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Released by: Scorpion Releasing
Released on: 1/24/2012
Director: Kostas Karagiannis/Norman J. Warren
Cast: Peter Cushing, Donald Pleasance, Kostas Karagiorgis, John Nolan
Year: 1976/1978
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The Movie:
Hostess Katarina Leigh Waters brings two more movies to viewers on the “Katarina's Nightmare Theater†label, with a satanic double kick to the nuts. Let's take a look at what devilish horrors the hostess has in store for us this time around.
The Devil's Men (aka “Land of the Minotaurâ€)
Donald Pleasance is Father Roche, a priest with a nagging suspicion. A number of people have disappeared after visiting a particular village in Greece and the police don't seem to be of much assistance. Once some hippies he knows make it to the list of the missing, he decides to go to the village himself and see what's going on, as he suspects something evil is at work. But he doesn't go alone. He employs the help of his private dick buddy Milo (Kostas Karagiorgis).
Meanwhile, Baron Corofax (Peter Cushing) seems to have his fingers on the pulse of what's going down in the town. In fact, it's revealed early on he's in bed with Lucifer, who takes the guise of a giant stone Minotaur that sneezes flames and hands down death sentences to trespassers. Trespassers like the hippie kids Father Roche and his dick have come looking for. It becomes the old battle of good versus evil, or in this case Pleasance versus Cushing. Not a bad match-up by any means, and how could it not be awesome? Make the rest of the movie dull and predictable that's how.
Dull isn't a fair assessment, actually. Just really slow is a better way to put it. But predictable, yeah, to the point where you might find yourself watching for the nothing more than the sake of hoping either genre giant will do something noteworthy. Pleasance has a few good scenes, one in particular where his dick is driving like a moron and he nags Milo like a old hen mother-in-law about it. Cushing conveys his usual greatness and is pretty creepy as the old bastard Baron. Luan Peters (Twins of Evil, The Flesh and Blood Show) joins the priest and private eye in the hunt for the missing hippies, as one is her boyfriend, and adds some needed eye candy to the piece. More eye candy in the form of full frontal nudity, courtesy of Jane Lyle (Island of Death), is given to the pervs within the first ten minutes, and that helps give the show some extra points. Another extra point comes for the totally unfitting end title song “Devil's Menâ€. It could well be the best part of the movie.
With such potential greatness, mainly due to the heavyweight leads, The Devil's Men isn't worth a whole lot of attention, other than to watch those two playing in front of the camera. Other than that, it simply isn't very engaging.
Terror
Mad Dolly, a witch from the past, was burned at the steak. Her dying screams condemn the family who sealed her fate and she lays on curse on them. At least that's how the movie within a movie explains it, and the movie's producer so happens to be an ancestor to the people who fried Dolly's flesh. His house is full of guests and guess what happens to them? Yep, they start to get picked off one by one by a mysterious killer. And not just simple little murders, but some particularly nasty ones.
One of the guests is hypnotized as a fun parlor game, but something happens to her and she becomes suspected of being the killer after she tries to behead the house's owner. But the owner James Garrick (John Nolan) thinks otherwise. He thinks its Dolly who came for his father and now is coming for him and anyone who gets in the way.
The director admits in the extras to having been influenced by Argento's Suspiria, in regards to some of the visual portions, but otherwise the movie isn't similar at all. It plays out more like a giallo film rather than a straight up horror film, and there's nothing wrong with that. Look for creative kills, some Omen-esque in their execution (pun!), a decent amount of bloodshed, a stunt double falling down the stairs who looks nothing like the actor he's portraying, Peter Meyhew (yes, Chewbacca, and he has one line), and a stripper that looks incredibly scary but has great body.
This one could also use some tightening up, pacing-wise, but has enough going on in front of the camera to keep most genre fans entertained for the relatively short running time. Some great tension is set up before many of the kills and the film has a nice sleazy vibe to it. Despite the fact that it's not a great movie, it still delivers some fun moments, whether intentional or unintentional, and should please the midnight movie crowd whom look for certain elements: blood, beasts, and boobs.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Both films have print damage throughout, but they look pretty nice nonetheless. The blacks are relatively consistent and the colors, while not amazing, certainly look nice enough to notice. Film grain is present and it doesn't appear as though any noise reduction was added. The Devil's Men looks like it has an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, while Terror has one of 1.78:1. Audio chores for both are handled by a 2.0 Dolby Digital track, which is mono piped through both front speakers. Neither suffers from anything troublesome, and both are totally serviceable. It's on the same level as the video: it won't impress, but then again it shouldn't disappoint.
Extras attached to The Devil's Men consist of a few trailers: Nothing But the Night, Double Exposure, and The Devil Within Her. Extras for Terror offer a bit more. “Bloody Good Times†is a forty-minute retrospect on the film, with recent discussions from the director, producer, and some of the actors in the film. Many aspects are talked about, including casting and effects. It's a nice companion piece to the feature. There's three minutes worth of deleted scenes with some explanation from the director as to why they didn't make the final cut. A couple of trailers for the film are included, plus a few for other movies, which are the exact same trailers The Devil's Men menu points to.
If you select “Katarina's Nightmare Theater†from either menu, it starts with The Devil's Men and plays as a double feature, with a tie-in section from the hostess. They can also be played separately without her input. On a personal note, Katarina looks the best she's looked on any of the “Nightmare Theater†discs, and her schtick is more entertaining on this one. Lastly, the cover is reversible, so collectors can choose if the want the “Nightmare†banner showing on the sleeve or not.
The Final Word:
Certainly not the best release from Scorpion's Katarina label, but it has merit for sure. The movies themselves are entertaining enough and the featurette for Terror gives the disc a lot more value. For the casual viewer, probably not something to get excited over, but for fans of horror and fans of the Katarina series, it's certainly worth a look.
