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Dracula, a review by Hal

Title: Dracula: Classic Monster Collection
Year: 1931
Director: Tod Browning
Rating: NR
Length: 75 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Mono, French: Dolby Digital: Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital: Mono, Music Only: Dolby Digital: 5.0, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English, French

Stars:
Bela Lugosi
Helen Chandler
David Manners
Dwight Frye
Edward Van Sloan

Plot:
This DVD edition contains three special versions of Dracula!

Dracula (The Restored Version)
Although there have been numerous screen versions of Bram Stoker's classic tale, none is more enduring than the 1931 original. The ominous portrayal of Count Dracula by Bela Lugosi, combined with horror specialist director Tod Browning, help to create the film's eerie mood. Dracula remains a masterpiece not only of the genre, but for all time.

Dracula (Featuring New Music By Philip Glass)
The original version of Dracula starring Bela Lugosi has been remastered to feature a specially composed musical score by world-renowned composer Philip Glass and performed by the Kronos Quartet. Glass' music lends greater depth to an already timeless classic!

Dracula (Original Spanish Version)
Filmed simultaneously with the English language version, the Spanish version of Dracula is a completely different, yet equally ominous vision of the horror classic. Utilizing the same sets and identical script, cinematographer George Robinson and a vibrant cast including Carlos Villarias and Lupita Tovar deliver this chilling and evocative tale.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
Gallery
Production Notes
DVD-ROM Content
New Isolated Music Score

Although there are some good scenes in this film, overall, I think this was overacted and way too melodramatic.  Legosi's handling of this role (even though it is the one he is best known for) is just too much for me and unrealistic to the point of being laughable.  The mood and setting of the film was good, but I think the "effect" of brightening the eyes of the vampires was overdone.  It is interesting how some of the mythos of Dracula was all established in this early film; e.g., fear of garlic, wolfbane, sunlight, crosses; lack of reflection in mirrors, death by wooden stake through the heart, changing into bats and/or wolves, having to rest in soil of the "homeland", sleeping in coffins during the day.  Some of these have endured the test of time; others have not.
I suppose given the age of this film it has many merits, but I cannot rate it any higher than a 3.

Rating:

(From Hal's 2010 Horror Marathon Reviews on October 16th, 2010)

Return of the Living Dead, a review by Dragonfire

The Return of the Living Dead



Just when you though it was safe to go back to the cemetery - those brain eating zombies are back and hungry for more tasty mortals. A fiendish mix of outrageous humor and heart-stopping terror. The Return of the Living Dead is a "veritable smorgasbord of fun" (LA Herald-Examiner) filled with skin-crawling jolts, eye-popping visuals and relentless suprise!

On his first day on the job at an army surplus store, poor Freddy unwittingly releases nerve gas from a secret U.S. military canister, unleashing a unbelievable terror. The gas re-animates a corps of corpses, who arise from their graves with a ravenous hunger for human brains! And luckily for those carnivorous cadavers, there is a group of partying teens nearby, just waiting to be eaten!

My Thoughts


(From Dragonfire's Halloween/Horror Marathon 2009 on November 1st, 2009)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Dr. Bashir and O'Brien are helping two formerly waring races to dispose of their biological weapons. But then one side is breaking the treaty and they kill all the scientists and try to kill O'Brien and Bashir who can barely escape. The crew of DS9 is informed that they've died in an accident while they have to hide out and try to contact either Starfleet or the other fraction.

My Opinion: As a general rule, I happen to like most of the Bashir/O'Brien episodes. And while their previous pairing in The Storyteller wasn't that interesting, I really liked this one. To put them together in a dangerous situation without any other characters around them was a really good decision.

Synopsis: When Miles returns to DS9 he notices that something is different. Most of the command staff and even his wife is acting weird. And since important negotiations are coming up and he's cut off from the security preparations, he suspects that someone tries to sabotage these negotiations.

My Opinion: We have seen so many unfriendly takeovers of bodies during the history of Star Trek that O'Brien's suspicions weren't that far fetched. Another episode I really liked, especially with O'Briens sympathy he's shown to his copy and the copy's declared love for Keiko at the end.

Synopsis: Sisko and O'Brien beam down to a planet that doesn't lie along the usual trading routes. But as soon as they arrive they find out that none of their technology is working and they can't contact their runabout. But they find a village full of people who have crashed here a decade ago. They have gotten used to the situation but Sisko doesn't give up that easily.

My Opinion: This episode reminded me a lot of the former socialistic countries. "Hey we have a good idea and now you have to live in that "ideal" whether you like it or not." I really liked it when Sisko went back into the box, not bowing to Alixus's rule. And I also liked how he interrupted her speech pointing out that she let people die for her dream to come true.

Synopsis: Again looking for signs of his people, Dax and Odo are following a strange radiation signature. At the end of it they find a device in a small village, which seems to be the only settlement on the planet. But something is going on in that village: People are disappearing without leaving a trace and Odo tries to help.

My Opinion: This was a rather quiet episode and it only became interesting when the holographic generator had been disabled and we learn about the true nature of the relation between the people of that village and the only real person.

(From Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon on October 11th, 2008)