Cinema Deluxe Terror Pack: The Baby/Crucible of Terror/Psychomania/The House of Seven Corpses/Horror Express/The Mad Bomber

I have not yet watch one of the movies - Psychomania. Can't comment on it. This set of movies is value for money for me even though of the five movies that I watched, I enjoyed only four. The movie that I liked best is Horror Express - the only movie in this set that I have seen before way back in 1975.1) The Crucible of Terror - it gets only 1 star from me. What terror? I quote from Amazon's description of this movie - "A deranged artist lures unsuspecting young women to his private studio where he uses them in his art." Nothing for me to add. I won't say that the story is terrible - it just has no terror.2) Next - The House of 7 Corpses - a typical haunted house story and the Devil has something to do with it. Story - a movie producer goes to a mansion to shoot a horror that involves black magic mumbo jumbo. An old book is used as a prop in the movie. It contains verses that will summon the dead to rise from the grave. The verses are for real but the movie cast doesn't know it. Seven persons were murdered in the old house by something evil - who the Devil is responsible? They are buried in the compound of the house. One of them gets a wake-up call from the reciting of a verse from the Book of Dead and he is dying to kill somebody. This movie is typical of horror movies made in the late 1960s and early 70s. There are scenes of bloodshed and there's a hideous corpse is walking dead after getting awakened from his grave. It's scary by the standards of the 1970s but not enough to make me sleep at night with the lights on like what I did after watching the Ju-On movies. Three stars.3) The Baby - A crazy woman with 2 daughters keeps her intellectually challenged adult son in a crib and treats him like a baby. A social worker tries to rescue 'Baby' but for a reason that is not so noble. There's a surprise at the end of the movie. What I like best is the performance of the crazy mother - looks sinister and sounds sinister - has a creepy voice. She deserves an Oscar for being deadlier than Norman Bates's dead mother. I know a few real-life women who are a lot worse. 3 stars.4) The Mad Bomber - This is the first time that I have seen Dr. Ben Casey in the role of a detective and the Rifleman / Jason McCord of 'Branded' as a deranged bomber - a sort of terrorist. An average detective movie. It's not as action-packed as the police movies we have today but the plot is engaging. What I will remember most about this movie is the terribly good performance of Chuck Conners. He starts creeping me out from the very start of the movie where he kicks a fuss over littering by a stranger he meets on a street. He has the look of a psycho - it's his long dropping lips that make him look very mean. With glasses on, he doesn't look less menacing - he looks even more psychotic. The Rifleman doesn't carry a rifle or he would have gone on a shooting spree. Instead, he makes bombs to terrorise the city. Chuck deserves an Oscar for his role as a villain. Reminds me of William Dafoe in his role as the demented Green Goblin in the first Spider-man movie. 4 stars.5) Finally - my favourite in this set of movies - Horror Express. I bought this set of movies to get hold of Horror Express - the only movie among the six that I really wanted to see (again). This is part horror and part science fiction. Fans of the 'Ancient Aliens' series may find this move entertaining.Here we have a role reversal. Peter Cushing isn't a scientist like in other Hammer horror movies. The scientist is Christopher Lee for a change. He finds the body of a pre-historic humanoid creature in a cave in Mongolia and puts it on board a train - the Trans-Siberian Railway. He wants to study the body but it isn't dead as a dodo although it is actually dead. Duh?? This is where science fiction comes in. The creature's body is a vessel for an alien life form that came to Earth more than a million years ago. The alien life form is very much alive in the dead body of the creature and it escapes from the crate it is put in and begins to wreak terror among the train passengers - horror on the express. There are scary scenes - you will get an 'eyeful'. You will be 'all eyes' on the eyes of people killed and possessed by the alien. Watch the movie and you will know what I mean. What I like best about the movie is the theme of an ancient alien and the scary scenes. 5 stars.

Great selection of titles from the 70's. Psychomania and the Mad Bomber are taken from censored prints, you don't lose anything storywise but that might upset some people. The only movie of the lot that's just straight up not very good is Crucible of Terror, which is the cure for insomnia. Horror Express is a classic, as is Psychomania and The Baby, House of Seven Corpses is a decent enough effort, but drags in the middle, and the Mad Bomber is one of the sleaziest movies ever made, I loved every second of it. Would give this set 5 stars if not for the aforementioned cuts to Psychomania and Mad Bomber, and the painfully dull Crucible of Terror. All of the transfers are good to great, the best of the bunch ironically being Crucible of Terror, the worst Horror Express, although this is still the best I've seen that film look, as all previous viewing experiences have been from a dvd that was transferred from a 6th generation vhs copy. Psychomania is the only film transferred from a widescreen print, and being the unusual 1.66:1 aspect ratio appears matted in a 1.33:1, as opposed to the Arrow release which is a matted 1.85:1. Overall a great value for the money spent, and recommended to fans of lesser known horror cinema, just be warned about Crucible.

Average to below average films

Very impressed Awesome OOP Films Nice Transfers

The Cinema Deluxe Terror Pack (2005) is a collection of six films in the horror or suspense genre from the early 70’s. The films range in quality, but overall they provide a nice representation from the era, covering a wide variety of subject matter, from terrorist acts to the supernatural.Here’s a quick overview of the films:Crucible of Terror (1971) (3 stars)The story revolving around an eccentric artist, who takes advantage of women, doesn’t make much sense, but the film does feature some gory kills, and an unexpected killer.Horror Express (1972) (3.5 stars)A mysterious ancient creature gets loose on a train travelling through Russia, and begins to prey on the occupants. Features Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and Silvia Tortosa. For real fans, there is a   available.The Mad Bomber (1973) (4 stars)With some shocking scenes of destruction, The Mad Bomber features Chuck Connors, probably best known for playing Lucas McCain in the TV series The Rifleman, as a man whose anger and pain, has driven him to extreme violence.The Baby (1973) (3 stars)Sick and twisted, The Baby features an adult male who wears diapers, and behaves like an infant. Trouble begins, when a social worker gets too involved in his case.Psychomania (1973) (2.5 stars)Also known as the The Death Wheelers, this movie deals with reincarnation, as members of a motorcycle gang attempt to kill themselves, so they can be reborn.The House of Seven Corpses (1974) (2.5 stars)While filming a movie in a mansion, deadly things begin to happen to the members of the cast and crew.Featuring six DVD’s in thinline cases, image quality of the Cinema Deluxe release is decent, but includes no bonus features. The set is out of print, but might be worth a look for genre fans, if you can find it at a reasonable price.