4 Films Horror Collector's Set: 5

I don't have a copy of this "Horror Collector's Set", but I do have all the movies from it in other Echo Bridge Home Entertainment packs due to repetition.

After changing the artwork to a '50s diner/motorcycle theme in February 2010 for what the online retailers call "Vol. 6" (featuring "Prom Night", "Descendant", "The Nurse" and "The Dead One"), Echo Bridge Home Entertainment reverted back to their older design in June 2010 for presumably what should really be called "Vol. 7". I'd lost all interest in buying multipacks at this point, so I'm still missing a few titles which I know have been reused again in "The Midnight Horror Collection" 8 packs and 20 pack.

More shenanigans!

Just to complicate things further for the collector, a second version of this set was released with "Skeleton Man" instead of "Lost Souls". Whether it's a regional variation, a mistake made during the manufacture of the DVDs, or Echo Bridge Home Entertainment intentionally trying to get people to buy another set just for one different movie, I have no idea. I'd hazard a guess that it's a combination of all three with a tendency towards the latter based on my experience with the first of these packs.

I'd warn you against buying the "Vol. 8" variant because "Skeleton Man" is an absolute piece of crap, but owing to the nature of these packs anyway, that's kind of a moot point. Some people with more money than sense love collecting crappy movies, so it's as valid as any "Horror Collector's Set" especially if you haven't already bought others in the series.

I must admit that if I had a load of money to waste on these things, I'd buy all the Echo Bridge Home Entertainment horror packs just to go through them, line them up on my shelves, and marvel at how one movie was taken from somewhere else and another was randomly added to make so many sets. With pawn shop prices continuing to drop and DVDs becoming cheaper than candy bars, I might do that one day for the fun of it.

For now though. I'll quickly go through this final "4 Films Horror Collector's Set".


The Fear Chamber (2009)

"A detective is on the verge of capturing a serial killer, but nightmarish visions thwart his efforts."

I've already written about "The Fear Chamber". It has some gore, but it's not a very good movie.


Passed the Door of Darkness (2008)

"Two detectives try to track a serial killer but end up becoming the murderer's next target."

Another "Night Light Films" production which tries to be a low-budget clone of "Se7en" to start with, turns into a soap opera, and then throws in a twist which you've seen dozens of times before. "Human Behavior" (2005) in Mill Creek Entertainment's "Tomb of Terrors" multipack does this better.

Being full of clichéd lines, horrible characterisation, and overlong at 100 minutes, "Passed the Door of Darkness" is even worse than "The Fear Chamber".

There's some okay gore, and a couple of supernatural red herrings are thrown in, but it's not really a horror movie. Despite that minor detail, it's also in the "10 Movie Horror Pack" and "20 Film Horror Set Vol. 1".


Marked (2007)

"A group of Ghost Hunters discover a powerful force that puts one of their members in great danger."

This isn't very good. It looks cheap, the pacing is all over the place, and the plot is confused. It ranges from nothing going on to too much being forced in too quickly, and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense anyway.

The acting isn't too bad, the girls in the movie are pretty, but nobody really stands out either. With no atmosphere, no genuinely creepy scenes, and nothing scary for anyone, "Marked" misses the mark completely.

At least it's a supernatural horror movie after the two "crime" films on the other side of the DVD, but it's still a low-budget nasty that's more of an endurance test than entertainment.


Lost Souls (1998)

"A move into a new house takes a chilling turn when a family realizes the spirits of two murdered children are communicating through eight-year-old Megan."

Not to be confused with the Winona Ryder film from 2000, this is a decent made-for-TV movie which originally aired on the UPN network for the "Thursday Night at the Movies" series in 1998. It's full title is "Nightworld: Lost Souls".

Although the use of a Thomas Edison "frequency harmonizer" machine in the movie had me thinking about "The Brink" (2006), the story is completely different. Apparently, it's very similar to Orson Scott Card's "Lost Boys" novel. Having never read it, I'd say that this is more of a precursor to "The Orphanage" (2007). I can also see a few similarities to Stephen King's "The Green Mile" and Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird".

Essentially, "Lost Souls" is a formulaic ghost story/murder mystery with several red herrings and a "Scooby Doo" villain, but it's very well done. John Savage does a good job while his onscreen wife is played by MILFy German actress Barbara Sukowa. Even the kids aren't annoying in this one.

For some bizarre reason known only to Echo Bridge Home Entertainment, there is no single-feature DVD of "Lost Souls". You can only get it as part of this 4 pack, as a double-feature with "Marked" (which does have its own DVD!), or as the bonus movie with the boring Miramax Anna Paquin movie "Darkness" (2002).


Sadly, this is a very weak ending to the "4 Films Horror Collector's Set" range with only one good TV movie and three really bad, low-budget "indie" ones.

Basically, this is a collection of Night Light Films with "Lost Souls" added to it instead of their "Battle Planet" (2008). "Battle Planet" has a single DVD release, comes as a double-feature with "Riddler's Moon" (1998), and is part of a "4 Films Sci-Fi Collector's Set", just in case anyone is a big fan of Night Light Films and wants all four of their movies.

I can't, in good conscience, recommend this collection to anyone because of the two extremely boring serial killer thrillers. Instead, the "Lost Souls/Marked" double-feature offers much better value at $2.99 in K-mart's bargain bin or wherever else you may find it.

4 Films Horror Collector's Set: 4

This is the last of the "4 Films Horror Collector's Sets" which I own a copy of. Only one more set followed although Echo Bridge Home Entertainment changed one movie on it (just as they've done before) to make two versions. I'll post something about it next time even though I didn't buy it.

I was haunted by this movie collection in nearly every store that I went in from T.J. Maxx through to K-mart until I finally gave-in just to get "The Howling IV". It isn't that "The Howling IV" is a great movie or anything, but it was one of the titles that I'd left in Big Lots back when they had lots of horror movies for $3 each, and I stupidly still wanted it.

Suffice it to say that I really didn't have a lot of interest in anything else here or in any more Echo Bridge Home Entertainment multipacks which followed. I've bought several of their Miramax and Full Moon collections since but only two more of "The Midnight Horror Collection" packs (one of which I still haven't even opened).

Thus, because I don't particularly like these movies, I'm now going to rush through these capsule reviews just to get them out of the way.


Raging Sharks (2003)

"When the crew of an underwater lab discovers an unearthly sunken object that's mysteriously attracting hundreds of sharks, they become a security risk... and a target."

I've been told that this is a really bad movie, but I'll never know because I switched it off soon after the Nu Image and Tosca Films logos were replaced by a giant spaceship crashing into another one above a red planet. Ugh! Then I did my usual trick of fast-forwarding to see if there was any nudity or anything else interesting. Apart from lots of stock footage of sharks, I didn't see anything worth stopping for.

"Raging Sharks" is a Sci-Fi channel movie from the days when they still at least attempted to put vaguely science-fiction movies on instead of wrestling or "Ghost Hunters". Unfortunately, it was years before this point that all their movies sucked anyway.

It's got Corbin Bernsen in it and nobody else that I've ever heard of. They all look very worried, wave their hands about, and fire guns at something, then the credits roll featuring lots of Bulgarian names.

My life isn't long enough to watch crap like this.


Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep (2006)

"Thirty years ago, Ray Reiter witnessed the brutal death of his parents at sea by a strange, octopus-like creature. Now determined to avenge the murders, he joins a perilous high-seas expedition that brings him face to face with the killer Kraken—guardian of the coveted Greek Opal—and a ruthless crime lord who wants the treasure for himself."

Another horrible Sci-Fi channel movie made by Nu Image which shouldn't be in a horror pack. This is an adventure movie for little kids who like CGI monsters.

Too much talk, not enough action, but the pretty (mostly Canadian) actors and actresses do a fairly decent job in spite of the script.

Again, I watched this mostly on fast-forward, but I saw cleavage a few times and had to find out who owned it.


Howling IV: The Original Nightmare (1988)

"At the direction of her doctor, Marie and her husband plan a restful getaway to the picturesque town of Drago. Marie knows that something sinister is going down in the town, but what she doesn't know is that it has razor sharp claws, an insatiable lust for blood, and it kills by the cold light of a full moon..."

A lot of people hate this movie for being little more than a low-budget remake of "The Howling" (1981), but it's actually closer to Gary Brandner's novel than the original. It doesn't have Dee Wallace in it either which is another point in its favour as far as my viewing pleasure is concerned.

"Howling IV" is slow to the point of frustration, the audio sounds redubbed like a foreign movie, the werewolf transformation scenes near the end obviously aren't as good as Rick Baker's, and, basically, it's all because the financial backers pulled out a couple of days into shooting. You therefore have to commend everyone involved for still making a watchable movie even though it isn't a particularly good one. Or not, as the case may be.

I appreciate this film because it's serious in tone rather than continuing the silliness of "The Howling III: The Marsupials" (1987) which I loathe with a passion. It's easily the best of the "Howling" sequels, but I don't overrate it and would never recommend it as a full price purchase.


Night Shadow (1989)

"Alex, an up-and-coming TV journalist, returns to her hometown of Danford as local poilice attempt to cope with a series of brutal murders. The small town plunges into a state of panic and the murders—clearly the work of a monster, more beast than man—continue... until Alex comes face to face withe evil itself."

I reviewed "Night Shadow" back when it was shown on Zone Horror in the UK. I barely made it through once so I'm certainly not going to torture myself with it again.

I really didn't like it, but the director (or someone claiming to be the director) said that I made some fair points. Unfortunately, I deleted that comment along with everyone else's when I added the Disqus widget. Never mind.


Amazon no longer sells this pack although Wal-mart and many other online retailers still do. I think they refer to it as "Horror Collector's Set Vol. 6" even though it's really number 8 or 9 in the series.

I don't understand why anybody would want these 4 movies in the first place, but the easiest (and cheapest) way to get them is by buying "The Midnight Horror Collection: 8 Pack Vol. 4" (left) instead.

I haven't bought this volume so I can't tell you a thing about the 4 vampire movies which it also contains. The first "Subspecies" might be good through the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia, but I watched all the "Subspecies" movies so long ago that I can barely remember anything about them now.

Tomorrow (or the day after), I'll post a quick recap of the Echo Bridge Home Entertainment packs so far followed by a comparison of the new packs to the old ones to make things easier for collectors.

4 Films Horror Collector's Set: 3

This pack and the following one were both released at the same time in March 2010 so it's pretty much impossible to give them a chronological "volume number". Amazon calls this "Vol. 5", but it's the third of these packs that I saw and bought. I didn't really want yet another copy of "Night of the Living Dead" (which I now have 14 times!), but I got it cheap in a "4 for $10" pawn shop deal.

Even though "Night of the Living Dead" is a space-filling reissue from their first series of classic horror multi-feature DVDs, Echo Bridge Home Entertainment put together quite a varied set here. The three "new" films are ones which most people wouldn't have gone out of their way to buy previously.

There are several known stars in these movies, but as usual, their performances (and the movies themselves) vary in quality. Let's face it, if these were top-notch horror movies, they wouldn't be in a $5 multipack.


Night of the Living Dead (1968)

"When a brother and sister visit the gravesite of their deceased father, the dreaded trip turns into a terrifying nightmare when night falls and a flesh-eating zombie attacks. Starring Russell Streiner and Judith O'Dea."

If you don't know this classic George A. Romero movie by now, you can consider your "horror licence" revoked. I'm not going to review it again.

There's an apology about the print quality before "Night of the Living Dead" begins which is nice. You might think it's unnecessary since they've used the same Public Domain master as every other DVD version, but this transfer is particularly bad.

If you've honestly never seen "Night of the Living Dead" before, this is the cheapest way of getting it on DVD other than downloading it and burning it to DVD yourself. Ideally, most fans would rather pick up for the true "remastered" Elite Entertainment version instead.


Hindsight (2008)

"When an unexpectedly pregnant—and broke—couple lists their unborn baby for adoption on the internet to score an upfront payment, they're lured into a twisted, sadistic game of desperation and deception. Starring Jeffrey Donovan, Leonor Varela, Waylon Payne, and Miranda Bailey."

"Hindsight" is a solid but very slow thriller with some violence and a creepy twist that almost makes it a horror movie.

The production values are good, the acting is decent, and Leonor Varela is beautiful. Does that save it from being a bit boring though? Not really.

Give or take some of the more adult scenes, this is almost Hallmark Channel stuff. With its cast made up of actors who have all been quite successful in TV dramas fairly recently, "Hindsight" is a contemporary non-horror genre movie which would be better in a "4 Films Thriller Collector's Set" if such a thing even exists.

A very recognisable face in this movie is Richard Riehle who plays Peter (as in "Saint Peter" if you haven't guessed the twist from the title itself).


Cruel World (2005)

"A vengeful reality show reject traps nine co-eds in his own sick version of reality TV—where the challenges are bizarre, the danger is real and death is just a competition away. Starring Edward Furlong, Jaime Pressly, and Andrew Keegan."

Having never heard of it before, I wasn't expecting a lot from "Cruel World", but it's only supposed to be a fun "Ten Little Indians"-style slasher film with a decent budget anyway.

Just because it has some humour, "Cruel World" isn't really a horror-comedy in spite of how some sites categorise it. If you hate reality TV shows, the satire is kind of cool in places, but you'll still hate reality TV shows just as much afterwards. The drawback is that everything looks, feels and sounds like a slick teen movie rather than a reality TV show so there's no catharsis possible.

Sadly, Jaime Pressly is only in it for the first 15 minutes, but it's enough to get your fix if you fancy her. There are several other pretty girls with very little characterisation (or clothing) to make up for her absence otherwise.

Much maligned Edward Furlong really seems to enjoy his role as a slob, but how much of that is acting or a result of how things were for him at the time is hard to tell. Whatever the case, he definitely stands out more than anyone else and gleefully chews the scenery.

The kills in "Cruel World" range from mildly amusing to effective although, ultimately, this movie is a huge waste of acting talent. The epilogue/end is nothing but hastily cobbled together nonsense.


Razor Eaters (2003)

"A lethal mix of Fight Club, Jackass and Natural Born Killers, RAZOR EATERS follows an anarchistic gang on their week-long rampage of violence, death, and destruction. Based on shocking true events."

Based very loosely on the exploits of the Hedge-Burners gang who plagued Melbourne, this violent Australian movie provides a powerful and very serious finale.

The trouble is that it looks cheap and nasty like a film school student's project. It probably is one too, but I don't really know any of the details about how it came to be made. All I can say is that if you're expecting this to be another "Romper Stomper", "Chopper" or "Snow Town", you'll be very disappointed.

The switching between handheld cameras and badly lit, grainy film makes a mockery of the decent $1,500,000 budget (which the IMDb claims it had). Windowboxing it to save space on the DVD doesn't help either.

Crime films aren't really my thing no matter how much bloodshed there is in them, so "Razor Eaters" is the least watchable of the movies in this pack for me. I didn't get very far into it before switching it off through boredom. Your mileage, however, may vary.


As entertaining as it might be overall, once again, we have another weak link in these multi-feature sets. While offering very good value, the three newer movies can only be rated as 3.5 out of 10 on a good day, and less than that on a bad one.

Even with the inclusion of "Night of the Living Dead", I wouldn't recommend buying this "4 Films Horror Collector's Set" unless you are a completist. Now that these movies make up half of "The Midnight Horror Collection: 8 Movie Pack Vol. 6" (with the others being the final "4 Films Horror Collector's Set" from June 2010), the 8 pack is the better way to go.

It has to be said that "The Midnight Horror Collection: 8 Movie Pack Vol. 6" (the final obviously numbered one) is pretty weak too though. You may want to save your money for a newer one with a good combination of Full Moon and Miramax horror titles in it instead.

4 Films Horror Collector's Set: 2

The second "4 Films Horror Collector's Set" which I bought is labelled as "Vol. 3" and came out in March 2010 according to Amazon. This causes some confusion as the previous volume (or rather two volumes with one movie changed!) was released in September 2009 (or November 2009 for the changed one) after the official first two volumes of June 2009. Obviously, Amazon have made a slight mistake with their listing, but it's an easy thing to do.

It certainly doesn't help that there were several double-feature and single-feature DVDs of the same movies floating around at the same time, or that I've now chosen to put these packs in my own order, but I didn't see any of the others in the flesh until a year afterwards. Without knowing which retailers ordered what, it's hard to say when these packs really hit the stores.

If you want to mess up your mind, go to the Echo Bridge Home Entertainment site and marvel at all the possible combinations. Just imagine how the average horror nerd would feel when confronted by so many packs in a bargain bin no matter how good his visual memory might be. I'm sure that I've seen some which aren't even listed on the site anymore.

But that's enough preamble. You get the point. These "4 Films" packs appeared absolutely everywhere at different times, and they are still out there.

Let's have a look at what's in this "4 Films Horror Collector's Set".


Wages of Sin (2006)

"When a beautiful college graduate inherits an abandoned house in the countryside, she and her friends go there for a weekend getaway, only to discover that the evil presence of a twisted preacher still lingers there—and it doesn't want them to leave."

Ah, the movie which was replaced by "Salvage" (2006) in the previous set begins this one just to cause a double-dip for some people and falsify the popularity of the title. Please note that such tactics do not work. Most people have still never heard of this movie or anyone in it.

Give "Wages of Sin" time to get past the opening credits, and you'll want to switch it off every second for the next hour and a half even though there's a pretty girl (Ashlie Victoria Clark) in it. It's yet another piece of low-budget, handycam crap rather than a real movie. There are no big stars or known names, and it just drags on and on for what feels like days.

Apart from a confusing story with hardly any horror, you do get to see some of Washington State and what things look like there. Basically, it's full of the same wooden houses and big, chunky cars as the rest of America.

If there's a lesson to be learned from this formulaic "cabin in the woods" movie, it's that looks are no substitute for talent. Nobody from "Wages of Sin" has become a big showbiz success or done anything else unless they've got channels on YouTube which nobody has ever heard of either.


Skeleton Man (2004)

"When an elite crew of soldiers investigating the brutal and mysterious death of four Army Special Forces officers meet an old blind Indian who claims to know what happened to the dead men, they become terrorized by The Skeleton Man."

No matter how much you like Michael Rooker (now in "The Walking Dead") or Casper Van Dien (whose "Starship Troopers" role is his biggest claim to fame), you'll find something to hate in this movie. Apparently, "Skeleton Man" was made for the Sci-Fi channel, but it's extremely bad even for a TV movie. It's not even horror.

Whether it's the low-rent ripoff of "Predator" (1987) or the seemingly indestructable Skeletor-style character who can get the better of heavily-armed soldiers with nothing more than a horse and some spears, this is just awful in every way. Whatever the purpose of any of it was supposed to be, it's really nothing more than a bunch of soldiers shooting guns in the woods.

There's no real acting since everybody is angry all the time, the "undercover" military team is half-filled with equally snarky, female models, and the plot is all over the place.

The only good thing about "Skeleton Man", apart from a couple of the stunts and explosions, is that it eventually ends.


Roman (2006)

"When an encounter with the beauty next door (Kristen Bell) goes horribly wrong, a moment of desperation triggers a chilling turn of events for a reclusive social misfit. Starring Kristen Bell, Nectar Rose and Lucky McKee."

"Roman" is more of an off-beat psychological drama than a horror movie although there's still enough horror involved in it to count. In a reversal of roles after "May" (2002), Angela Bettis directed Lucky McKee. Both deliver exactly what you would expect.

With surprisingly good acting all round and enough quirkiness for it to appeal to horror hipsters looking for something classier than usual, you won't even notice the low-budget. Everything about this movie is designed to be minimalist and cool. I think it's a lot more polished than "May". It's also more believable.

Most people will agree that "Roman" is the only reason to buy this pack and is easily worth $5 (or more) on its own. If all "indie" movies were this good, I wouldn't hate so many of them.


Live Animals (2008)

"Explosive, grisly and gutsy filmmaking, Live Animals is a twisted descent into Hell on Earth. After a group of young adults are kidnapped and tortured, their attempt to escape leads to even more gruesome and deadly consequences."

Although clearly inspired by "Hostel" (2005) and all the other "torture porn" clones which followed, "Live Animals" is actually better than many of them. With lots of gore and the kind of tension which makes you feel as frustrated as the captives, it's quite harrowing in a couple of places.

Other than the lack of originality, the biggest problem is that the characters are so stereotypical that you can't really care about any of them particularly. Most of the gore happening off-camera with only the aftermath shown doesn't help much either. It's still a pretty gory movie though and definitely as mean-spirited as they come.

If "Shuttle" (also from 2008) hadn't gone into the same territory purely by coincidence (and hadn't been promoted better), I would have liked "Live Animals" a lot more. For all of its faults, it's the second best movie in the pack.


Despite still being available from gas stations and pharmacies to convenience, grocery and department stores, Echo Bridge Home Entertainment have now combined this pack with the previous "4 Films Horror Collector's Set" to form "The Midnight Horror Collection: 8 Movies Pack Vol. 5".

With only one good movie, one average movie, and two really terrible movies in each 4 pack, the "Vol. 5" version doesn't have as much entertainment value as the first two in the series. For $5, it's much the same as buying one 4 pack and getting another one free so it's still a good deal overall, but given the way these movies are mixed and matched anyway, it's slightly disappointing that the strongest movies weren't made into another 4 pack on their own.

As a "4 Films Horror Collector's Set", I only recommend this one if you want "Roman" and you can find it cheaper than the original recommended retail price.

4 Films Horror Collector's Set: 1

There are two almost identical versions of this pack from 2009. The one I have has "Salvage" instead of "Wages of Sin" (2006) which is in place of "Bloody Mary" on the cover of the other. "Wages on Sin", however, is also on the second (chronologically the fourth or fifth) of my "4 Films" collections. Thus, Echo Bridge Home Entertainment were up to confusing mischief right at the beginning.

Shenanigans!

Prior to June 2009, the 20 "Horror Classics" multipacks were made up of Public Domain movies much like the ones from Mill Creek Entertainment so everybody thought the duplicates were merely schoolboy errors from a new company rather than intentional. How wrong we were!

While the "official" Volume 1 contains "Prom Night" (1980), "Nadja" (1994), "Skeleton Man" (2004) and "The Nurse" (1997), Volume 2 has "The Satanic Rites of Dracula" (1973), "The Terror" (1963), "Night of the Living Dead" (1968) and "The Devil Bat" (1940).

The throwback/reissue of four titles from their Public Domain catalogue makes a bit of a mess in the midst of the more modern horror movie packs especially as everyone is likely to have them several times over from other sources. Thinking that the series was only going to be a repackage/reissue of "Horror Classics", many collectors decided to ignore these multipacks in favour of the ones from Mill Creek Entertainment from then on. Being a late arrival to the party and already a collector of Mill Creek packs, I missed out on this kerfuffle completely.

If you think that I should have started with the chronological first volume rather than the first one I bought, you can rest assured that we haven't heard the last of "Prom Night", "Nadja", "Skeleton Man" and "The Nurse" by any stretch of the imagination.


Mortuary (2005)

"A family movies to a small town to run a long-abandoned funeral home, only to discover that something evil lurks there—something that raises the dead and feeds upon death itelf. Starring Dan Byrd and Denise Crosby. Directed by Tobe Hooper."

Most people (especially on message boards) seem to really hate this Lovecraft-style "B movie", but it's not that bad until the CGI vines and zombies start appearing. "Mortuary" has a good atmosphere for the first 30 minutes or so and a fair bit of creepiness going on. Too much comedy ultimately ruins everything, the pace drags in the middle, and it's a bit of mess towards the end, although it's still about the same as something moderately gory which you'd normally see on the SyFy channel.

Dan Byrd is a couple of years too old to play a teenager and Denise Crosby from "Star Trek" looks very worn, but neither is as bad as 34-year-old Alexandra Adi playing half her age (even though she doesn't look it unless you scrutinize her). If there's any justice in the world, I'm sure she looks her age nowadays. The worst offender, however, is diminutive 12-year-old Stephanie Patton playing either an 8-year-old or a mentally challenged tweenager. In fairness, it's hard to decide what she is other than extremely annoying.


Memory (2006)

"When Dr. Taylor Briggs is exposed to a mysterious drug while lecturing in Brazil, he is forced to relive the dark, twisted memories of a killer whose work may not be over. Starring Billy Zane, Tricia Helfer, Ann-Marget and Dennis Hopper."

For a slow-moving, Billy Zane-centric thriller, this isn't bad either. The made-for-TV aesthetic is a little bit off-putting at first, but when the horror elements start kicking-in, it's all very entertaining. The twist/reveal is a tad "Scooby Doo" and doesn't come as a big surprise if you watch a lot of movies like this.

Don't expect any gory unpleasantness from "Memory" as it's primarily one of those predictable "hero shares a psychic link with a kidnapper/murderer" deals with the usual discovery contrivances, some product placement, and a couple of nice tweaks to the formulas. Even from a heterosexual male point of view, Billy Zane is a very attractive man, and this is an excellent vehicle for him to show his talents as an actor.

The only bad point is a confusing scene 1 hour and 15 minutes in which feels forced rather than being part of any logical progression or set off by any trigger. Since the dénouement follows it, it's a glaringly rushed join.


Bloody Mary (2006)

"When a group of psychiatric hospital nurses invoke the spirit of Bloody Mary—a supposed urban myth—the slaughter begins. The legend is real, her vengeance is fatal, and to free her, all you have to do is say her name."

After two reasonably good movies, by necessity there has to be a bad one. Lots of pretty girls can't redress the balance in this "Candyman" clone, but they do at least try to by showing some skin. The opening scene has the best looking actress, and it's amusing watching her walk toe-to-heel without any shoes on. A nurse who is used to wearing high heels gives away the casting decisions.

If you're not a fan of "Candyman" or the "Urban Legend" trilogy, "Bloody Mary" is a lower-budget alternative which fits into the latter's "trendy teen horror" subgenre with no problem. As a supernatural slasher, it's not very memorable though.


Salvage (2006)

"Claire Parker is going to die. At the hands of a sadistic and depraved killer, she will endure a terrifying, unimaginably brutal death—and it will all happen again. Starring Lauren Currie Lewis and Chris Ferry."

Having once owned the single DVD version of "Salvage" which I sold at a yard sale years ago because it was so amateur and boring, I don't really need to say much more about it. It's yet another confusing, low-budget horror version of "Groundhog Day" which also owes an enormous debt to all the old Amicus anthologies or anything else with a downbeat twist at the end. It's "windowboxed" too to save space.

Don't do what I did and confuse "Salvage" (also known as "Gruesome") with the 2009 movie of the same name which was filmed on the set of "Brookside" because it isn't the same thing at all.


Despite being bare-bones releases, these movies don't need any extras anyway so having two on each side of a single DVD without commentaries and featurettes isn't anything to complain about. The menu system is adequate and the transfers are decent enough.

The only problem for collectors is that these movies have been repeated another 6 times throughout the "4 Films" and "Midnight Horror" DVD packs without even counting the latest Blu-ray versions.

Nowadays, "The Midnight Horror Collection: 8 Movies Pack Vol. 5" has replaced this set (plus the following one), offers marginally better value for $5, and takes up one less shelf space.

Obviously, the "4 Films Horror Collector's Set" is still worth buying for $2.99 from Kmart (or less on Amazon and eBay) if you either don't want or already have the other titles.