Corridors of Blood

Karloff returned to classy British horror in the late 50s after 25 years with the grisly Victorian gothic of 'Corridors of Blood'.

Karloff plays a surgeon troubled by the agony caused by his craft as effective anaesthesia has yet to be developed. His experiments into finding a solution bare fruit when he makes laughing gas but his demonstration in front of his peers goes wrong when a patient wakes up half way through surgery. He is ruined and seeks solace in an addiction to his own concoction.

Now hopelessly in need of a fix and desperate for money to continue his work, the well meaning but by now morally bankrupt doctor starts signing phoney death certificates for a gang of grave robbers (including Christopher Lee), who sell the corpses for medical experiments. It's going to be a nasty spiral into insanity and murder and we get to go for the ride...

This is great gothic horror with real atmosphere. The studio bound streets and slums of old London town reek of poverty and despair and denizens are suitably corrupt. Karloff brings real emotion to his role after a stint of bad B-movie schlock in previous years.

A real retro gem, Corridors of Blood is streets ahead of other 50s horror quickies.