CREEPING HORROR (1933-1946)
Label: Eureka Entertainment
Region Code: B
Rating: Cert 12
Audio: Uncompressed English Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Four more tales of terror from the vaults of Universal Pictures
Synopsis: A maniacal hunter and collector of wild animals uses them to dispose of rivals and enemies in the shockingly violent Murders in the Zoo (dir. A. Edward Sutherland, 1933). Bela Lugosi stars in a creepy tale of strange characters, secret passages and a murderer who masters the art of "mind over matter" in Night Monster (dir. Ford Beebe, 1942). What started out as a treasure-making scheme ends up deadly for a group of people stuck in a haunted castle with a killer known as "the Phantom" in Horror Island (dir. George Waggner, 1941). And finally, Rondo Hatton is "the Creeper", a giant of a man used as an instrument of evil by a mad sculptor in House of Horrors (dir. Jean Yarbrough, 1946).
Special Features:
- Limited Edition Slipcase (First Print Run of 2000 copies)
Another terrific deep-dive from Eureka into the dust-bins of Universals Pictures vast and varied video vaults, offering plenty of sadistic, mad science, chills and thrills. This terrific set comes highly recommended specifically to those b-movie spelunkers who tend to dig a little deeper than Universal's famous monsters line-up for their thrills.
Synopsis: A maniacal hunter and collector of wild animals uses them to dispose of rivals and enemies in the shockingly violent Murders in the Zoo (dir. A. Edward Sutherland, 1933). Bela Lugosi stars in a creepy tale of strange characters, secret passages and a murderer who masters the art of "mind over matter" in Night Monster (dir. Ford Beebe, 1942). What started out as a treasure-making scheme ends up deadly for a group of people stuck in a haunted castle with a killer known as "the Phantom" in Horror Island (dir. George Waggner, 1941). And finally, Rondo Hatton is "the Creeper", a giant of a man used as an instrument of evil by a mad sculptor in House of Horrors (dir. Jean Yarbrough, 1946).
NIGHT MONSTER (1942)
Duration: 62 Minutes
Director: Ford Beebe
Cast: Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Leif Erikson, Irene Harvey, Ralph Morgan
Night Monster (1942) is the tale of a wealthy wheelchair bound invalid who invites three surgeons - who are the men responsible for botching the operation that crippled him - to his creepy mansion which seems to be located right in the middle of a swamp. The surgeons are stunned when the crippled man seems to have use of his previously inert arms, which he reveals are the result of modern mechanization. He is also eager to show the surgeons the potential application of the mystic arts in regaining the use of his still crippled legs, which he has been studying with the help of an Eastern mystic, who demonstrates the mystical art of "materialization", summoning an Egyptian skeleton from thin air, which disappears as quickly as it appeared, but strangely leaves behind an inexplicable pool of blood. Over the course of the next few nights the invited surgeons are killed one by one, their necks snapped, each time the culprit leaving behind a telltale pool of blood, and with that the mystery is afoot. This is a cool little tale with loads of interesting side characters, all of whom could potentially be the killer. We have a determined no-guff local cop on the case, a date rapist chauffeur, a stern and secretive housekeeper, a hunchbacked servant, a mentally-ill sister, an attractive stranded psychiatrist, plus we get a butler played by the legendary Bela Lugosi (Dracula). Legosi is quite a presence when onscreen even though he s relegated to just one of many background characters, and not given a lot of screen-time, what a waste! It's fun in a Ten Little Indians sort of way with a supernatural slant that elevates it slightly, plus we get a bit of humor, and some decent tension and suspense throughout. That it's also set in a eerie fog-shrouded swamp adds to the overall effectiveness of it all, but at the end of the night it's no great shakes, but it's a fun little programmer that flies by at only seventy-three minutes.
Special Features:
- New audio commentary with author Stephen Jones and author / critic Kim Newman
- Theatrical Trailer
- Still Gallery
HOUSE OF HORRORS (1946)
Duration: 66 Minutes
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Cast: Robert Lowry, Virginia Grey, Bill Goodwin, Martin Kosleck, Alan Napier, Rondo Hatton
The noir-ish lensed thriller House of Horrors (1946) starring the scary-visage of Rondo "Brute Man" Hatton as a hulking serial killer. In this one a sculptor who has been recently savaged by an art critic contemplates suicide on the waterfront when he happens up a half-drown man, who turns out to be the here unto thought dead serial killer known as 'The Creeper', a neck-snapping behemoth of a man. The artists saves his life and nurses him back to health, making him the subject of his latest sculpture, and using him to exact revenge on the art-critic community. It's a delicious premise over-flowing with colorful characters, from the put-upon artist to delightfully seething critics dripping with venomous verbiage. This is another slice of vintage Universal with a strong flavor of feminism by way of independent dame writer played by the lovely and quite sassy Virginia Grey. The visuals are chock full of the exaggerated silhouettes, cool art-deco design and the deep lined features of scary-man Rondo Hatton (Brute Man), all of this make for a tasty slice of vintage scares from Universal. I think this would make an awesome double-feature with Roger Corman's A Bucket of Blood (1959), another demented slice of art-hack inspired horror.
Special Features:
- New audio commentary with author Stephen Jones and author / critic Kim Newman
- Still Gallery
HORROR ISLAND (1941)
Duration: 61 Minutes
Director: George Waggner
Cast: Dick Foran, Leo Carillo, Peggy Moran, Fuzzy Knight, John Eldredge
In the treasure-seeking comedy Horror Island (1941) Ivy League tax-evader Bill Martin (Dick Foran, The Mummy's Tomb) is given a treasure map by a peg-legged sailor named Clump, claiming that there is 20-million dollars worth of pirate gold hidden away on an island, one that Martin just happens to already own. With the help of his trusty sidekick named Stuff Martin gathers a group of people that he's suckered into paying for the opportunity to travel by boat to the island to embark on a gas-lit treasure hunt inside a mansion on the property. This is one of those everything-and-the-kitchen-sink b-pictures that has elements of the old dark house cliches, a whodunit murder mystery, a sprinkling of potential supernatural elements, plus a caped murderer called "the phantom" who is offing the treasure seekers on the island. I didn't find this comedy offering to be firing on all cylinders but it had it's moments, including the wealthy young dame played by very cute Peggy Moran, and d-list leading man Dick Foran is charming in a kind-hearted schemer sort of way.
Special Features:
- New Audio Commentary with Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby
- Theatrical Trailer
- Still Gallery
MURDERS IN THE ZOO (1933)
Duration: 62 Minutes
Director: A. Edward Sutherland
Cast: Charlie Ruggles, Lionel Atwill, Kathleen Burke, Gail Patrick
A surprising shocker for the era, even for pre=code Hollywood, in Murders at the Zoo (1933) world-travelling couple Eric Gorman (Lionel Atwell, Mark of the Vampire) and his lovely wife Evelyn (Kathleen Burke, Island of Lost Souls) have returned home to America after an Asian expedition procuring exotic animals for the zoo. However, on this trip Evelyn had made the acquaintance of the handsome Roger Hewitt (John Lodge, The Scarlet Empress). Gorman is a sadist who dispatches his wives would-be suitors with the help of the wild animals at the zoo, which offers up some gruesome death scenarios, as well as a twisted final sprint o the finish line, with Gorman getting proper comeuppance. The film's grimmer elements are uneasily balanced with the comic relief via the zoo's scaredy-cat, alcoholic press agent (Charles Ruggles, The Invisible Woman). A terrific slice of pre-code salaciousness oozing with atmosphere, violence and brimming with psycho-sexuality, and of course Atwell's presence is manically magnetic.
Special Features:
- New Audio Commentary with Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby
- Stills Galleries
Audio/Video: All four films arrives on Region B locked Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment in 1080p HD framed in the original fullscreen (1.37:1) These mark the first time that these films have been available on Blu-ray in the UK and they looks fantastic with excellent grayscale, deep blacks and pleasing contrast. Audio comes by way of uncompressed mono and it sounds vintage with some minor hiss but overall is quite pleasing, optional English subtitles are provided.
These flicks have all been releases in the U.S. by Scream Factory as part of the Universal Horror Collections sets, but I found this UK set worthy of a double-dip for the new Audio Commentaries for each film featuring author Stephen Jones and author/critic Kim Newman on Night Monster and House of Horrors while Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby
tackle both Murders in the Zoo and Horror Island. These are fantastic tracks, I particularly love hearing Jones and Newman tackle their film. The set also features select Trailers and Still Galleries for the films.
Special Features:
- Limited Edition Slipcase (First Print Run of 2000 copies)
- Brand new audio commentary tracks on Night Monster and House of Horrors with author Stephen Jones and author / critic Kim Newman
- Brand new audio commentary tracks on Murders in the Zoo and Horror Island with Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby
- Stills Galleries
- Trailer for Horror Island and Night Monster
- A Limited Edition Collector’s Booklet featuring new writing by Craig Ian Mann and Jon Towlson (First Print Run of 2000 copies)
Another terrific deep-dive from Eureka into the dust-bins of Universals Pictures vast and varied video vaults, offering plenty of sadistic, mad science, chills and thrills. This terrific set comes highly recommended specifically to those b-movie spelunkers who tend to dig a little deeper than Universal's famous monsters line-up for their thrills.
