Customer Reviews

Tales of Terror

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

 

 

This is another one of those Brentwood 5-DVD/10-movie sets. Hardcore horror collectors who are expecting high quality transfers and completely uncut material should pass, but if you just want to watch a few movies for fun then give it a try. Here's my summary of all 10, listed from worst to best (more or less):

(10) Die, Sister Die! One of the most boring movies I've ever sat through. Not bad enough to be funny. The title is better than the entire film.

(9) Circus of Fear. Not a horror movie, but a movie about circus performers who happen to be criminals. You do get Klaus Kinski in a supporting role. Kind of slow going, but may be of interest to Euro crime aficionados.

(8) Sisters of Death. PG-rated horror that plays like a TV movie. The girls were lovely to look at, and for some reason I found myself enjoying the improbable story. I thought it was a lot better than "Satan's School for Girls," which has a similar sunny California look to it.

(7) Web of the Spider. Worst pan n' scan I have ever seen. A journalist spends the night in a haunted castle. Klaus Kinski plays Edgar Allan Poe. The usual ghostly occurrences, not scary at all but with a nice twist at the end. The distracting pan n' scan made me long for a letterboxed version of the movie, though.

(6) The Werewolf and the Vampire Woman. This movie seems to have a cult following of Eurohorror fans and stars the legendary Paul Naschy. Diehards will probably want to seek out a better print, but if you're not obsessed with the film it's worth a look. Stylish in a low-budget, traditional monster movie way.

(5) Messiah of Evil. For a movie about flesh-eating zombies there was very little gore. And there were some incredibly slow parts. I can't quite put my finger on why I liked this one, I guess it was just so weird and 70's-looking that it made me uneasy. There were some very creepy moments, especially the scenes that featured a scary-looking albino guy.

(4) Deep Red. Haven't watched it, due to the fact that I already own the unedited version. The director's cut runs 126 minutes, and according to the box this version runs 96 minutes. Dario Argento has said this was his favorite movie that he has done, so I don't know if I can recommend such a heavily cut version with a clear conscience.

(3) Lady Frankenstein. Dr. Frankenstein (Joseph Cotten) is killed by his monster. His sexy daughter plans to avenge his death by building a new creation that will destroy the first one. Lots of nudity. Plus the original monster has a burn-scarred face with a big fake-looking eyeball sticking out, hee hee! Fun movie.

(2) Christmas Evil. Not that gory, but much stranger than expected. A guy is traumatized as a child by a Santa-related incident (I don't want to give it away). Years later, he dresses up as Santa Claus and kills people. I liked how the guy was obsessed with Christmas and had his apartment decorated year-round. Very entertaining, with one of the weirdest endings I have ever seen.

(1) House on the Edge of the Park. I expected this one to be a lesser-quality Last House on the Left; little did I know it stars David Hess who was also the lead maniac in Last House. It costars Italian horror icon Giovanni Lombardo Radice (aka John Morghen) as a disco-dancing halfwit. Directed by Ruggero Deodato who did the infamous Cannibal Holocaust. It's not horror, but sleazy exploitation along the lines of Last House that will probably shock most people. Looked uncut to me judging by the high level of perversity, and it's even letterboxed!

Worth the money for the top three movies alone. With the exception of Die, Sister Die! you could do a lot worse.

When it comes to these budget 10-movie packs, you get the good and the bad - and sometimes the bad is so bad it's good. By and large, Tales of Terror is a pretty good set of flicks, but there are a couple of things I think you need to know before purchasing it. Let's start with the good. I thought Web of the Spider was simply superb. It is a remake of the superior Castle of Blood, but this remake is a deliciously creepilicious haunted house film in its own right. I don't like to admit this, but I even jumped - just a tiny bit, mind you - a couple of times during this film. Lady Frankenstein is an Italian horror film released in 1971 with the title La Figlia Di Frankenstein. Somewhat to my surprise, the film comes off as a very creative retelling of the done-to-death Frankenstein theme. It has its logical inconsistencies, at least one annoying and irrelevant character, and a thoroughly cheesy-looking monster, but I cannot but love this movie - and Rosalba Neri (going by the name of Sara Bay) is gorgeous. Christmas Evil holds a special spot in the genre of Christmas slasher films - although there so little blood that I would not classify this as a slasher film at all. This is more of a psychological treatment that transcends horror of a primal nature. In its own twisted little way, Christmas Evil is really sort of touching, and I would argue that it actually does possess a measure of real Christmas spirit. The protagonist's heart is in the right place - it's just a few of his toys of death that end up in wrong places such as someone else's neck.

Sisters of Death is another film I really liked. While far from perfect, it does have a few things going for it that a plethora of 70s low-budget thrillers do not. First and foremost, there is Claudia Jennings, a beautiful and really quite talented actress who would die tragically the year after this film was completed. The plot itself manages to hold up pretty well, making its way through a decent set of twists and turns to keep the viewer constantly unsure about his/her own theories until the very end. The ending, by the way, is especially nice. I was just thinking how cool it would be if a certain last twist took place in the final seconds, when lo and behold, my wish was granted. This film is by no means gory or bloody, it can be a little annoying at times, and its low-budget nature is clearly evident (you can actually see the boom mike above the actors' heads during one whole scene), but it proved just unpredictable enough to keep me from knowing just how things would play out in the end.

Messiah of Evil does some things very well, producing one quite memorable scene in particular, but it proved a little too vague for me. The movie itself is one big flashback, which is a technique that rarely succeeds perfectly, especially when further layers are added in such a way to give us, at one point, a flashback inside a flashback inside a flashback. I think this movie would have been more effective with a more typical narrative framework. In the final breakdown, I think one's enjoyment of Messiah of Evil comes down to one's love for the horror genre. Those raised on a diet of action-packed slasher films may find this movie oppressively slow and boring; those of my ilk who enjoy a European kind of thriller wherein silence speaks louder than words and menace is bred in the most subtle of ways will find much to touch the imagination and satiate the spook-craving heart. Die, Sister, Die! is basically a psychological thriller of sorts, the story of a dysfunctional brother and sister struggling against one another to play out the final act in a tale of greed and deceit. This film is classified as horror, but it is really not a horror film at all. It is really just a typical example of the kind of dark psychological film that littered the cinema landscape of the 1970s. As long as you don't go in expecting blood and guts, you may well get a little enjoyment out of it.

You know a movie is awful when a sick and twisted rapist is the least annoying character in the film. House on the Edge of the Park may not be the worst movie in the world, but it comes pretty close. It's an exploitation film with no redeeming values whatsoever, and I for one do not like the fact that it is sometimes passed off as a horror film. Then there is Circus of Fear. I found this to be a thoroughly bad movie in so, so many ways. Even the most enthusiastic Christopher Lee fan should think twice about seeing his uninspired performance here. It is very important to note that, while this film is capable of invoking horror on the part of the unfortunate viewer, it is in no way a horror film and is in no way associated with Hammer Studios.

I must admit that I have not watched two of these films, Deep Red: The Hatchet Murders and The Werewolf and the Vampire Woman - this is for the simple reason that both of these films are horribly gutted versions of much longer, noteworthy films. Since I have not yet seen the complete versions of these two movies, I will not ruin my future enjoyment of them by watching heavily edited versions of them now.

On my copies, Messiah of Evil, Die, Sister Die!, and Lady Frankenstein are not complete. They abruptly stop mid-way through. The best were Sisters of Death and The Werewolf and the Vampire Woman.

There were 4 films in particular that made me want this box. After watching all 10 films, I was pleasantly surprised to discover some great hidden gems I had never heard of. Let's get the lesser efforts out of the way so we can focus on the good stuff.

'Werewolf Vs. Vampire Woman'- Two attractive college girls go looking for the tomb of the legendary Vampire Woman. Their search takes them to a creepy castle whose inhabitants include a handsome man (Paul Naschy) and his crazy sister he keeps locked up. Naschy shows the girls the grave but one of them cuts herself on a crucifix and revives the Vampire Woman courtesy of her dripping blood. Needless to say the Vampire Woman is pissed, one of the college girls falls for Naschy, the other one turns into a vampire and only Naschy can save them all.

'Die, Sister, Die'- This is a made for T.V. ripoff of Bette Davis classics like 'Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?' and 'Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte'.

'Circus Of Fear'- This black and white British mystery concerns a thief (Klaus Kinski) who hides out, with his loot, in a traveling circus. When the circus performers start getting killed suspicion falls on the stranger and the circus' own masked magician (Christopher Lee). Lee is great as always but he remains masked for nearly the entire movie.

'Web Of The Spider'- This is a remake of the Barbara Steele thriller 'Castle Of Blood'. Edgar Allan Poe (Klaus Kinski) bets a writer (Anthony Franciosa) he can't survive one night in a haunted castle. Even though it has great direction, set design, music and overall ambiance it never works as well as you'd hope.

'Sisters Of Death'- This PG rated flick is about 5 sorority sisters who accidentally kill a pledge during initiation. Years later they are invited to a reunion being held at a secluded mansion. When they get there they realize the windows are barred, the fences are electrified and the doors are locked. The only truly scary thing in this movie is how many times the boom mike appears in the corner of the frame. Chilling.

On to the good stuff...

'Messiah Of Evil'- The setting is a deserted beach town called Point Doom. A young woman is searching for her missing father. She doesn't find her dad but rather a mysterious stranger (who looks a lot like Peter Fonda) and his two girlfriends. They agree to help the woman look for her father as long as they can move in with her. That's when things start getting weird. What makes this film great is how well it recreates the dread of early Brian DePalma or David Lynch films. This makes a lot of sense since the set designs come courtesy of Jack Fisk ('Carrie', 'Eraserhead').

'Deep Red'- This thriller about a pianist (David Hemmings) who witnesses the brutal slaying of his neighbor, and then joins forces with a nosy reporter (Daria Nicolodi) to catch the masked killer who's now stalking him is one of director Dario Argento's best films but the horrible pan and scan version presented here is unwatchable. The only positive thing that can be said for it is that, since the film is not widescreen, the first reveal of the killer is never shown. For those that have never seen the movie before the ending will be a little more surprising.

'Christmas Evil'- If cult filmmaker John Waters calls this "The best Christmas movie of all time.", you know it's gonna be twisted. Harry (Brandon Maggart) is a lonely man obsessed with Christmas. Really obsessed. His apartment is full of decorations, cards, gifts and even a Santa costume he's making. When his co-workers and his brother mock his enthusiasm, Harry snaps and spends Christmas Eve going on a bloody killing spree. Part of what makes things so twisted is the fact that Harry's murder weapons are holiday classics like a nutcracker and candy canes. This film is bizarre, frighteningly funny and disturbing all at the same time.

'Lady Frankenstein'- Anna (the ridiculously sexy Rosalba Neri) is the daughter of Baron Frankenstein (Joseph Cotton). After graduating from medical school, Anna returns home to help her dad with his experiments. The Baron will have none of it but when he is murdered by his latest creation Anna steps in to finish the experiment. With the help of her father's assistant, Anna begins robbing graves and assembling the parts needed to create her dream man. Her reasons are twofold: 1. to kill the original monster that killed her dad and 2. to satisfy her unnatural sexual demands. Neri is like the female version of Dr. Frank-n-Furter from 'Rocky Horror'. There is some very nice nudity from Neri in this one and cult fans should be thrilled to know that the original Gravis Mushnik from Corman's 'Little Shop Of Horrors' Mel Welles directed this one.

'The House On The Edge Of The Park'- The final film in the set and probably the most controversial. Directed by Ruggero Deodato ('Cannibal Holocaust') the film features 'Last House On The Left' star David Hess as Alex. Much like Krug in the Craven classic, Alex is a murderous psychopath and rapist. After Alex and his creepy pal Ricky invade a house party they start torturing and raping the guests until one of them breaks free and fights back. This film is easily the most shocking in the box featuring rape, torture, mutilation and shootings. With that being said, it's a well made film. Hess is terrifying as always, Deodato films the action in unbearable closeups, the house is well lit and designed and the score by Riz Ortolani is quite good. I love the summary on the back of the box for this movie. They make the fact that he's a rapist and a murderer a throwaway comment as if it's no big deal.

There are 5 solid horror films in this set and the other 5 are worth watching once. With the exception of the unwatchable 'Deep Red', this is a great collection at a great price for horror fans.

TALES OF TERROR consists of five double-sided DVDs. The ten movies in this set are half domestic, half European. Stars include Christopher Lee, Anthony Franciosa, David Hemmings and Klaus Kinski. There's a few very popular titles in the mix, which makes this budget-priced box an excellent deal, and a convenient way to start your horror movie collection.

Also recommended is CHILLING CLASSICS 50 MOVIE PACK. It's a dozen fine DVDs that offer four of the movies here, plus lots more scary fun.

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The following alphabetized program list provides viewer poll ratings for each film (based on a 1 to 10 scale), plus original theatrical titles (where indicated), country of origin (if other than USA), years of release and principal actors.

(4.0) Christmas Evil ("You Better Watch Out") (1980) - Brandon Maggart/Jeffrey DeMunn
(5.2) Circus of Fear (UK/W Ger-1966) - Christopher Lee/Leo Genn/Klaus Kinski
(7.8) Deep Red, The Hatchet Murders (Italy-1975) - David Hemmings
(4.0) Die Sister, Die! (1972) - Jack Ging/Edith Atwater
(5.7) House On The Edge Of The Park (Italy-1980) - David Hess/Annie Belle
(4.6) Lady Frankenstein (Italy-1971) - Joseph Cotten/Rosalba Neri
(6.0) Messiah Of Evil ("Dead People") (1973) - Michael Greer/Royal Dano/Elisha Cook Jr. (in support)
(4.2) Sisters Of Death (1977) - Arthur Franz/Claudia Jennings
(5.4) Web Of The Spider (France/Italy/W Ger-1971) - Anthony Franciosa/Klaus Kinski
(4.7) The Werewolf Vs. Vampire Women (Spain/W Ger-1971)

bcieclipse is the company that started the whole 10movies sets that are so much a part of the dvd landscape today. while the quality of the movies isn't always good the cost is very nice and if your not to picky about thr transfers these films can be fun, and as always these sets can help you build your collection ,so give it a try

another in beieclipse's 10 packs and as always if you want great transfers then stay away if you want to see some b thru z grade horror movies then take the chance and get this set and enjoy.

Hmmm!

Brentwood multi discs releases can arouse your interest with the material releases they come up with but boy does disappointment soon set in when you get around to view them. They release an interesting array of rarely seen, occasional cult, oddities that come from the far reaches of the Earth viz UK; USA, Spain, Italy et all.

The disappointment is that, though they are excellent value and as one reviewer observed re the lack of digitally remastering, a heady reminder of youth watching average quality tape, the majority of the films seem to be the USA TV or Cinema versions which were badly truncated (grief I thought I was badly done in the eighties with the ill named video nasty era - though censorship is still a ridiculous anachronism here on this shores!).

What particularly peeved me off here was The Night Evelyn Came Out Of The Grave because the ghost was nude she hardly appeared. As a result the film is presented in a totally unsatisfactory disjointed fashion i.e. look of horror on the actress then suddendly swiftly moved to the next day!!!!! argh!

Fortunately, some of the films shown are now available in pristine condition and uncut in the USA and hoefully Evelyn will be soon.

I give this two stars because of the cheapness of the price and the variety of films shown. Good for those who want a cheap and cheary reminiscence of late nights watching the late horror shows

this dvd contains many great obscure films that used to be on midnight movie madness type of shows that's well worth the money. if you're a fan of horror that's not mainstream, i totally recommend this dvd set that's well worth the money.