Scream Theater – 12 Cheap Thrills (1971/73/75/76/77/78; VCI 4-DVD Set)

 

Picture: C-     Sound: C     Extras: D     Films: C

 

 

On Scream Theater, we're promised 12 cheap thrills, and that's just what we get.  Luckily, a little over half of these films are actually watchable movies, and should provide enough reason to pick up this set.

 

Here's a chronological rundown of the titles included on the discs, each accompanied by short notes on how they've held up.  Titles listed with asterisks (*) beside them are my personal favorites from the set.

 

Beast of the Yellow Night (1971) – light to moderate print damage.

 

*The Vampire Happening (1971) – colors are muted, but overall this on looks pretty good.

 

*Twilight People (1973) – good color and in decent shape.

 

Young Hannah, Queen of the Vampires (1973) – color still good, overall one of the better looking in the set.

 

*Beyond Atlantis (1973) – only light wear, but soft looking.

 

*Scream Bloody Murder (1973) – in decent shape, but with poor colors.

 

*Don't Open the Door (1975) – very light wear, though it's a bit too dark.

 

House of the Living Dead (1976) – grainy and with muted color, but minimal scratching.

 

*Alice Sweet Alice (1976) – scratched, faded.

 

*Death Game (1977) – soft looking, moderate scratches, colors faded, too dark.

 

Sisters of Death (1977) – looks soft, but overall a good condition print.

 

The Night Creature (1978) – light to moderate print damage.

 

Unfortunately, all of the titles on the Scream Theater set do suffer compression issues to some degree, but that's to be expected with a compilation of this size that's been spread out on only four discs.  The movies are in widescreen, but none of them are anamorphic.  There are better copies of Alice, Sweet Alice floating around, so serious collectors will be more interested for the stuff like Beyond Atlantis, featuring Sid Haig, and Scream Bloody Murder, with an early appearance from Angus Scrimm.  The Vampire Happening is also a fun little flick, and is reminiscent of Roman Polanski's The Fearless Vampire Killers.

 

There are zero extras provided – not even trailers.  Some people will be a little sore about that, but you get what you pay for.

 

None of the films are all that stellar, but they do deliver on the kitschy goodness that customers should expect from a set like this.  With a little more care placed on making these films look nice and weeding out a few of the lesser movies included, this could have been a great set to be on the lookout for.  At the end of the day, VCI is offering an okay set at an okay price that is worth getting for some key titles - but don't expect to be blown away.

 

 

-   David Milchick