 2013 HERE. In December 2023 VCI released Horrors of the Black Museum on Blu-ray in the US, but we don't own it to compare. This is certainly am upgrade over the softer DVD (which is strangely in a 2.66:1 aspect ratio.) The SD shows more information on the side edges than the 2.35:1 1080P (while the Blu-ray gains a shade on the top.) Presumably the color shift shows more accuracy with plenty of dominant reds. There is a bit of depth but the grain is quite clunky. It looked quite good on my system but still have some odd softness.

NOTE: We have added 50 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Studiocanal (Cult Classics) use a linear PCM dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Horrors of the Black Museum has a few shocking sequences - supported by screams and a vigorous score by Gerard Schurmann (The Lost Continent, Konga, The Camp on Blood Island, Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh) that doesn't hold back much with some bombastic flourishes. Studiocanal (Cult Classics) offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'B' Blu-ray.

The Studiocanal (Cult Classics) Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Kim Newman (author of Classic Monsters Unleashed) and writer/editor Steve Jones (author of The Art Of Horror Movies: An Illustrated History.) They discuss the film's Cinemascope widescreen, it being in color and also an Anglo-Amalgamated Production. They talk about how the graphic-ness had a larger reputation than deserved. They are enthused over this described as a "Kitchen sink drama" meets Hammer Horror. They enjoy the film's excesses and sly perversities. In a new 22-minute interview with Newman he discusses producer Herman Cohen, his films, and the prevalent themes within them. He also talks about British radio and independent film producer / screenwriter Harry Alan Towers ands the over-the-top performance of Michael Gough. Also included is a dozen-minute 'Hypnovista Introduction' gimmick used back in the day, an original trailer and the package has four B&W Lobby Cards (see below.)

Arthur Crabtree's Horrors of the Black Museum is reasonably paced but doesn't have enough character development and the lead performances are certainly campy. The 'monster' just appears to have Oatmeal on his face. It seems to be 'sold' for its gore - which is really a 'bark is worse than its bite'. It does have a few sexualized hints but not near enough Shirley Anne Field. Still, we love the 'so bad, it's good' genre of which this film snugly fits. Supposedly, Horrors of the Black Museum was inducted into the Museum of Modern Art at the request of Martin Scorsese! It takes itself seriously which is, in itself, very appealing. The Studiocanal (Cult Classics) Blu-ray has the film a/v with a strong upgrade, new commentary, more Kim Newman, 'Hypnovista Introduction' and the Art cards. If you love the genre-era - it's an easy purchase.

Gary Tooze

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