When it comes to great old horror movies of the '50s and '60s, two fledgling, low-budget independent studios were at the top of the fright chain — England's Hammer company and the American-bred American International Pictures (AIP).
So it is fitting that, as Halloween approaches, a number of pictures from both studios (as well as some others) have been released for the first time on DVD.
Those of us who enjoy spooky atmosphere and chills more that graphic violence and gore are monstrously happy.
HAMMER ESTABLISHED itself by taking over the "Frankenstein" and "Dracula" franchises in 1957 and '58, respectively, about a decade after Universal's black-and-white classics had faded.
Hammer put its own stamp on the series with vivid color, urgent music and about as much violence and sex as it could get away with in the late '50s. That and the great team of Peter Cushing (who would later play a villain in "Star Wars") and Christopher Lee (who is playing Saruman in the current "Lord of the Rings" trilogy) made these series more than notable.
Add gorgeous widescreen transfers for these DVD releases (with trailers and production notes), and these two films are more than welcome (some of the sequels have been out for quite awhile):
— "The Curse of Frankenstein" (Warner, 1957, not rated, $19.98). This first of the Hammer horror films is one of the best, with Cushing as the mad doctor and Lee as the monster. Scary, smart and very well made.
— "The Horror of Dracula" (Warner, 1958, not rated, $19.98). This first in the Hammer "Dracula" series has Lee in the title role and Cushing as Van Helsing, and the film's tension mounts with every scene, culminating in one of the best climactic sequences in all of movie horror. This is, arguably, the best of the Hammer films.
AIP WALKED AWAY FROM the ultra-low-budget creature features that had made the studio's name by stepping up production for full-color, widescreen adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe's works, beginning with "The Fall of the House of Usher" in 1960, directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price.
Corman and Price would make several more Poe films together, reaching a zenith with what is, arguably, Corman's most artist effort, "The Masque of the Red Death."
Most of these Poe films are on DVD now, with first-class widescreen transfers, but now it would be nice to see a double-bill DVD of the all-star horror-comedies "The Raven" and "Comedy of Terrors." (Are you listening, MGM?)
— "The Masque of the Red Death"/"Premature Burial" (MGM, 1964/1962, not rated, $14.99). "Masque" is filled with wild imagery and colorful dream/fantasy sequences, and Price is at his best as the evil Prince Prospero, terrorizing the peasants in his castle while plague rages outside. Poe's "Hop Frog" is a subplot, and the disc has an illuminating 19-minute interview with Corman.
"Premature Burial" is a lesser effort, with Ray Milland replacing Price (see the nine-minute interview with Corman to find out why) and many of the "House of Usher" themes recycled. But it has its moments. And both films have Hazel Court.
— "The Oblong Box"/"Scream and Scream Again" (MGM, 1969/1970, PG, $14.95). "Box" starts off slow but gets better as it tells its story of wealthy aristocrat Price discovering his disfigured brother was buried alive and is now out for revenge. Lee plays a doctor reluctantly recruited by the brother. (This one is also pretty gruesome for its PG rating; there is also some brief nudity.)
"Scream," however, is a travesty, a ridiculous yarn about enhanced humans being programmed to take over the world, with a subplot about pseudo-Nazis. The only redeeming element is a lengthy chase at the film's centerpiece. And, believe it or not, Price and Lee have very little onscreen time — and Cushing has only one brief scene. Worse, when Cushing's name appears on the trailer, another actor is shown! (This one is also rated PG but has gruesome violence and some nudity.)
— "What's the Matter With Helen?"/"Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?" (MGM, 1971, PG, $14.99). "Helen" is a campy 1930s period piece that owes a lot to both "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" and "Hush . . . Hush, Sweet Charlotte." Debbie Reynolds (who gets to sing and dance) and Shelley Winters star as two mothers whose sons have committed murder. But when they go to Hollywood to start over, Reynolds notices that Winters is getting wackier by the day. Dennis Weaver co-stars.
"Auntie Roo" is a lesser effort, but it has its moments, as when it sets up Winters in the opening sequence as a weirdo who worships her mummified daughter in the attic. She also holds an annual Christmas party for kids from the nearby orphanage, as the film takes a (not very subtle) turn toward "Hansel and Gretl." Mark Lester ("Oliver!") is the orphan who tries to foil her evil plans, and a bevy of British character actors show up — Ralph Richardson, Lionel Jeffries, Hugh Griffith. (One scene foreshadows Jack Nicholson's most famous moment in "The Shining," as Winters chops through a door!)
OTHER RECENT SCARY releases include:
— "Earth vs. the Flying Saucers" (Columbia, 1956, not rated, b/w, $24.95). This early low-budget sci-fi thriller with Ray Harryhausen's magnificent effects is still an enjoyable thrill ride. And though it owes something to both "War of the Worlds" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still," it also has specific scenes that foreshadow "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Independence Day." Hokey but fun.
Extras: Widescreen, director Joe Dante ("Gremlins," "Innerspace") interviews Harryhausen about this film, documentary "The Harryhausen Chronicles," "This Is Dynamation" trailer for "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad," photos, trailers.
— "The Fog" (MGM, 1980; R for violence, language; $19.98). John Houseman relates a ghost story about a mysterious glowing fog that rolls into a small California coastal town, bringing with it dead pirates bent on exacting revenge. Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, Tom Atkins, Hal Holbrook and Adrienne Barbeau try to fend them off. The DVD is loaded with extras, though the film hardly ranks with John Carpenter's best work. On the other hand, this film preceded Carpenter's full-bore foray into gore; the violence here is relatively tame, and the rating is primarily for a few profanities.
Extras: Widescreen and full-screen options, audio commentary, retrospective documentary, 1980 making-of featurette, outtakes, storyboards, etc.
— "Dark Shadows: DVD Collection 3" (MPI, adult themes, not rated, color and b/w, $59.98, four discs). Barnabas Collins anyone? He was the reluctant vampire and main draw for this campy daytime soap opera. Each four-disc collection includes 40 half-hour episodes shown chronologically (these aired from August-October 1967), along with brief retrospective interviews (the first one here is with Jonathan Frid, who played Barnabas). The main storyline in this collection has a doctor trying to help Barnabas throw off his vampire chains.
Obviously, you've got to be a pretty devoted fan to sit through all this, but for the casual viewer these shows can be instructive about how live-on-tape soaps were made during a more primitive TV era. In one amusing episode here, Frid and friends try to stay in character while attempting to fight off a fly.
The series also switched from black-and-white to color in the shows on this first disc, but some later episodes are shown here in black-and-white because color archive tapes have been lost. (This set will be released Tuesday, Oct. 29.)
— "Eight Legged Freaks" (Warner, 2002, PG-13, $26.98). A throwback to '50s creature features, this campy comic horror film stars David Arquette (who is at least as freaky as the giant spiders) and Kari Wuhrer (star of many a straight-to-video erotic thriller) whose small hometown is being overrun by oversize angry arachnids. There are some amusing moments, although it tends to rely too much on glop and goo special effects for laughs, and too many gags feel forced; camp humor is hard to contrive.
It's no "Arachnophobia" or "Tremors," but, on its own terms, an OK time-waster.
Extras: Widescreen and full-screen editions sold separately, goofy audio commentary by Arquette and friends, director's short film, production notes, trailer, etc. (Also to be released next Tuesday.)
— "Frailty" (Lions Gate, 2002; rated R for violence, language; $24.99). On a more serious note . . . sort of . . . this directing debut for actor Bill Paxton is quite creepy and weird. It begins with Matthew McConaughey showing up at the office of FBI agent Powers Boothe to tell him that McConaughey's brother is the serial killer Boothe has been tracking. McConaughey then unravels a horrifying tale of how his father (Paxton) raised his sons to kill people he identified as "demons," claiming the killings were ordered by an angel of God.
Paxton maintains a tremendously disturbing atmosphere here, and while the film is gruesome and deserves its R rating, he has, thankfully, refrained from showing much blood and gore onscreen. And the twist ending will either frustrate or amuse you.
Extras: Widescreen, audio commentary, making-of documentaries, deleted scenes, etc.
E-MAIL: hicks@desnews.com