Customer Reviews

Tales of Terror 50 Movie Pack Collection

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

TALES OF TERROR is another great collection of public domain horror movies! No, these are not digitally remastered, spotless masterpieces. These are movies that are available to any company (and there are tons of them) that wants to put them out. So, why pay 10-20 times as much for the same scratchy movies?? Here's the run-down: THE WHITE GORILLA- An hour-long stinkfest about a guy in a white go-rilla suit in the jungle. Actually 2 movies spliced together! Pretty dull indeed! THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH- Barbera Steele is a vengeful ghost, out to fulfill her mother's curse. Good spooker! THE NIGHT EVELYN CAME OUT OF THE GRAVE- Horribly editted pile of offal! Barely makes sense, and Erica Blanc's infamous naked coffin dance is gone! Ugh! CONDEMNED TO LIVE- Ralph Morgan is a guy doomed to suck the life from others. A good flick! THE HEAD- Awesome german mad science spectacular about a psychotic doctor and his keeping a disembodied head alive! includes a Hunchback, strippers, and lots of bubbling chemicals! DEVIL MONSTER- Ridiculous tale of a giant man-eating manta ray on the loose. Junk! CRYPT OF THE LIVING DEAD- Andrew Prine stars as a man who must battle the queen of the vampires to help solve his father's murder. Not bad. CHLOE, LOVE IS CALLING YOU- Absolutely stoooopid story about a voodoo lady and her attempts to stop a romance. THE PHANTOM OF SOHO- German murder mystery w/ a golden-gloved killer! Watch for the topless dancers and wacky prostitutes! THE APE MAN- Bela stars as a man who becomes part ape and sleeps w/ his go-rilla buddy! They also go on a killing spree together! Ok. THE SADIST- The only decent thing Arch Hall jr. ever did! He plays his serial-killing scumbag character like no other! A classic! A WALKING NIGHTMARE- Sorry, I fell asleep! A dark-house type mystery. NIGHT FRIGHT- John Agar is the sheriff of a small town full of 30+ year old college "kids", who are plagued by a mutated space monkey! No, I'm serious! Good for laughs. SCARED TO DEATH- Bela and George Zucco star in this godawful piece of doggy-do about a dead woman and her telling of her traumatic life. At least there's a midget! SOUND OF HORROR- Treasure hunters encounter an invisible beasty in a cave, saving a fortune on special effects! Watch for Ingrid Pitt's little dance number! Ok. THE MAN W/ TWO LIVES- A rich guy dies and switches souls w/ an executed murderer. Pretty good! THE IRONBOUND VAMPIRE- A hippie-vampire haunts New Jersey. Shot on video tape ultra-cheapie w/ very little to offer. I did like the vampiric gal-pal stuff near the end though! Yowza!! HANDS OF STEEL- Terminator rip-off w/ a silly android stalked by John Saxon. Includes arm-wrestling truckers and dryer-duct hoses on car roofs! Also has a 3-second topless sequence! VAMPIRE'S NIGHT ORGY- A bus breaks down in vampiretown! Loads of bloodsuckers and cannibalism to boot! Good-O! ONE FRIGHTENED NIGHT- An old guy wills his fortune to his missing granddaughter. The other relatives are NOT pleased, especially when she just happens to reappear! Ok. THE WEREWOLF OF WASHINGTON- Dean Stockwell gets hairy after a trip to Transylvania. Trouble is, he works for the president of the united states! An ok political satire. A STRANGE ADVENTURE- A young hot rod enthusiast gets mixed up w/ bank-robbers. Marla English (She Creature) is a very bad girl! THE ISLAND MONSTER- Boris Karloff is a kindly old doctor who is also a sadistic drug smuggler! Good. THE ROGUES TAVERN- Wallace Ford tries to help solve a string of murders commited by someone wearing a dog-head puppet on their hand! No kidding! Ok. TERROR CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE- barbera steele inhabits a castle built on a burial-ground for plague victims. Ickiness ensues! Watch for the zombified / mummified, severed hands! THE CABINET OF DOCTOR CALIGARI- Silent classic about a string of murders that occur when a strange hypnotist and his somnambulist come to town! Excellent! EVIL BRAIN FROM OUTER SPACE- Mutants are attacking and only Starman can save us! Lots of kung-fu disco dancing! THE DEVIL BAT- Bela is a mad scientist who creates a giant bat that kills those who wear a certain shaving lotion! Good. THE BAT- Silent crime drama about the notorious BAT and his reign of terror. Very good. Watch for the early influences on Batman, years before the caped-crusader was even thought of! THE AMAZING TRANSPARENT MAN- An escaped convict is recruited by an evil army major who wants him to become transparent in order to steal nuclear material. Why? He wants to make an invisible army of course! Good. THE PHANTOM CREEPS- Bela is the nefarious Dr. Zorca, out to conquer the world in this condensed version of the 12-part serial. I actually like this better, short and sweet! CRIMES AT THE DARK HOUSE- Tod Slaughter is at his devilish best causing murder and mayhem, all while chuckling demonically! Great! THE SHE-BEAST- Barbera Steele is a young woman who disappears in a lake, only to be replaced by a centuries-old witch. You'll never forget her shriek! Ok. THE GHOST WALKS- Another old dark house type movie. Ok. CURSE OF THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN- A movie by hippies, for hippies, about hippies being killed by the title character. Or are they? Who cares?! It's a dreadful mess! THE CRIMES OF STEPHEN HAWKE- Tod Slaughter again! This time he's a kindly moneylender who also happens to be an evil serial-killer called the spinebreaker! Many deaths! Great! DEVIL'S PARTNER- Ed Nelson is an old man who makes a sacrifice to satan so he can come back from the dead. Creepy and watchable. SHOCK- Vincent Price is a wife-murdering psychiatrist who is witnessed by a woman. The witness goes into shock and ends up under the good doctor's care! Good. MANOS: THE HANDS OF FATE- The absolute nadir of all film-making, yet this cinematic whale turd is addictively viewable! Who could forget Torgo or the Master? Or the whiney kid? Unbelievable! MURDER IN THE RED BARN- Tod Slaughter must kill off a poor gal in order to marry a rich lady. Can he pull it off? Good. THE MANSTER- A guy in japan is secretly given a serum that turns him into a murderous monster! Watch for the eyeball in the shoulder scene! NEVER TOO LATE- Tod Slaughter is a respectable squire who has an interesting hobby. He loves to work at the prison and torture the inmates, especially the feisty ones! Great! THE DEVIL'S MESSENGER- Lon Chaney jr. is the devil, introducing three minor tales of slight fear in this failed TV pilot. Boring, although the third story ain't bad. TEENAGE ZOMBIES- Jerry Warren's stale tale of teens on zombie island. Not his worst movie though. THE BOWERY AT MIDNIGHT- Bela is both a college professor, and a soup-kitchen operator who is also a crimelord! Very good! TORTURE SHIP- Lyle Talbot is on board this hokey hunk of horse poo. Scientific experiments on convicts gone awry! So-so at best. MIDNIGHT SHADOW- Horrid murder mystery w/ Amos and Andy-type "comic" relief. P.U.! THE DEVIL'S DAUGHTER- More boredom in the form of a movie! A woman from Harlem inherits a plantation in Jamaica. Oh no! Her voodoo-priestess sister is out to scare her away! Terrible! NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST- Alien invades earth by impregnating a male astronaut w/ it's offspring. Ouch! TALES OF FRANKENSTEIN- Made-for-tv pilot for another doomed show. This one's good. Can Dr. Frankenstein help a dying man? Perhaps, but at what cost? Good. Well, that's it. I recommend buying this baby right now! Peace...

These are the films included in this 12-DVD collection. Some have been on other collections, some are new. There are a few Tod Slaughter gems and enough rarities to make this worth your while.

1. Amazing Transparent Man, The
2. Ape Man, The
3. Bat, The
4. Bowery at Midnight
5. Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The
6. Chloe, Love is Calling You
7. Condemned to Live
8. Crimes at the Dark House
9. Crimes of Stephen Hawke, The
10. Crypt of the Living Dead
11. Curse of the Headless Horseman
12. Devil Bat, The
13. Devil Monster
14. Devil's Daughter, The
15. Devil's Messenger, The
16. Devil's Partner
17. Evil Brain from Outer Space
18. Ghost Walks, The
19. Hands of Steel
20. Head, The
21. Ironbound Vampire, The
22. Island Monster, The
23. Long Hair of Death, The
24. Man with Two Lives, The
25. Manos: The Hands of Fate
26. Manster, The
27. Midnight Shadow
28. Murder in the Red Barn
29. Never Too Late
30. Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave, The
31. Night Fright
32. Night of the Blood Beast
33. One Frightened Night
34. Phantom Creeps, The
35. Phantom of Soho, The
36. Rogues Tavern, The
37. Sadist, The
38. Scared to Death
39. She-Beast, The
40. Shock
41. Sound of Horror
42. Strange Adventure, A (1956)
43. Tales of Frankenstein
44. Teenage Zombies
45. Terror Creatures from the Grave
46. Torture Ship
47. Vampire's Night Orgy
48. Walking Nightmare, A
49. Werewolf of Washington, The
50. White Gorilla, The

When you are reading those books of film reviews (I'm talking mainly horror here) and you come across an obscure movie and think you'd love to see that - because the reviewer says it is so good, or maybe because they say it is so bad - but you think you'll never get the chance, well these 50 Movie Packs are probably the best chance you'll get to see some of those movies. I have 5 of these sets Horror, Science Fiction, Chillers, Nightmare Worlds as well as Tales of Terror. I bought them to see some of the aforementioned movies at a reasonable price. Some of the films on these sets can be purchased in better versions but they are more expensive. If you like one or more of the movies here you can buy a better version later. Anyone expecting razor sharp images, perfect colour and high quality sound should look elsewhere - you get what you pay for with these sets. The quality varies from good to awful, but I've yet to find a title that was so bad, picture or sound wise, that it was unwatchable. So if you can live with imperfection these packs are worth a look - and, to be honest, anyone who pays this price for 50 movies and claims to be disappointed, deserves to be.

MILL CREEK ENTERTAINMENT box sets offer a low price and a wide selection of titles within each featured genre. Video quality varies with condition of original prints, and audio tends to be fair to good. Their product is always well-worth owning.

The TALES OF TERROR 50 MOVIE PACK consists primarily of American-made fright films. A third of this set are imports. All these movies would fall into the 'B' category, yet for any fright film fan, the variety offered here is sure to please.

Consumer polling data from a film related website averages out this set (on a 1 to 10 scale) at 4.8.

Following are individual scores, alphabetized title list, year and country of origin (if other than USA) and principal stars.

(2.7) The Amazing Transparent Man (1960) - Marguerite Chapman/Douglas Kennedy
(4.1) The Ape Man (1943) - Bela Lugosi
(6.6) The Bat (silent-1926) - Jack Pickford/Louise Fazenda
(5.5) Bowery At Midnight (1942) - Bela Lugosi/John Archer
(5.2) The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari - Glynis Johns/Dan O'Herlihy
(5.5) Chloe, Love Is Calling You (1934) - Olive Borden/Reed Howe
(5.2) Condemned To Live (1935) - Ralph Morgan/Maxine Doyle
(6.8) Crimes At the Dark House (UK-1940) - Tod Slaughter/Sylvia Marriott
(5.9) The Crimes of Stephen Hawke (UK-1936) - Tod Slaughter
(4.4) Crypt Of The Living Dead - (Spain-1973) Andrew Prine/Mark Damon
(2.0) Curse Of The Headless Horsemaasn (1974) - Ultra Violet/Marlon Proctor
(4.9) The Devil Bat (1940) - Bela Lugosi
(4.6) Devil Monster (edited version of 1936's "The Sea Fiend") (1946) - Barry Norton/Blanche Mehaffey
(4.6) The Devil's Daughter (1939) - Nina Mae McKinney/Jack Carter
(4.4) The Devil's Messenger (1961) - Lon Chaney Jr.
(3.8) Devil's Partner (1962) - Ed Nelson/Edgar Buchanan
(3.6) Evil Brain From Outer Space (Japan-1964) - Ken Utsui
(6.4) The Ghost Walks (1934) - John Miljan/June Collyer
(4.9) Hands of Steel (Italy-1986) - Daniel Green/Janet Agren
(4.7) The Head (W. Germany-1959)
(5.1) The Ironbound Vampire (canada-1997) - Delores Fuller
(2.7) The Island Monster (Italy-1954) - Boris Karloff
(5.8) The Long Hair Of Death (Italy-1964) - Barbara Steele
(5.8) The Man With Two Lives (1942) - Edward Norris/Marlo Dwyer
(1.9) Manos: The Hands Of Fate (1966) - Tom Neyman/John Reynolds
(4.4) The Manster (Japan-1962) - Peter Dyneley/Jane Hylton
(5.0) Midnight Shadow (1935) - Frances Redd/Buck Woods
(6.4) Murder In The Red Barn ("Maria Marten, or The") (UK-1935) - Ted Slaughter/Sophie Stewart
(6.5) Never Too Late ("It's Never Too Late To Mend") (UK-1937) - Tod Slaughter
(5.1) The Night Evelyn Came Out Of The Grave (Italy-1971)
(1.6) Night Fright (1967) - John Agar/Carol Gilley
(2.0) Night Of The Blood Beast (1958) - John Baer/Ed Nelson
(6.3) One Frightened Night (1935) - Charley Grapewin/Lucien Littlefield
(4.9) The Phantom Creeps (edited version of the 1939 serial) (1949) - Bela Lugosi
(5.5) Phantom Of Soho (W Germany-1964)
(5.7) The Rogues Tavern (1936) - Wallace Ford/Barbara Pepper
(6.7) The Sadist (1963) - Arch Hall Jr./Richard Alden
(3.8) Scared To Death (1947) - Bela Lugosi
(4.4) The She-Beast (UK/Italy-1966) - Barbara Steele/John Karlsen
(6.3) Shock (1946) - Vincent Price
(4.9) Sound Of Horror (Spain-1964) - James Philbrook
(7.4) A Strange Adventure (1956) - Joan Evans/Ben Cooper
(5.9) Tales Of Frankenstein (TV pilot-UK-1958) - Anton Diffring/Richard Bull
(2.1) Teenage Zombies (1959) - Don Sullivan/Katherine Victor
(5.3) Terror Creatures From The Grave (Italy-1965) - Walter Brandi/Barbara Steele
(5.4) Torture Ship (1939) - Lyle Talbot/Julie Bishop
(4.2) Vampire's Night Orgy (Spain-1973) - Jack Taylor
(5.9) A Walking Nightmare ("The Living Ghost") (1942) - James Dunn/Joan Woodbury
(3.6) The Werewolf Of Washington (1973) - Dean Stockwell
(4.4) The White Gorilla (1945) - Ray Corrigan/Lorraine Miller

I bought the 50-movie pack of Tales of Terror, along with the 50-pack Chilling Classics and Drive-In Movie Classics, to suppliment my collection of so-bad-they're-good movies. Of the three, Drive-In Classics is my favorite. At less than four bits a pop, you can't go wrong with these films. While image quality is not HD it is better than what I expected. With an infusion of 150 new movies into my film library I have more than enough to keep me busy for many long weekends.
I am ready for Mill Creek to release Tale of Horror II, Drive-In Classics II, and Chilling Classics II. Keep the bad movies coming, guys.

i am a big fan of these mega pack collections,and this is a good one. now if you own any of the other sets you will find that some of these movies are on some of the other collections so be warned, but thsi one has a few new ones also. the transfers are ok(much better than some other collections and these are a great way to build your collection!

I had the pleasure of watching a couple of movies from this set last night and let me just say, I must be blessed. Ironbound Vampire is... phenomenal. Its plot was intricate, its characters were well developed, and the cinematography only would have been better had Dion Beebe (of Memoirs Of A Geisha fame) shot it. There were NO plot holes. Everything made sense, I swear.

If I had six thumbs, they would all go up in honor of this masterpiece.

Tales of Terror is a collection of 50 scary movies that only have one thing in common: they are all public domain and as such it is possible for them to be presented in highly affordable collections. I paid $19.98 for my set and that comes down to about 40 cents per movie. The way that movie tickets cost nowadays, you really cannot complain about this collection.

An added bonus of this collection is the fact that many of these movies are not available on other public domain collections.

Anyways, here is how I rate the movies in Tales of Terror:


Great:


The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Crimes at the Dark House
The Head
Ironbound Vampire
The Phantom of Soho




Good:

The Bat
The Night Evelyn Came Out of Her Grave
Night Fright
One Frightened Night
Phantom Creeps
Scared to Death
She Beast
Shock
Sound of Horror
A Strange Adventure
Tales of Frankenstein


Average:

Bowery at Midnight
Chloe, Love is Calling You
Condemned to Live
The Crimes of Stephen Hawke
Crypt of the Living Dead
The Curse of Headless Horseman
The Demon Barber of Fleet
The Devil Bat
Devil Monster
Devil's Daughter
The Devil's Messenger
Devil's Partner
The Ghost Walks
The Island Monster
It's Never Too Late to Mend
The Long Hair of Death
Louisiana
The Manster
Midnight Shadow
Murder in the Red Barn
Man with Two Lives
Rogues Tavern
Torture Ship



Bad:

The Ape Man
I Eat Your Skin
Manos: The Hands of Fate
The Sadist
Teenage Zombies
Terror Creatures from the Grave
Vampire Happening
Vampires Night Orgy
A Walking Nightmare
Werewolf of Washington
The White Gorilla

I bought this the other day at a Half Price Books. I don't know if they have this store outside of the Pittsburgh area, but its great. Anyhow, I already own a couple of these collection, the first being the "Chilling" one. I should have gotten this one first. Why? The movies on this collection are the best! Most of these are from the thirties through the fifties, with only a couple from the seventies! Also, a few of these films are silent, and I love the silent age.

I'm a big B Movie buff, but my taste seems to wan in the seventies, with the exception of just a few titles. This collection was much more in line with the type of B Films that I look for. Oh! There's a good Japanese flick in here too!

If you're debating between this and the "Chilling" collection, get this. That is, unless you prefer the seventies and eigthies style of B Film.

I just want to point out that most, if not all, the movies are also included in 250 pack from the same company. I checked this movie by movie :) Depending on your purchase plan, that one might represent better bargain.