4 Star

Thrills, Chills and Sci-Fi

From the time when mad-scientists ran amok in the cinema world, when all was black and white terror. Now Eureka Classics brings us three of these classic tales of terror as scientists take their experimentation to its deadly conclusions. Throw in an ancient visitor from outer space, and you are set for a thrilling time. From relatively new director John Sherwood (Raw Edge, The Creature Walks Among Us) to seasoned genre defining directors George Waggner (The Wolf Man, Horror Island), and Jack Arnold (Creature from the Black Lagoon, It Came from Outer Space).

First up is Man-Made Monster (The Electric Man) directed by George Waggner, who takes us on a journey into the mind of a lucky man, who survives a horrific accident, in which he is the sole survivor. Dan McCormick (Lon Chaney Jr, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, The Mummy’s Curse) is treated by Dr John Lawrence (Samuel S. Hinds, It’s a Wonderful Life, Mary Names the Day) as he is curious how Dan was not affected by his accident. That’s because I’m Dynamo Dan the Electric man. Dan seems to have an immunity to the effects of electricity. This intrigues DR Lawrence and his fellow Dr. Paul Rigas (Lionel Atwill, Doctor X, The Hound of the Baskervilles), Dr Rigas has more plans for Dan and his ability, which will inevitably endanger the good doctor Lawrence’s daughter June (Anne Nagel, The Green Hornet, The Green Hornet Strikes Again!).

Up next is an out of the world experience as a meteorite crashes in the US desert near the town of San Angelo in The Monolith Monsters. This is Ben Gilbert’s (Phil Harvey, The Tarnished Angels, Touch of Evil) territory, as he works as a Federal Geologist, and he spots hundreds of black rocks scattered over a wide area. Not recognising the fragments, back to his office, where he and newspaper publisher Martin Cochrane (Les Tremayne, The War of the Worlds, Strictly for Pleasure) examine it, but they are both stumped. There is a storm during the night, which wets the stone and causes it to fizz, which Ben notices as he is woken by the storm. Ben’s boss Dave Miller (Grant Williams, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Lone Texan) turns up the next morning to find the office is trashed and Ben has been turned to stone. How could this has happened. A problem and it must be solved as the townsfolk and the town are in danger.

Lastly, we have Monster on Campus, where anthropologist Professor Donald Blake (Arthur Franz, Flight to Mars, Invaders from Mars) has just made a very exciting acquisition for the Dunsfield University. A Coelacanth, a living dinosaur, and it has travelled all the way from Madagascar. His fiancée Madeline Howard (Joanna Moore, Touch of Evil, The Last Angry Man) is the model for his vision of the perfect modern woman. Jimmy and his dog Samson deliver the professor’s fish, Samson gets a telling off for drinking the bloody water that has leaked out of the thawing dinosaur. The normally friendly Samson turns nasty and even turns on Jimmy, and they have to cage the savage beast. A strange occurrence indeed, but there is a thawing fish that needs to be put in the freezer. The professor finds out that Coelacanth’s have sharp teeth, which cut his hand. To make it worse, he sticks his damaged hand in the melt water. Soon, our professor is not feeling well and passes out. During that time, his house is trashed, and a colleague is found dead. Who is the murderer on campus?

Eureka Classics does it again, with this trio of spine chillers. A great way to spend the evening, so grab your popcorn. Time to head for the desert.  B-Movie heaven.

THREE MONSTER TALES OF SCI-FI TERROR (Eureka Classics) Two-Disc Blu-ray is available now.

SPECIAL EDITION TWO-DISC BLU-RAY FEATURES

Limited Edition O-Card Slipcase | 1080p presentations on Blu-ray | Disc One –Man-Made Monster and The Monolith Monsters | Disc Two –Monster on the Campus(available in both 1.33:1 and 1.85:1 aspect ratios) | Man-Made Monster– Brand-new audio commentary with author Stephen Jones and author / critic Kim Newman | The Monolith Monsters– Brand-new audio commentary with Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby | Monster on the Campus–  Brand-new audio commentary with author Stephen Jones and author / critic Kim Newman | PLUS: A Limited-Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films included in this set by film scholar Craig Ian Mann |*All extras subject to change