NIGHT CREATURES (1963)
Collector's Edition Blu-ray
Label: Scream Factory
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 83 Minutes
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.00:1)
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Peter Graham Scott
Cast: Peter Cushing, Yvonne Romain, Patrick Allen, and Oliver Reed
In the 18th century coastal village of Dymchurch, England the locals tell of the appearance of "marsh phantoms", creatures that roam the nearby Romney Marsh on skeleton-horses terrorizing the area. Royal Navy Captain Collier (Patrick Allen, Never Take Sweets from a Stranger) arrives in the area to ensure local business owners are paying their taxes on alcohol, believing that these so-called supernatural phantoms could be cover for a duty-free smuggling operation bringing in booze from neighboring France. While investigating the village Collier and his band of men find themselves most unwelcome by the locals, particularly Reverend Blyss (Peter Cushing, Corruption), who it turns out is the tax-dodging mastermind behind the smuggling operation.
Cushing, not surprisingly, is terrific in the dual-role of sorts, with some swashbuckling action with him swinging from a chandelier, a sly smuggler whose storied past has returned to back to haunt him. There are plenty of great supporting roles as well, including Yvonne Romain (Circus of Horrors) as Clegg's daughter Imogen, Oliver Reed (Paranoiac) as her smoldering-eyed lover Harry Cobtree, and the always welcome Hammer regular Michael Ripper (The Reptile) as Mipps - an undertaker/coffin maker who is the Reverend's right hand man in regard to the smuggling operation, whose shop has secret hidden passageways.
While its more or a swashbuckling smuggler thriller than a traditional Gothic Hammer horror that's no knock against it, it's a briskly paced flick and has some cool phantasmagorical visuals by way of the marsh phantoms on horseback, plus some decently staged fights, including a bloody harpoon wound that I thought was pretty bloody for the era.
Audio/Video: Night Creatures (1963) arrives on Blu-ray from Scream Factory in 1080p HD framed in 2:00:1 widescreen, sourced from a new 2K scan from the interpositive. The source is in excellent shape with only some white speckling It's a thick looking filmic presentation showcasing excellent color saturation, solid blacks levels, and some pleasing fine detail in close-ups of period clothing and facial features. The sole audio option on the disc comes by way of English DTS-HD MA Mono with optional English subtitles. Dialogue sounds clean and well balanced, and the score Don Banks (Torture Garden) has a nice full presentation.
Scream Factory pack the disc with a mix of new and archival extras, beginning with a new Audio Commentary with film historian Bruce Hallenbeck that offers his usual detailed analysis of the swashbuckling adventure, including commenting in Disney's adaptation
The 32-min The Making of Captain Clegg is narrated by John Carson and features film historian Wayne Kinsey, a deep diving feature that explores the literary origins, the adaptation of it, various locations used in the filming and quite a bit more. The 7-min The Mossman Legacy: George Mossman’s Carriage Collection features Kinsey highlighting the carriage collection og Mossman, loaded with some great archival photos of the carriages in various films, including this one.
Pulp Friction – The Cinematic Captain Clegg is a 22-min interview with author/film historian Kim Newman who gets into the Dr. Syn books and some background about the author, with his collection of Dr. Syn novels in display.
The 8-min Brian with Bowie – an interview with special effects artist Brian Johnson features the artists recounting being hired-on by matte Painter Les Bowie. The Hammer Must Fall: Peter Cushing’s Changing Directions – an interview with author/film historian Jonathan Rigby speaking about Cushing being excited for the role as he was a huge fan of the Dr. Syn books, he even penned a treatment for two stories, including a sequel that never happened. The disc is buttoned-up with a Trailer for the film and a Gallery of still, poster, lobby cards and press book.
Special Features:
- NEW 2K Scan from the Interpositive
- NEW Audio Commentary with film historian Bruce Hallenbeck
- NEW Pulp Friction – The Cinematic Captain Clegg – an interview with author/film historian Kim Newman (22 min)
- NEW The Hammer Must Fall: Peter Cushing’s Changing Directions – an interview with author/film historian Jonathan Rigby (28 min)
- NEW Brian with Bowie – an interview with special effects artist Brian Johnson (8 min)
- The Making of Captain Clegg hosted by author Wayne Kinsey (32 min)
- The Mossman Legacy: George Mossman’s Carriage Collection (7 min)
- Theatrical Trailer (3 min)
- Still Gallery (4 min)
Screenshots from the Scream Factory Bu-ray:
