Three Horror Films That You Probably Haven’t Seen
MOVIE REVIEW
Maniacal Mayhem – The Invisible Ray, Black Friday, The Strange Door
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Genre: Horror
Year Released: 1936/1940/1951 original releases, 2022 blu-ray from Eureka Video
Runtime: 3h 50m
Director(s): Lambert Hillyer, Arthur Lubin, Joseph Pevney
Cast: Boris Karloff, Béla Lugosi, Charles Laughton
Where To Watch: Releases October 17, 2022. Available for pre-order now at www.eurekavideo.co.uk/movie/maniacal-mayhem
RAVING REVIEW: Three classic Universal horror films that offer a unique look into the genre in three different decades. While I still prefer the classic Universal Monsters, I’ve greatly appreciated the broader universe that these films occupy.
You will quickly realize when you start watching these if they’re films that you will enjoy or not. While they’re not silent, they are early Hollywood. The movies are rough at times but only from the aspect of the films being older. Hollywood had a unique style at that time over quite a few decades; if you enjoy that style, you will probably appreciate it more.
Ironically I liked the films in the order that I watched them. THE INVISIBLE RAY was my favorite, and I thought it felt the most like the rest of Universal’s genre films. It had this feeling that you never quite knew what was around the corner, but at the same time had a warmth that allowed you to appreciate it for what it was.
BLACK FRIDAY and THE STRANGE DOOR had moments that I enjoyed but didn’t have the same classic vibe as the other one. The best part is that all three were enjoyable, especially considering today is the first official day of the spooky season.
SPECIAL FEATURES
– Limited Edition slipcase [2000 copies]
– 1080p presentation of all three films across two Blu-ray discs
– All movies presented from 2K scans of the original film elements
– Optional English SDH
– Brand new audio commentary tracks on The Invisible Ray and The Strange Door with author Stephen Jones and author/critic Kim Newman
– Brand new audio commentary track on Black Friday with Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby
“The Sire de Maletroit’s Door” radio adaptations
– Stills Galleries
– Trailers
– A limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on all three films by film writers Andrew Graves, Rich Johnson, and Craig Ian Mann [2000 copies]
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