 
The Bela Lugosi Collection The Fly / The Fly II Swamp Thing Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte Panic In The Year Zero / The Last Man On Earth Now that Halloween is nearly upon us here are a few recent releases that are not only spooky, but a little on the cheesy side as well: Although he will always be remembered as the quintessential Dracula, Bela Lugosi made dozens of horror flicks during the ‘40s and ‘50s, five of which are included on this single disc edition. Two of them (Murders In The Rue Morgue; The Raven) were adapted from stories written by Edgar Allen Poe and all but one feature the legendary Boris Karloff. Whether he’s injecting women with gorilla blood, preparing a bride for Satan (The Black Cat), or attempting to stop Karloff from going on a killing spree (The Invisible Ray), Lugosi chews the scenery as only he could. Here was a man who was truly born to be bad. Also sharing a single disc are two ‘60s B-movies that described the end of the world as we know it from two different perspectives. Panic In The Year Zero was a product of the fear created by the Cold War and examines the aftermath of a nuclear explosion in Los Angeles. Ray Milland starred and directed this cautionary tale that also featured Frankie Avalon and Jean Hagen. Vincent Price heads an all Italian cast in The Last Man On Earth where he finds himself the lone survivor of a deadly virus that’s turned the rest of the population into vampire-zombie-like creatures. Adapted from writer Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, the film was not blessed with a large budget, but succeeded in creeping out audiences anyway. If you’ve never seen either of these, don’t be afraid to check ‘em out. David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of The Fly made great use of the special effects of the day and was possibly the best film Jeff Goldblum ever made. You know the story: brilliant scientist invents a device to transport matter from one pod to another, but the experiment goes horribly wrong when he subjects himself to the test and fails to notice a fly in the chamber. He becomes a hideous mutant and Geena Davis gets to scream a lot as Goldblum gradually evolves into a giant insect. The new two-disc edition includes a previously unseen alternate ending, new documentaries and scads of special bonus materials. On the other hand, The Fly II is kind of a stinker with Eric Stoltz attempting to recreate the horror of the first film. Everyone seems to be going through the motions without much originality and even the transformation from man to fly reeked of low budget and bad design. For high camp factor, you can’t beat Wes Craven’s adaptation of the Swamp Thing comic book about a scientist who becomes half-man / half-plant, following the looting of his lab by a jealous rival. Despite the rubber suit and some bizarre plot twists, it’s hard to dismiss any flick with a partially nude Adrienne Barbeau! Swamp Thing tends to lose focus towards the end and won’t be considered one of Craven’s best, but it’s still a fun ride twenty years later. Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte creeped me out as a kid and continues to do so with subsequent viewings. Bette Davis heads an all-star cast as a woman who is believed to have beheaded her unfaithful husband and who has spent the last 40 years in a decaying Southern mansion. When the local highway commission attempts to evict her in order to build a new bridge on the property, she gathers what few friends and family members remain, but are they really there to help….? Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotton, Agnes Moorehead and Mary Astor all shine in this 1964 fright-fest. - David Bassin
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