THRILLERS FROM THE VAULT - 8 CLASSIC HORROR FILMS

This package contains mostly horror films featuring Boris Karloff with one movie featuring Bela Lugosi as a Dracula knock-off and another somewhat obscure film. The Karloff films have been released before in much more expensive anthologies so to have them available in an affordable collection is amazing. The Boris films have somewhat silly scripts but, in his inimitable way, Karloff sells them with style. They are just plain fun and I really loved them and I think, if you are a Boris Karloff fan, you’ll like them as well. Lastly, all of the movies look great considering their age and this package is a really good value for the price.

I am reviewing the four disc blu-ray set from Mill Creek. Mill Creek is a name that always causes concerns. Unlike companies like Shout Factory or Kino Lorber, they are focused on value over quality. This pursuit of value sometimes has negative consequences but the negatives are minor in this set.This set includes eight thriller movies from Columbia Pictures, most staring Boris Karloff with one notable movie from Bela Lugosi.As far as the quality of the films themselves, these are all B pictures from Columbia. Standouts include Black Room from 1935 which is an impressive Gothic thriller starring Boris Karloff and The Return of the Vampire which stars Bela Lugosi in an almost remake of Dracula that is very well done. The other films are all enjoyable and will delight fans of classic 30's and 40's horror and thriller movies. Five is probably the weakest of the set and does not have Karloff or Lugosi.The Blu-Ray transfers Mill Creek used from Columbia all look very good. Contrast and detail is very good across all the movies. There are no issues, as with previous Mill Creek sets, of poor transfers being used. I will mention that none of these movies are fully restored. While the HD transfers look very good, there is indication of print damage and minor spots that popup. These issues are minor overall and I feel these are about as good as you could hope for B movies of this age.Considering the low cost of the set I was very happy with the special features included. A very nice feature from Ballyhoo films is included which does a nice job of providing an overview of Columbia horror films. Four of the movies include commentary tracks. The Black Room has an excellent commentary from Steve Haberman that gives excellent details on the making of the film and the people involved. The Man They Could Not Hang includes an okay commentary. It is done with two people on Skype which causes some awkward moments but overall it is worth a listen. Tom Weaver provides the commentary for The Devil Commands and it is entertaining like all Weaver commentaries while also informative. I wish Tom Weaver would leave his conservative politics at home when doing these though. Recent commentaries from him have included negative comments about transgender people and Trump style dialog about the Coronovirus. He makes sure to mention the "China Virus" in this commentary which has no place in my opinion. The final commentary track is provided by The Monster Party Podcast and it top notch. This is the first time I have heard this group and they have fun banter while also providing great background about the movie and cast.While I would have liked commentaries on the other films, I feel we are getting a fair amount of extras for the low cost of the set. Return of the Vampire from Shout Factory has three commentary tracks but costs as much as this entire set of eight movies. I would rather have more movies than more commentaries.The four discs are packaged in a two slot keep case with slipcover. Packaging is where I will cover the only negatives I had with this set. The four discs are crammed into this two disc case causing pressure on the discs. I had to wipe off the ones touching the case but thankfully they were not scratched on my set. I did put the discs in a different case to protect them. The cover inside my case also didn't fit the case and was wrinkled up. I feel this is a minor problem overall and that Mill Creek did a good job of balancing value and quality.I highly recommend this set to anyone that is a fan of Boris Karloff as he appears in six of the moves. I would also recommend it to anyone that is a fan of 30's and 40's horror and thrillers.

I have six of these eight movies on DVD, and the upgrade to Blu-ray is well worth the price. Although the movies are not restored, overall they look great, with only minimal damage in a couple areas on one or two of the films. Not one bad film in the bunch; enjoyed them all. Of course I am a Boris Karloff fan. The only negative note is the fact, as one reviewer mentioned, the discs are double stacked in a two-disc case. One of my discs had two scratches which fortunately did not affect the playback; exchanging the set would only run the risk of getting one or more other discs with scratches. I was able to transfer the discs into a four disc Blu-ray case, and the slipcover still fit! Very pleased with this purchase.

Wonderful to see these old chestnuts in full 35mm B&W Glory. Of course, they can't improve on the lo-fi sound of the era these were filmed but at least these transfers avoid the additional artifacts we've become accustomed to on independent TV stations with scratches, splices and dozens of commercial cue marks in the upper right hand corner of the frame. No doubt more recent TV showings of these films are time-compressed and edited to cram more commercials into the schedules. The storytelling is often superior to the kind of CGI-dominant gimmickry and gross-out horror that's the norm today. Nevertheless, some of the dialogue is unintentionally humorous, particularly in the areas of "scientific logic," so don't think too deeply about plausibility.

Lots of solid movies in one collection. They all look and sound great.

Count 'em. 8 classics shock full of thrills. Horror fans, check this out: Not only do you get 8 fright filled flicks, but you also get to hear insightful commentary with well-known film historians. Slap this disc into the player for a trip back to yesteryear and gaze in amazement as Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi star in these lesser-known gems. The Black Room, The Man they could not hang, Before I hang, The Man with Nine Lives, The Devil Commands, The Boogie Man will get you: all feature Karloff. The Return of the Vampire features Lugosi and a talking werewolf companion. Five is an end of the world thriller with a B cast. For my money this is a pretty decent assortment! Get them while you still can!

I love these films, especially "Return of the Vampire" and "The Devil Commands". "Five" was the weak link.

These classics from the vault, with bonus-features give an excellent BANG-for-your-bucks.I recommend the OTHER compilations, too. One even has Lou Costello in the film that KILLEDhim. . . in a manner of speaking. By the '50s, there was NOTHING left to SPOOF in sci-fi thatwasn't, already done. Poor Lou looked tired, and in pristine Blu-ray, looked like death-warmed-over.Browse through my reviews for OTHER compilations worthy of space on YOUR video shelves!RECOMMENDED!