Coming to DVD: Dr Terror's House of Horrors (1965)

Not a particularly rare title, indeed it's often on TV, but if you haven't got a copy of Dr Terror's House of Horrors, you can pick one up thanks to a new Odeon reissue.

Dating back to 1965, it was the first of a classic Amicus formula that packed a series of mini horror tales into the one flick, all held together by a single theme or incident - in this case, five men in a train carriage leaving London, who are joined by a sixth - a mysterious Doctor Schreck - who reveals the destinies of the passengers.

Starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and perhaps less likely, Roy Castle, it should be available for a low price next month (Amazon isn't giving much away as yet).

Here's the trailer...

DVD Review: Ghost Story (1974)

Some years ago, as a small child, I had an unhealthy habit of staying up and watching the late night horror flicks, usually a 30s Hollywood-made Dracula film or some old Hammer re-run, neither of which were particularly frightening even for someone of my tender years. But on one occasion, Stephen Weeks' Ghost Story was the weekend's midnight movie. I didn't sleep for days and the images from it stuck in my mind from that day until...well, until now.

For years, I didn't even know what the movie was called, I just recalled a movie set in the 1920s with a 'scary doll' and an asylum, which happened to be enough to dig it out of Google. Sadly, at the time, the response was pretty much 'not in print', 'lost gem', 'misunderstood' and 'maybe someone should reissue this. Well, someone has - Nucleus Films - as a rather tasty two-disc set that finally does justice to this mid-70s gem.

Ghost Story (1974) finally heads to DVD as two-disc Collector's Edition

Many months ago, we ran a 'where's the DVD' feature on Stephen Weeks' Ghost Story from 1974, hoping someone somewhere would finally give this lost gem a DVD release, Well, our prayers have been answered by the excellent Nucleus Films label.

I recall this vividly from my childhood and to be honest, I've never seen it since - but the fear it put into me at that young age isn't easily forgotten. Directed by Stephen Weeks and starring Marianne Faithfull, Ghost Story is set in the 1920s, with three old schoolmates reuniting in a country mansion, haunted by an insane former resident (Faithfull), who transports them back to the horror of her Victorian world. Soundtrack by Pink Floyd collaborator Ron Geesin too, would you believe.

The new DVD version looks every bit as interesting as the movie itself, featuring a 60-minite featurette on the film, seven previously-unseem shorts by Weeks, a 1960s Chelsea Cobbler commercial, audio commentary and theatrical trailer. It lands on 19th October 2009, with Amazon already discounting it to just over £13.

Find out more about the DVD at the Amazon website

Asylum (1972)

Once upon a time, late night TV in the UK used to be the best place to see 60s and 70s Brit horrors. Indeed, for many, it was the only way to see more obscure flicks from the likes of Amicus and Hammer, titles that weren't actually available on video or later on, DVD. The only downside was the alarming regularity that some titles cropped up - one of which was Asylum.

Yet since those heady days of late night horrors in the school holidays, Asylum is a film I've neither owned or seen, but it's one I remember fondly. So in the interests of research, I reacquainted myself with it this week. It didn't disappoint.

House of Mortal Sin (1976)

Cinedelica loves cult British movies and maverick directors, so it's no surprise to see the name Pete Walker crop up here on numerous occasions, both for his sexploitation flicks (like Cool It Carol) or his cult horrors from the 70s (ranging from The Flesh and Blood Show through to The Comeback). But between those latter two movies, Walker produced some of his finest moments, including House of Mortal Sin.

House of Mortal Sin is probably entry-level Pete Walker, less sex, less gruesome horror and death (although it does have its moments), but with a more considered storyline that doesn't quite go the way you expect from the first minute to the last. Things kick off with the suicide of a pregnant teenager - after confessing her sins to the local Roman Catholic priest, Father Xavier Meldrum (Anthony Sharp). Are these two incidents related? read on.