Maniacal Mayhem
Three more tales of terror from the vaults of Universal Pictures, all starring the iconic Boris Karloff.
Boris Karloff and Béla Lugosi both star In The Invisible Ray (dir. Lambert Hillyer, 1936), which sees Dr Janos Rukh (Karloff) exposed to a mysterious element that turns him into a deadly luminescent maniac who devises a plot to bump off his personal and professional rivals.
Then, in Black Friday (dir. Arthur Lubin, 1940), Karloff is the amoral brain surgeon, Dr Sovac, who transplants part of a gangsters brain into the body of his dying friend, creating a terrifying Jekyll-and-Hyde figure who starts murdering his former criminal associates (including, again, the wonderful Béla Lugosi).
Finally, the incomparable Charles Laughton plays the sadistic Sire Alain de Maletroit in The Strange Door (dir. Joseph Pevney, 1951). Maletroit has kept his own brother locked in a dungeon for twenty years, and now wants to ruin the life of his niece by forcing her to marry a violent rogue. His plan is upset when the “rogue” is unexpectedly noble-hearted and attempts to rescue the girl, aided by an abused servant (Karloff).
On Blu-ray for the first time in the UK.
Details by Film
The Invisible Ray
Streaming Options
Black Friday
Streaming Options
The Strange Door
Streaming Options
Release Information:
Technical Specifications
Supplements
- Brand new audio commentary for The Invisible Ray with author Stephen Jones and author/critic Kim Newman
- Brand new audio commentary track for Black Friday with Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby
- Brand new audio commentary for The Strange Door with author Stephen Jones and author/critic Kim Newman
- “The Sire de Maletroit’s Door” radio adaptations
- Stills Galleries
- Theatrical Trailer for The Invisible Ray
- Theatrical Trailer for Black Friday
- A limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on all three films by film writers Andrew Graves, Rich Johnson, and Craig Ian Mann [2000 copies]