Directors
Wes Craven Deadly Friend
Manny Coto Dr. Giggles
Ken Wiederhorn Eyes Of A Stranger
Kevin Connor From Beyond The Grave
Oliver Stone The Hand
John Carpenter Someone’s Watching Me!
DVD Release Date: September 25, 2007
Rating: R
Running Time: 575 Minutes on 6 discs
The Movies
Matthew Laborteaux Paul Conway
Kristy Swanson Samantha Pringle
Michael Sharrett Tom “Slime” Toomey
Anne Twomey Jeannie Conway
Paul Conway is your average nerdy college student. He’s a bit more than a nerd though; he’s a genius. He’s actually built a state of the art female robot named BB that can do just about everything a human being can do. That’s including being Paul’s friend which he needs because he’s new in town and isn’t too popular.
Paul soon does gain one other friend though in his next door neighbor Samantha Pringle. She’s a beautiful young girl that happens to have a very abusive father and Paul was nice to her so they connect immediately. One night the unthinkable happens and Samantha’s dad takes it too far and ends up beating her to death. Totally distraught over the loss of his friend, Paul comes up with the idea to take the computer chip out of BB and put it in the brain of Samantha’s dead body. Low and behold she comes to life and isn’t quite her old self as she acts just like a robot.
If this sounds a bit far fetched, you’re right because it’s just ridiculous. Craven had to be aiming at corny horror here because it’s nothing more then that. Actually, calling it “horror” is more of a stretch then anything because it isn’t remotely scary. Perhaps back in 1986, a robot zombie was creepy but I was seven at the time so it’s not like experiencing it during first release was much of an option.
Special Features
Original Theatrical Trailer
Larry Drake Dr. Giggles
Holly Marie Combs Jennifer Campbell
Cliff De Young Tom Campbell
Evan Rendell Jr. has escaped from a mental institution and returned to his hometown in order to cure the illnesses that plague the townspeople, but in his own strange ways. Taking after his very mentally deranged doctor father, Rendell is looking to operate on the teens of his hometown and make sure they are in good health. The only problem is that none of them are sick, but that won’t stop him from doing a few surgical procedures and ecstatically loving every minute of them.
There isn’t much to the story of Dr. Giggles because it’s basically a crazy man dressed as a doctor that kills people and laughs a lot. Still it is my favorite film out of this entire set because it’s just so much fun. It has laughs and a lot of useless killing making it the perfect eighties slasher. Larry Drake plays the psychotic Dr. Giggles perfectly and has the kind of laugh that will send chills up your spine.
Special Features
None
Lauren Tewes Jane Harris
Jennifer Jason Leigh Tracy Harris
John Disanti Stanley Herbert
Peter Dupré David
Jane Harris is a reporter in Miami and hot on the trail of a serial killer that is raping and killing young women all over the city. Police have come to a stopping point because they can never quite get enough clues to catch the guy, but Jane doesn’t give up so easily. She feels she has a few leads and is going to check into all of them in order to get her story above everything else.
Jane’s biggest lead is one of her neighbors, Stanley Herbert. Stanley is a quiet man that usually keeps to himself and has an idea that he is being watched by Jane but would rather be left alone. She continues on his case by investigating way too deep and almost getting busted a few times. Little does she know that she and her blind and deaf young sister Tracy are going to soon learn more about Stanley then they’d ever wanted to.
Eyes Of A Stranger also suffers from being a film that doesn’t necessarily belong in the horror genre but more so in the thriller category. Still even then it isn’t much of a thriller. Its biggest flaw today is that it probably scared the hell out of a lot of people back in the early eighties. The idea of your closest neighbor being a murderer and you never even knowing it is a frightening concept to grasp, but seeing it executed so poorly in this film makes it more dull then scary.
Special Features
None
Ian Bannen Christopher Lowe
Ian Carmichael Reggie Warren
Peter Cushing Antique Shop Proprieter
Diana Doris Mabel Lowe
Margaret Leighton Madame Orloff
Donald Pleasence………Jim Underwood
Nyree Dawn Porter………Susan Warren
David Warner………Edward Charlton
From Beyond The Grave is most likely the film (along with Tales From The Crypt) that paved the way for such favorites as the Creepshow series. Four tales of horror and some most disturbing natures that are sure to turn the stomachs of all who view them. An antique shop owner is the main connection between the four tales and for good reason; he’s the one causing all the commotion. If you treat him badly, he’ll make sure that your purchases from his store fulfill his every need.
The best story in the film is “An Act Of Kindness.” Christopher Lowe is not the happiest with his family life and isn’t necessarily looking for ways to improve it, but one does become available. He becomes a little too friendly with a peddler’s daughter and things come back to haunt him. “The Elemental” tells the story of Reggie Warren and a nasty little spirit that follows him around and aims to kill his wife. “The Gate Crasher” deals with a customer that gets a beautiful antique mirror complete with a trapped evil spirit. Finally is “The Door” that leads to a location so far greater then any kind of hell a person could imagine.
From Beyond The Grave is a lot better then I expected it to be. All of the stories are interesting enough to keep my attention and keep my stomach a little uneasy at all times. If you’re a horror fan, then you’ll truly enjoy seeing such greats as Peter Cushing, Donald Pleasance, and David Warner all together in one film. The stories aren’t going to scare you to the edge of your seat, but they will entertain you and make you double think that little indiscretion the next time you go shopping.
Special Features
Original Theatrical Trailer
Michael Caine Jonathan Lansdale
Andrea Marcovicci Anne Lansdale
Jonathan Lansdale is a successful cartoonist that draws comic strips for a living and is having a great life, at least a great work life. He lives in a beautiful home with his wife and daughter, but his wife wishes to leave him and take their daughter with her giving Jonathan visitation rights. This of course leads to many arguments including a big one while they are driving in the car one day that causes Jonathan’s drawing hand to be totally severed from his arm.
After a failed search to find that hand so it could be reattached, Jonathan moves on. Anne and his daughter move out and he heads to California to start life over as an art teacher. The accident constantly haunts him though as he has random blackouts where he imagines the great things he could do with his hand if it were still attached to his body. Little does he know that the hand is really on the way back to him and willing to strangle anyone who has wronged him.
This is truly one of the strangest films I’ve ever seen Michael Caine in, and that’s saying a lot because he’s been in almost everything. Sure it isn’t the most original idea in the world, but it’s still weird. Caine does an excellent job as Jonathan living through his emotions of elation to anger to confusion and back again through all of them. Again it isn’t one of the most scariest films to check out, but it’s still not overly horrible.
Special Features
Audio Commentary – Director Oliver Stone goes on and on about the film discussing the cast, the low budget, and the fun he seemingly had making it. He really makes it sound like it was an enjoyable experience for him and sort of paved the way for some of his future works.
Original Theatrical Trailer
Lauren Hutton Leigh Michaels
David Birney Paul Winkless
Adrienne Barbeau Sophie
Charles Cyphers………Gary Hunt
Leigh Michaels has moved into a high-rise apartment building in Los Angeles and absolutely loves the fantastic new view she has. She soon gets a new job at a television station and is really beginning to enjoy life in the big city. That is until things start to get strange for her. Odd phone calls and random gifts left at her door lead her to believe at first that she has an admirer. When the strange occurrences continue and get even worse, Leigh realizes that she has much more then an admirer.
It soon becomes evident that someone is watching Leigh at all times. When she leaves her apartment or when she goes to work or even when she is spending time with her new boyfriend Paul. Some of her friends insist that she call the police to ensure her safety, but Leigh’s idea is to figure out herself who is tormenting her and why.
Someone’s Watching Me! is certainly not one of director John Carpenter’s better works and it shows. The film gets dull fast with all the little notes, gifts, and strange things getting old and monotonous. The whole stalker thing has been done numerous times before and even though this film came out close to thirty years ago; it doesn’t make it any more entertaining.
Special Features
John Carpenter: Director Rising – The director sits down for an interview answering some questions and discussing Someone’s Watching Me! He goes on a bit talking about how it influenced his future work. Nothing much here.
The Video
Most of the films are shown in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen format while The Hand is shown in 1.78:1 and Dr. Giggles is in 2.35:1. All of them look pretty good except that they are beginning to show their age at times. There are a few moments that look a bit gritty and the black colors are a little too dark every now and then, but nothing too bothersome.
The Audio
Dr. Giggles, The Hand, and Deadly Friend are all heard in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Sound with Someone’s Watching Me, From Beyond The Grave, and Eyes Of A Stranger are heard Dolby Digital Mono. Some of these films, especially Dr. Giggles really could have benefited from a new sound track making it surround sound. Hearing his freakish laugh come from all around the room would have been fantastic, but the options available for each film don’t really disappoint and do a good enough job.
The Inside Pulse
The Twisted Terror Collection is a grouping of nothing but second rate B-movies that you have probably seen a hundred times replayed on television. They aren’t the best things in the world yet they aren’t the worst either. Even if you have seen one or all of them a few times, chances are you still leave the channel on when you come across them. For some reason we like to be entertained by cheesy horror films that really can’t hold a candle to films that were made even just a few years later. The special features are very few and that is a bit disappointing because you figure a commentary could have been included at least for each disc, but that is not to be. I’m pretty sure that all of these have been released on DVD before so if you have any of them, skip over this set. But if you happen to have none, you might as well pick it up. A small price tag for a weekend long marathon of crappy horror is one of the greatest ways to spend your time.
