Synopsis
A movie star has disappeared, and a police inspector arrives in the small town where he wasstaying to investigate. He is informed that there is something very strange about the house wherethe star was living, and we then see the stories of what happened to the various tenants. In thefirst story, writer Denholm Elliott fears that a strangler in the novel he is working on has come tolife. Next, Peter Cushing visits a wax museum and sees a statue of Salome that bears an uncanny…resemblance to the woman he once loved. The third story, an intense adaptation of Bloch’s“Sweets to the Sweet” (one of his most terrifying stories), stars Christopher Lee as the sternfather of a little girls who seems perfectly sweet. Finally, we find out what happened tothe movie star (ex-Doctor Who Jon Pertwee): he bought a cape that belonged to a vampire, andwhenever he puts it on, he develops odd symptoms (such as no longer casting a reflection). Allthe stories are good fun, but the third is the most sinister.
Audio
The sound is 2.0 stereo, but might as well be in mono. There is no sound from the rearspeakers whatever, and the soundtrack is definitely showing its age. There is some backgroundhiss, and the dialogue is subject to distortion. The mix gets the job done, but no more.
Video
The picture is even more iffy. The colours themselves are quite good, with solid contrasts.The print is grainy and speckled, sometimes quite badly so. Other bits of print damage show uphere and there too. The image is a bit soft, and tends to shimmer in and out of focus. The edgeenhancement haloes are big and ugly. The film is in better shape, at least, than the trailer, whichis virtually unwatchable.
Special Features
Not too much here. Along with the aforementioned trailer, there are ads for House of1000 Corpses, Cabin Fever and Beyond Re-Animator (all of which you get byselecting the Lions Gate logo), and an interview with venerable producer Max J. Rosenberg. Thisfeature has far too much footage from the film, and not enough of Rosenberg. I kept hoping tohear him expand on his comments. The menu’s main page is animated and scored, but the picturequality is awful and the options are hard to read.
Closing Thoughts
The disc isn’t flawless by any means – picture and sound get by, but aren’t anything to writehome about. The release, however, is more than welcome. The movie is a hoot and a half, and wecan but hope that this is only the first of many more such releases to come.
Special Features List
- Interview with Producer Max J. Rosenberg
- Trailers
