best-looking titles; the skin tones here are pinkish but the quality is otherwise crisp, accurately framed and with handsome color levels. Unfortunately, it’s non-anamorphic though VCI also sells an anamor- phic disc of this title, with extras, for $9.99, and as half of an anamorphic “Grindhouse Double-Fea- ture” with Brownrigg’s DON’T LOOK IN THE BASE- MENT (1973), priced at $13.95. Lee Madden’s Thailand-lensed THE NIGHT CREATURE (aka OUT OF THE DARKNESS; 1977, 83m 29s), starring Donald Pleasence and Nancy Kwan, also available in an unmatted full-screen presentation from Trinity Home Entertainment, would be perfectly accept- able if not for a tendency for its whites to over- heat, which makes some early placards in the film unreadable. Disc 3’s SCREAM BLOODY MURDER (1973, 85m 48s), also available from Synergy Entertain- ment for $9.99 and available as an
Amazon.com download for $1.99, looks soft and its color is off, with greenish blues and harsh whites—much like Richard Harland Smith described when he re- viewed VCI’s standard VHS release in VW 60:22. RHS also reviewed VCI’s original VHS of SISTERS OF DEATH (1977, 87m 8s), starring Claudia Jennings, in that issue (VW 60:23), and noted its bold, attractive colors but also a heightened graini- ness, which has been toned down here in a man- ner that renders the picture a tad too soft. However, the correct matting of the formerly open-apertured framing removes some things that weren’t meant to be seen—like the apple boxes below the cush- ions the eponymous Sisters are kneeling on in the frame grab we used on Page 24 of that issue! (In- cidentally, back in 2004, VCI issued two volumes of “Scream Theater Double-Feature” sets, the first of which paired SISTERS OF DEATH and SCREAM BLOODY MURDER in unmatted 1.33:1 ratios. The set is still available for $9.99, making this set all the more attractive as a bargain—like getting 10 movies practically free.) Eddie Romero’s TWILIGHT PEOPLE (1973, 80m 25s), also reviewed in VW 64:38 as an unmatted DVD from VCI, makes its letterboxed bow here, but the low bit rate results in more askew color, like orange skin tones and violet reds, contrary to the stand-alone release, and the soundtrack is mildly hissy. Disc 4 begins with Freddie Francis’ German-
made THE VAMPIRE HAPPENING (Gebissen wird nur nachts; 1971, 101m 29s), which looks quite good despite having to be blown-up to fill the screen, but the issue of its framing is confus- ing; it appears to have been composed for 1.78- 85:1 but the main titles (influenced by those of THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS, with a
Komeda soundalike score by Jerry Van Rooyen) are in standard ratio with red vertical striping. Pre- vious issues from Anchor Bay (definitive, but priced at $29.98!) and Alpha Video ($7.98) are both framed at 1.33:1. YOUNG HANNAH, QUEEN OF THE VAMPIRES (aka CRYPT OF THE LIVING DEAD; 1973, 84m 48s), still available in its indi- vidual VCI 1.85:1 release from 2001, looks quite good despite some noisy edging around the titles. And finally, Ray Austin’s HOUSE OF THE LIVING DEAD (aka CURSE OF THE DEAD; 1976, 87m 28s) starring Mark Burns and Shirley Anne Field—also offered by Alpha Video as a “Grindhouse Double Feature” with TERROR AT RED WOLF INN ($7.98), and as a stand-alone disc from the amusingly named Desert Island Films ($12.98)—is both soft and grainy, suggesting a 16mm origin, but the color is quite good.
All things told, if you already have these films in their earlier full-aperture ratios, you’ll be bet- ter served by zooming those versions up for view- ing on your widescreen monitor. However, considering that this set gives you a dozen films for the price of one, and sneaks properly mat- ted versions of several into the package for the first time, VCI’s SCREAM THEATER is a purchase worth considering. —Tim Lucas
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