Customer Reviews

From Hell it Came

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I gave this title a one star rating due to the manufacture quality
of the disc(s), not based upon the actual content of the disc(s).
I recently purchased five Warner Archive titles from [...]
Titles purchased were: All The Marbles, Bermuda Depths, Carny,
From Hell It Came and Razorback. On the back cover of each disc it states,
Discs are for use in playback only devices. All five of these discs would
not function correctly. What I mean is that the menu would not come up
on any of them. The screen would just show black with no picture until
I skipped forward to approx 30 to 50 minutes into the film. Then I had
to fast reverse search back to the start of the movie. Upon doing this
the films/discs then played through the films. Quality of the films
themselves I feel is very good. I attempted playback on five different
brands of DVD players with the exact same result. It would seem these M.O.D.
(Manufactured On Demand) titles are either so heavily encrypted with
Macrovision or just so poorly manufactured that playback is very frustrating.
Cover art is extremely lacking in photos and design layout.

The title pretty much says it all...

I've got to admit that I have a bit of a soft spot for this flick, despite calling it a "Grade Z" effort. I remember it on Saturday afternoon TV back when I was a kid, and even then thinking how lame it was. Lame, but entertaining. Then a few years ago I managed to get an off-the-air VHS recording from one of our local broadcast channels, and watched it again for the first time in probably 25 years. Great, nostalgic bottom-of-the-barrel stuff. The sort of inane crap I grew up watching and loving.

But I have to say that the current Amazon asking price of [...] for a DVD-R recording of this movie is just way too expensive. I have purchased a few other DVD-R's from Amazon in the past for somewhere in the $14 - $15 range, and while it's great to have them rather than not have them, even that price is kind of pushing the limits for a recorded on demand DVD-R.

Anyway, the bottom line is, if you must have this movie at any cost, then go for it. It really isn't very good, but if you're like me and love these cheesy old flicks, then it might just be worth it to you. Myself, I'll wait for the eventual mass-market recording, hopefully (and realistically) priced under $10.00!

All of the other reviewers have a point - check out the prices at Warner first because you will never pay more than twenty dollars on that site per title. Chances are you will pay less because they always have some type of promotion going on. Do note that Warner Bros. has a minimum of sixty dollars in merchandise for free shipping, Deep Discount has none, and Amazon has a minimum of fifty dollars, just in case there is only one title you are interested in. Warner Bros. sells these archive products exclusively for three months and then other retailers can join in, but always for more than what Warner will ask if you buy directly from them.

As for the reviewer that had all the trouble playing discs, I have never had that problem and I own more than forty of these discs by now. I've had one disc that froze - Nora Prentiss, a few with audio problems - Dream Wife, The First Auto, and Carbine Williams, and jumps in the video in a couple from which I really can't determine the origin - that is, it could be the master not the DVD-R itself causing the problem. I'd say that about 90% of them play trouble free with only minor age-related defects rather than manufacturing ones.

As for this film, if you love the old Sunday horror matinees with 50's and 60's B titles such as "Island of Terror" AKA "Night of the Silicates", "Hypnotic Eye", and "Wasp Woman" you'll really like this one about a vengeful tree trunk stalking Pacific Islanders. It can only move at a snail's pace, so you can easily get away. Yet all of the victims stand there screaming until it gets them. Hilarious. The quality of the video and audio is good on this one. Just don't go to that well known internet movie database and believe the low rating if you're a 50's sci-fi and horror fan.

The movie is great but the disc quality is zero. I had high hopes for this on DVD for a widescreen format and better clarity than the VHS. That I got, but... I got two of these from Amazon. The first disc froze up up at 1:18 min. into the movie.I returned this and Amazon was good enough to send a replacement. This one also froze up on screen, but about 2:51 into the movie. I played the dics in 5 different DVD players--all different makes and models, including one on a laptop computer, and the problem occurred on every one of them,so I know the problem was with the discs. So, unfortunately, I had to return the replacement disc as well. It would seem Amazon has a bad batch of these discs. Hopefully, the problem will be corrected. I would love to get a good-quality DVD of this movie. If anyone knows a source, please let me know.

I recently order a Warner Archive Collection title from Amazon.com called "From Hell It Came" and was greatly disappointed.
There are a number of movie companies that do not understand the purpose of widescreen. The purpose of widescreen is to show MORE of the movie as it was originally presented in it's correct aspect ratio - as opposed to fullscreen which cuts off the sides of the picture to make it fit a fullscreen TV set. Unfortunately, I've come across too many distributers, such as Warner Brothers, that get a print of the film, format it to fullscreen for reasons unknown, then put black bars across the top and bottom to make it LOOK LIKE widescreen. WHY? Not only are the sides cut off the film for fullscreen, but also the top and bottom are cut off for false widescreen. WHY? Movies like this one are ruined, and are preserved in their ruined state probably forever on an outrageously overpriced DVD-R. Not a DVD, but a DVD-R!! WHY? Plus, I have just wasted my money because you have fooled me. It's such a sad shame on many levels.
I can't imagine what the faulty reasoning behind such tactics could be. It just doesn't make any logical sense.
WHY?

Always check out the prices at Warner first because you will never pay more than twenty dollars on that site per title. Chances are you will pay less because they always have some type of promotion going on. Do note that Warner Bros. has a minimum of sixty dollars in merchandise for free shipping, Deep Discount has none, and Amazon has a minimum of twenty-five dollars, just in case there is only one title you are interested in. Warner Bros. sells these archive products exclusively for three months and then other retailers can join in, but always for more than what Warner will ask if you buy directly from them.

I've read much about people having trouble playing discs, but I have never had that problem and I own more than forty of these discs by now. I've had one disc that froze - Nora Prentiss, a few with audio problems - Dream Wife, The First Auto, and Carbine Williams, and jumps in the video in a couple from which I really can't determine the origin - that is, it could be the master not the DVD-R itself causing the problem. I'd say that about 90% of them play trouble free with only minor age-related defects rather than manufacturing ones.

As for this film, if you love the old Sunday horror matinees with 50's and 60's B titles such as "Island of Terror" AKA "Night of the Silicates", "Hypnotic Eye", and "Wasp Woman" you'll really like this one about a vengeful tree trunk stalking Pacific Islanders. It can only move at a snail's pace, so you can easily get away. Yet all of the victims stand there screaming until it gets them. Hilarious. The quality of the video and audio is good on this one. Just don't go to that well known internet movie database and believe the low rating if you're a 50's sci-fi and horror fan.

I thought this was a pretty good jungle horror film. Many people don't like it because they find the tree monster laughable-but I find the tree monster to be a very scary fellow-like the Jesus tree in my backyard. The film is well-made and the quality of this DVD-R is excellent. The DVD is available at the Warner Bros. Archive website for $19.95. I noticed a few Amazon Marketplace sellers (Hotandserious and JoshuaB01) are asking for twice the price-$40! Don't be cheated by these crooks-go to the Warner website. Also, sometimes Amazon.com sell these Warner titles for $29.

Well, once again we are reminded of the old saw, "Caveat Emptor"--"Let The Buyer Beware". This so-called produced-on-demand product cranked out by Warner Brothers is a fine example. I have to say that I'm not terribly impressed spending good money plus extra for overnight shipping and finding myself left with a DVD which simply doesn't function.

I saw another review here on Amazon that stated basically the same complaint, and I have to say to that person: I feel your pain, amigo. I'll go further and say--to one and all--that by NO MEANS should you trust the chimps at the Warner Brothers DVD store to send you a functioning disk. Looking at the DVD more closely, I'm not even sure that they even burned anything onto it in the first place, because when inserted into the machine (a Panasonic DVD recorder/player maybe three years old) all that happens is...well...nothing. The machine says "STOP", and that's all, folks.

Well, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, et cetera, et cetera...Needless to say I won't be buying anything else coming from the Warners DVD store, and if anyone is interested in this particular title---don't chance it. Be patient, and maybe someday a competent company will come out with a good (and hopefully non-bootleg) print of this movie.

Maybe.

I don't understand why so many reviewers consider this DVD to be poor in quality. I bought a copy myself from the Warner Brothers Archives, and I have a 46" Sony Bravia HDTV and the quality is fantastic! The print is nice and clear, the audio is perfect and the movie actually fills the entire rectangle-shaped screen. In fact, if I didn't know better, I would swear this was a blu-ray disc. It's THAT good. I was highly surprised and pleased with this disc. Now if only someone would give Caltiki: The Immortal Monster and The Screaming Skull the same treatment!

This is one of "those" classic one and a half star Saturday night Creature Features, the kind of movie that's so bad it's good.

Meet Tabonga. Looking something like Tolkien's Treebeard with a killer hangover, he used to be a Polynesian prince, but Shakespeare's-Ariel-in-the-cloven-pine-like he is cursed to be reincarnated as a walking tree. Tabonga is a homicidal hollyhock who goes around slaughtering his fellow skirt-wearing native brethren, who, in a panic, visit some resident American scientists. To their credit, the scientists decide to discuss whether these guys are out of their tree or not, and (so as not to offend them) throw them outside of the well-secured quonset hut where the Americans live with a "You guys wait outside" slamming of the door. Unfortunately, the tree under which they take refuge from the broiling sun turns out to be Tabonga, and even though my great-grandma with a walker could outrun Tabonga he kills them to the accompaniment of some bloodcurdling shrieks. "What was that?" the Americans ask. Birnham Wood comes to High Dunsinane as this ridiculous movie reaches a climax of sorts, when the Americans decide to celebrate Christmas in July and use Tabonga as a Yule Log.

Even the bad grammar of the title is a tip-off to the $[...] quality of this production. Unfortunately, the going price of the DVD exceeds that. Otherwise, if you like supercheesy 1950s low budget monster flicks add this to your collection.