Die, Monster, Die! aka Monster of Terror (1965)

 

It's time for a UK Blu-ray release of the feature directorial debut of AIP art director Daniel Haller, and the second of AIP's HP Lovecraft adaptations (after 1963's THE HAUNTED PALACE). It may seem a bit odd for the BFI to be releasing an American horror picture but given that DIE, MONSTER, DIE! aka MONSTER OF TERROR (it was obviously 'lack of inspired titles' day at the AIP offices) was shot in the UK and features both some familiar locations and actors it actually fits very nicely into their 'Flipside' series.

Whereas THE HAUNTED PALACE was an adaptation of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward and starred Vincent Price, here we have Boris Karloff, Freda Jackson, Suzan Farmer and Nick Adams all rather shoehorned into a 'bares bones and before its time' version of The Colour Out of Space, a story that recently received a much better adaptation from writer-director Richard Stanley. But that doesn't mean DIE, MONSTER, DIE doesn't have its points of interest. In fact any fan of 1960s BritHorror will want it in their collection.

Because - this is the only time you get to see mid-1960 Surrey doubling as Lovecraft's Arkham, and Oakley Court as the home of Lovecraftian horrors. Then there's that still disquieting shot of those weird rubbery monsters that live in the greenhouse, familiar faces like Patrick Magee, Sydney Bromley, Leslie Dwyer, Harold Goodwin and Terence De Marnay all doing their bit in their only Lovecraft adaptation and a music score by Don Banks (Hammer's THE MUMMY'S SHROUD, Lippert's WITCHCRAFT). The BFI's print isn't a restoration but does represent a considerable upgrade from the DVD. 

A release like this, which will appeal most to those who already know the film inside out, is going to stand or fall on its extras and as always, the BFI has gone the extra mile to provide some fascinating stuff. First off is an excellent, lively commentary track from Flipside standbys Vic Pratt and William Fowler where they discuss not just the film but its literary basis, managing to get in a couple of mentions of the works of Arthur Machen and Algernon Blackwood as well. Stay till the end for Vic's list of 25 Gothic Tropes you can see in this film.

Other extras include a couple of scene reads from the as-yet unfilmed picture about LET ME DIE A MONSTER. The 14 minute piece also features an introduction by co-writer Ken Hollings and an outro by co-writer David McGillivray. The two also return to talk about Nick Adams and DIE MONSTER DIE! for a seven minute featurette. A Karloff Konversation is 20 minutes of chat about all things Boris between Vic Pratt and Stephen Jacobs. Otherwise there's 12 minutes of unit publicist Tony Tweedale's memories of working on the film, an image gallery and trailer, and a curious 16 minute black and white short entitled THE PEACHES. Finally, there's a booklet with new writing on the film, LET ME DIE A MONSTER, and H P Lovecraft.

DIE, MONSTER, DIE! is out on Blu-ray from the BFI on Monday 22nd July 2024

Targets (1968)

After a bit of a delay, the BFI's Blu-ray release of Peter Bogdanovich's remarkable directorial feature debut is finally with us.

Aging Hollywood horror star Byron Orlock (Boris Karloff) decides he has had enough of the business and announces his retirement following a preview screening of his latest movie (actually clips from another Roger Corman production, the infamously cobbled together THE TERROR). His film-making associates are horrified at the prospect, especially Sammy Michaels (Bogdanovich himself) who has written Orlok's next script. 

While he and others are doing their best to convince their star to keep working, we are also being shown scenes in the seemingly unrelated life of ex Vietnam veteran Bobby Thompson (Tim O'Kelly). Bobby lives with his wife and his parents, has a large gun collection, and is convinced there is something wrong with him. His attempts to talk to his wife prove fruitless and the next day he kills her and his mother and anyone else who happens to be around before driving off on a killing spree. That spree reaches its culmination at a showing of THE TERROR where Orlok is due to make a personal appearance.

Boris Karloff was the only star of horror's golden age to truly breach the gap between the old gothic horrors of the 1930s and what was then emerging as a more extreme US cinematic movement grounded in reality and evolving partly in response to the Kennedy assassination and very much in response to America's involvement in Vietnam. To emphasise that we are in the 'real' world, Bogdanovich is careful to ensure that the only music we hear is either on the radio or during the clips of THE TERROR that we see. Bobby's murder of his family is all the more shockingly effective for being played out in such a mundane, non-melodramatic manner, and the climax at the drive-in is an unforgettable juxtaposition of real vs reel horror.

The BFI's Blu-ray is of a new restoration supervised by Bogdanovich and looks excellent. A previously available director introduction and commentary (both from 2003) are included, as well as a new commentary track from critic Peter Tonguette. Other extras concentrate mainly on Karloff with a 40 minute featurette of Sara Karloff talking about her father, a 17 minute piece from Stephen Jacobs about Karloff's career in the 1960s, with Vic Pratt also providing a short eight minute video essay about the star. 

Two Guardian interviews are also included - Roger Corman from 1970 and Bogdanovich from 1972, and Joe Dante provides a commentary on the trailer as one of the Trailers From Hell. You also get a booklet with a set of essays and there's an image gallery, too. For anyone who might be wondering, this is a lot more extras than the US Criterion disc has that was released earlier this year, so the BFI disc is definitely the one to get.

Peter Bogdanovich's TARGETS is out on Blu-ray from the BFI on Monday 25th September 2023

Universal Terror: Karloff In...(1937, 1944, 1952)

Following on from their sets devoted to Bela Lugosi and Karloff at Columbia, Eureka are bringing out three more movies featuring Boris Karloff. From the title and artwork you'd think you were buying a set of horror movies, but actually none of what's included here is what one might consider typical horror product of the period. That said if you're a fan of crime thrillers, swashbucklers and light opera with a sinister edge these might be just the ticket. Here's what you get:

Night Key (1937)

How NIGHT KEY came to be considered a horror film is one of the many things covered in the accompanying commentary track by Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby, one which also discusses the careers of many of the actors (including pointing out bit part players!), the situation Universal was in at the time the film was made, and about how and why Universal's classic monster movies ended up being re-released by RealArt in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

As for NIGHT KEY itself, it's a very enjoyable crime melodrama in which Boris Karloff has been cheated out of the profits of a security system he's invented by (now very rich) Samuel S Hinds. But Boris has now invented a new one that threatens to supercede the old and put Hinds out of business. So Hinds swindles him again and Boris becomes 'Night Key', breaking into properties 'protected' by Hinds' old system and leaving the message 'What I Create I Can Also Destroy'. Of course it's not long before local gangsters become aware of Boris & his device and they're keen to get their hands on it. Don't go into this one expecting horror and you'll have a brisk, breezy and highly entertaining time with it. As well as the commentary the disc also includes still galleries and a trailer.

The Climax (1944)

It takes a bit of effort to get worked up over THE CLIMAX, Universal's follow-up to their sumptuous 1943 production of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (the one with Claude Rains) and shot on the sets of that film to help recover some of the cost of it. On the plus side we have Boris Karloff top-lining as a doctor who has murdered his opera diva wife ten years before, keeping her body preserved in the kind of situation we'd see multiple times over in the Corman/Poe pictures of twenty years hence. When a young singer (Susanna Foster) reminds him of his dead wife, he becomes obsessed with having her sing only for him. 

On the minus side (depending on your tastes) we have a lot of singing. If you're a fan of light opera then this may be right up your street but if you're not then you'll be finding your finger straying to the fast forward button. Otherwise the Technicolor photography is glorious and we also get to see Turhan THE MUMMY'S TOMB Bey pretending to play the piano, but in the end THE CLIMAX is one for forgiving fans of the period. Messrs Lyons and Rigby return for commentary duties and turn the film into one that's more worth watching with the commentary on than off as the running time passes somewhat faster with their aid.

The Black Castle (1952)

Less a horror film and more a swashbuckling Boys' Own Adventure (as these kinds of stories used to be known), THE BLACK CASTLE gives us dashing hero Richard Greene, off to investigate the dastardly doings of an evil count in the depths of the Black Forest. Director Nathan Juran manages a nicely atmospheric opening with this one, and Joseph Gershenson makes sure there's lots of familiar Universal library music on the soundtrack. Even so, you'd be hard pushed to call this a horror film, even with the presence of Karloff as the Count's physician and a rather demeaning minor role for Lon Chaney, Jr. On the other hand if you're a fan of sword fights, panther wrestling and a pit filled with alligators this will pass the time very nicely indeed.

Stephen Jones and Kim Newman provide the commentary for this one and, like all their commentaries, not a second is wasted and at points they almost talk over each other in their enthusiasm to share as much information and opinion as possible. As with THE CLIMAX, I found THE BLACK CASTLE to be a more enjoyable watch with the commentary switched on than off so it's good to have it on here.

Universal Terror: Karloff In... is out as a two-disc Blu-ray set from Eureka on Monday 18th July 2022

Karloff At Columbia (1935 - 1942)

"An Essential Set"

Eureka are releasing a Blu-ray set of six splendid films that Boris Karloff made for Columbia Pictures in the 1930s and 1940s, consisting of THE BLACK ROOM and five mad doctor pictures. Previously this set has only been available on a Region 1 DVD set. You can now safely replace that with this, which also comes with excellent commentary tracks on every film. Here's what's on them in more detail:

Disc One

The Black Room (1935)

The earliest film in the set is a full-blooded period gothic set mainly in the early nineteenth century. Twins are born to the de Berghmann family and they both grow up to be Boris Karloff in dual roles as Gregor (the evil one) and Anton (the good one). In order to maintain control of the estate Gregor kills Anton and impersonates him, paralysed right arm and all. But the prophecy that Anton will kill Gregor in the black room of the title is yet to be fulfilled.

Terrific production design and skilful direction from Roy William Neill (Universal's FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN amongst others) combined with two fine performances from Karloff mean THE BLACK ROOM is at least the equal of some of Universal's gothics of the period, even if it's not as well known. Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons provide an engaging fact-packed commentary track covering the careers of many of the actors featured, the subject of twins in cinema, Roy William Neill's fascination with ravens and much more.

The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)

Karloff is Dr Henryk Savaard, creator of an artificial heart. His first experiment on a human subject results in death not because of the device but because his nurse calls the police before the experiment is over. Sentenced to death he swears revenge on those who sent him to hang and when he's up and about again, thanks to his assistant, that's exactly what he does.

The commentary track on this one is from Stephen Jones & Kim Newman who, as is usual for them, exhibit such knowledge and enthusiasm that there's barely space on the soundtrack for both of them to get all their facts and opinions out. I especially liked that if the film had been set in California it would have had to be called THE MAN THEY COULD NOT GAS and I agree with Kim Newman that the final act deserved another fifteen minutes to fit in three more killings.

The Man With Nine Lives (1940)

After twenty minutes of set up we finally get to see Karloff - encased in ice! This time he's Dr Leon Kravaal, experimenter with cryogenics, who has frozen himself and those who doubted him in the caves beneath his creepy old isolated island home. He's defrosted but has forgotten the formula for his revolutionary treatment, which is the cue for further underground experiments. Compared to THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG what this one lacks in vitality it makes up for with the claustrophobia of most of the film being set in a couple of small rooms.

It had never occurred to me before, but the Newman and Jones commentary track quite rightly alludes to MAN WITH NINE LIVES feeling in the tradition of stories from the US magazine Weird Tales, with both this and its predecessor firmly in the 'shudder pulp' tradition. Their commentary this time makes for a good 'follow on' from MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG and is therefore worth listening to after that one.

Karloff on Radio

Two stories from the Inner Sanctum radio series - The Corridor of Doom and The Wailing Wall. Both are great fun to listen to, and the references to Liptons Tea (the show's sponsor) beforehand actually serve to help turn the clock back and weirdly improve the listening experience.

Disc Two

Before I Hang (1940)

Karloff is Dr John Garth (and not Gaarth despite recurring writer Karl Brown's name being once again in the credits). Sentenced to death for euthanasia he spends his remaining days  perfecting an anti-aging serum that has the side effect of turning him into strangler, and when he's unexpectedly pardoned that's exactly what he keeps on doing. Better paced that MAN WITH NINE LIVES this keeps you so enthralled you don't even realise you've been listening to five minutes of Chopin's Etude No.12 in C Minor near the end. Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons provide the commentary duties on this one with plenty of detail on cast and crew, & Mr Rigby even mentions the Lindbergh cardiac pump that possibly formed the inspiration for one of the devices seen in this one.

The Devil Commands (1941)

Taking its inspiration from William Sloane's excellent Nigel Kneale-esque novel of cosmic horror The Edge of Running Water this sees Karloff's Dr Julian Blair attempting to 'pierce the veil' to see what lies beyond death after his wife is killed and he believes she is trying to contact him through his new brainwave machine. Some bland voice overs from Amanda Duff and some fumbled direction from Edward Dmytryk who gave us CAPTIVE. WILD WOMAN makes THE DEVIL COMMANDS less effective than it could have been but there's still some marvellous mad doctor stuff in this one. Stephen Jones & Kim Newman return for commentary duties, talking about the William Sloane novel on which the film is based, the career of Edward Dmytryk and lots more.

The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942)

The final film in Columbia's mad doctor series is strictly played for laughs as Karloff's mad doctor sells his house to pay off the mortgage imposed on him by the town doctor / sheriff / notary / moneylender, played by Peter Lorre. Karloff stays in the house to continue his experiments on travelling salesmen as he tries to perfect a race of supermen to help the war effort and convinces Lorre to help him. The interplay between the two stars is a delight, making up for some somewhat tired slapstick old dark house shenanigans. Your tolerance for screwball comedies of then 1940s will dictate how well you'll get on with this one. Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons return to provide the final commentary track of the set.

Karloff on the Radio

Two more tales from the Inner Sanctum radio series - Birdsong for a Murderer and Death For Sale round out the second disc.

With the transfers, commentaries and assorted extras (including stills and poster galleries for each film) this is an essential set. It would be wonderful if Eureka could do the same with the Region 1 six film MGM set of years past that also included Newman and Jones commentaries on movies like Tod Browning's MARK OF THE VAMPIRE. Failing that, how about giving us a three disc set of BELA LUGOSI AT MONOGRAM?

KARLOFF AT COLUMBIA is out in a two disc Blu-ray set from Eureka on Monday 3rd May 2021

Bela Lugosi in Three Universal Pictures (1932 - 1935)

"Excellent Set of Three Universal Masterworks"

Bravo to Eureka! After Scream / Shout Factory has treated US fans to six admirable Blu-ray sets of the Universal's classic horror movies not to feature Frankenstein's monster, Dracula or the Wolf Man, all with excellent transfers and extras, so far the UK has been lagging behind. This two disc three film set may not exactly redress the balance, but Universal's three Edgar Allan Poe adaptations starring Bela Lugosi is a splendid place to start. 

So let's take a look at Eureka's treatment of these movies, and for good measure let's see how they compare to the Scream Factory US Blu-ray releases.

Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)

Star Bela Lugosi and director Robert Florey, both originally intended by Universal to fulfil those roles on 1931's FRANKENSTEIN instead found themselves working on this loose adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's story, released the following year. Lugosi's Dr Mirakle has trained his ape Erik to kidnap girls so he can inject them with ape blood to give Erik a mate. Poe's story isn't quite as daft.

Extras on Eureka's disc include a commentary by Gregory William Mank, an alternate soundtrack that includes music cues, a 30 minute interview with Kim Newman who discusses all three films in the set, an audio recording of Lugosi reading Poe's The Tell Tale Heart, trailer and a still gallery.

This is substantially more than the Scream Factory release, which does have the Mank commentary plus an additional commentary from Gary Don Rhodes that's not on the Eureka edition, but that's it.

The Black Cat (1934)

Of all the films based on the Edgar Allan Poe story of the same name, this is arguably both the least faithful and the best. Bela Lugosi is Dr Vitus Verdegast, out for revenge against Boris Karloff's Satan-worshipping Hjalmar Poelzig for stealing Verdegast's wife, and then marrying his daughter. It's an amazing work and by the time Karloff is strung up and about to be flayed alive by the now-insane Lugosi you'll probably have forgotten there was even a cat in it.

Eureka's extras give us a commentary by Greg Mank, a 13 minute video essay on Cats in Horror by Lee Gambin which is brief but covers a lot of ground including everyone's favourite crap cat anthology picture THE UNCANNY from 1977. There's also a half hour radio adaptation of the Black Cat with Peter Lorre stills, and a bit called 'Vintage Footage' which is actually of the auditions Universal held as a publicity stunt for the cat of the title, featuring Karloff and Lugosi gamely taking part as everyone brings their kitty up for inspection. 

Scream Factory's disc has the Mank commentary plus another by Steve Haberman that's not on the Eureka disc. The Scream disc also has the cat competition footage, plus an Edgar Allan Poe cinema documentary and part one of Karloff and Lugosi at Universal. The Gambin Cats in Horror and the radio play are unique to the Eureka disc.

The Raven (1935)

This bears little relation to Edgar Allan Poe's poem but it does star Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff in a mashup of the conte cruele and an old dark house mystery. The climax involves a swinging pendulum blade, crushing walls, impossibly moving rooms and Lugosi getting to say 'Poe you are avenged!' before laughing maniacally and being dragged into a crusher by Karloff. The Raven's running time is only an hour but it's glorious and incident-packed with two riveting central performances and brisk (because it had to be) direction from Louis Friedlander (later Lew Landers). 

Eureka's Blu-ray (from a 2K scan) comes with an isolated music and effects track, a commentary track from Gary D Rhodes, another from Samm Deighan, Boris Karloff reading The Tell Tale Heart this time, a still gallery, and American Gothic, a fifteen minute video essay from Kat Ellinger that charts the evolution of the gothic as a genre and how both THE RAVEN and THE BLACK CAT exemplify some of Poe's themes despite not being especially (or at all) faithful to their source material.

Scream Factory's Blu-ray is also a 2K transfer and has the Rhodes commentary, plus one from Steve Haberman that the Eureka disc doesn't have. It also has part 2 of Karloff & Lugosi at Universal. The Deighan commentary, Ellinger essay and isolated effects track are unique to the Eureka disc.

Final thoughts: this is an excellent set with gorgeous transfers that far supersede any previous DVD releases. The extras are also excellent, with enough unique to the Eureka set that even if you already have the Scream Factory discs you may want to double dip for this. 

Bela Lugosi in MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, THE BLACK CAT, & THE RAVEN is out on Blu-ray from Eureka on Monday 20th July 2020

Tower of London (1939)

Historical Epic - Universal Horror Style!

Rowland V Lee’s epic retelling of the end of Plantagenet rule in England (with added Boris Karloff) gets a DVD re-release in the UK courtesy of Fabulous Films.

England in the late 1400s. Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Basil Rathbone) is determined to become king despite being seventh in line. He has a plan that involves his loyal club footed executioner, Mord (Boris Karloff), a dungeon filled with torture devices, and a little tableaux of dolls of the royal family Richard keeps hidden in his cupboard so he can keep track of who needs to be bumped off next. 

Vincent Price gets drowned in a vat of wine, the Prince of Wales dies on the field of battle by Richard’s sword, King Henry VI gets a knife in the back and the little princes die a horrible death in the tower, after which King (at last!) Richard meets his end at the battle of Bosworth Field before the kind of pack your bags and run ending Hammer would be making all their own twenty years later. 

Whether it ended up as something of a horror piece by accident or by design, it’s likely that most of the interest for Universal’s TOWER OF LONDON is going to come from those who love the studio’s monster movie output of the era.

The addition of Boris Karloff to the cast and a score pinched from the same year’s SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (when studio executives demanded the period music be replaced) both give TOWER OF LONDON a deliciously disrespectable edge, one that meant the film received a few unkind comments from the critics back in the day. 

It’s a bit creaky now but TOWER OF LONDON does still move well. The turns from the main cast are all tremendous fun, and the sets and battle sequences are bigger and better than much of what made its way into the studio’s horror films. Rathbone is very good as Richard, making him less of a caricature than Olivier perhaps later did, and Karloff’s introductory scene in the torture chamber is wonderful. In fact the entire endeavour makes you wonder what Universal might have done with other historical subjects that could have leant themselves to the lurid.

As is usually the case with Fabulous releases, the DVD contains no extras. 

Universal's TOWER OF LONDON is out on DVD from Fabulous Films on Monday 21st August 2017