Consumer reports forum?

[Doc Faustus]

I've been thinking for awhile that maybe the site could benefit from a place where people talk about upcoming products, packaging and such, in addition to discussing consumer issues pertinent to the horror fan/collector. I think it would be a lot of help to people who are just getting into being hardcore horror viewers.

[stubbornforgey]

I've been thinking for awhile that maybe the site could benefit from a place where people talk about upcoming products, packaging and such, in addition to discussing consumer issues pertinent to the horror fan/collector. I think it would be a lot of help to people who are just getting into being hardcore horror viewers.

great idea.

As we don't get an absolute array of horror movies here in NZ
untill a year after its release..this thread would come in handy..especially for me.

[Doc Faustus]

If there's a mod who could make a space for it, that would be cool, but otherwise, we could get it started here. One of the things I wanted to get into with people is recent boxed set booms and releases of unreleased material. Do you think things like Anchor Bay's new Reanimator Box and the recent Mario Bava collection are definitely worth springing for? Questions and lists could be a real asset.

[bloodrayne]

If there's a mod who could make a space for it, that would be coolErg...Sorry...We don't have the power to do that...And the person who does is never here...

[Doc Faustus]

That's alright. I guess this is the thread then. I'll start by bringing up something that might help new members who are getting into collecting movies. The 50 movie box sets that are out there. We talk about these occasionally in other sections, but there are a few of them out there and some are better than others. The 50 Drive-in Classics set for example, provides you with two Argento movies for 20 dollars, which is a good deal to begin with, because one of them is Tenebre, which is a somewhat costly DVD. It's a good thing to have at this level of quality and price, because it allows people to see if they're into the Argento aesthetic and would want to throw down for an upgrade. The other, Creepers, or Phenomena is not people's favorite generally, but I'm quite fond of it and there are some things in it that show how far Argento's imagination can go. Other gems on there are the British cut of Satanic Rites of Dracula (which is pretty ubiquitous to be fair), Do Not Open Til Christmas, Savage Weekend (which nobody's heard of, but it has plenty to enjoy) and the eerie and intriguing Legacy of Blood with John Carradine. Be warned however that other movies on there are titles that could very easily follow the phrase "I'm Troy Mc Clure and you might remember me from such films as..." things like the monumentally silly intelligent monster truck caper yarn Twister's Revenge, the hillbilly drugrunning getaway flick in Hot Pursuit and straight to video action hero Reb Brown's the Firing Line. Two Argento movies, a good pseudogiallo and a lot of fascinating crap might make this a good grindhouse/cult sampler for a person just getting into crazy cult films, but the crap to gold ratio is very low. Any other thoughts on the 50 movie collections out there?

[_____V_____]

I own quite a few of the 50 Movie Packs. If anyone needs more detailed info on which movies are in these packs, I ll be more than happy to provide them with it.

The ones I have are :

- 50 Movie Pack: Horror Classics

- 50 Movie Pack: Sci-fi Classics

- 50 Movie Pack: Martial Arts Classics

- 50 Mystery Classics: Collector's Edition

- 50 War Classics: Collector's Edition

- 50 Western Classics: Collector's Edition


Most of the movies on these are of rather good image and sound quality. One or two are a bit patchy and grainy and give the feel of VHS-quality, but overall these packs are awesome. And some of the movies given in these packs are worth the 20 bucks per pack you pay for it.

[Doc Faustus]

I found much of the 50 Sci-fi to be kind of anemic, actually. There are a couple of cool things like Killers from Space, but I think a lot of it is wasted space. Some of the packs seem to waste less space than others, I think. The 50 Horror is a good example of one of those. A lot of people might be kind of disappointed by the Monogram/Republic content, but it has its own special charm.

[Geddy]

Is the Nightmare Worlds 50 movie pack any good? It looks pretty interesting.

[Doc Faustus]

It contains a lot of good vintage stuff. The Phantom Creeps is a very fun old serial. The silent Lost World is a real plus. There is also a Waldemar Daninsky movie and an Italian Hercules. These are all very good points. Plus, the Manster is a classic. It was released in the states as a double bill with Eyes Without a Face. It sucks, but it's sucktacular. Most of the rest, I don't know about, save Prisoner of the Lost Universe, which is utter dreck in spite of John Saxon as an evil warlord. Tales of Terror and Chilling Classics look like better buys to me. The main thing with these is to figure out if the chaff is entertaining. There's some pretty D- chaff on Nightmare Worlds, and some exceptional chaff on Chilling Classics and Tales of Terror.

[Geddy]

I think I might ask for the Drive in set for my birthday, that or the monster legacy gift set, they both look awesome.

[Doc Faustus]

The Legacy Gift Set looks very good. I have the Frankenstein and Wolfman collections and I'm very happy with both of them, particularly the Frankenstein one.

[Geddy]

Yeah those head busts are wicked lookin'.

[_____V_____]

Of course, some of em are obscure, really obscure. And some of em arent that great. But look at some of the movies included in the sets, it makes a worthy buy...(heck 50 movies for 20 bucks is a must-buy)

Like the Horror Classics 50er has

- Carnival of Souls

- Atom Age Vampire

- Nightmare Castle

- White Zombie

- The Terror

- Metropolis

- Night of the Living Dead

- Nosferatu

- Little Shop of Horrors

- The Bat

- House on Haunted Hill

- Last Man on Earth

- Dementia 13 etc.

along with a whole lot of monster movies and other obscure movies. Tell me if that isnt an awesome deal.

I mean, what more could any one want? :D

[Geddy]

That is a cool set, what are the quality of the picture and sound like?

[Doc Faustus]

There's usually nothing exceptionally wrong with the quality on those sets. Some movies are a little middling in picture quality, but it's passable if not good.

[_____V_____]

The picture quality is good...not great by any means, but good yes. Like I said before, few movies are a bit grainy like VHS, and the sound may feel a bit scratchy in some...whereas others are of really decent sound and picture quality. Overall, a really worthy purchase indeed.

If you want more info about the other 50-movie packs, I ll be happy to oblige.