Just because we love classic horror – especially low-budget B-movies – doesn’t mean we have to watch bad prints of the films that we’re used to seeing online or in a public domain version.
While searching for new video releases of old horror films to add to my collection, I was surprised at how much new is on the horizon thanks to the ongoing efforts of Film Masters, Kino Lorber, Arrow Video and the legendary Hammer Films.
These labels don’t only release the films on physical media, they are usually remastered or restored, so you’ll often see the best available version of the film. Plus they come with all-important exclusive extras like interviews, featurettes, collectible booklets and image galleries. You would be pleased to see how much new content is included. Here’s a quick look at some of what I’ve found with additional info about the extras.
Film Masters is one of my favorite places to look for classic horror films because the label is focused on film preservation and restoration. Plus I’m a big fan of one of its specialties: B-horror movies from the 1950s. It recently announced an exclusive distribution deal with the estate of late filmmaker and film collector Wade Williams.
The inaugural release in the Wade Williams Collection, available on April 7, is the two-disc, four-film Monster Mayhem Collection with Frankenstein’s Daughter (1958), Giant from the Unknown (1958), The Brain From Planet Arous (1957) and Monster from Green Hell (1957).
Two of the movies are by director Richard E. Cunha, nicknamed the “six-day wonder” for how quickly he could make a film. In Frankenstein’s Daughter an innocent California teen is experimented on by a man continuing his ancestor’s experiments set against the backdrop of pool parties and hot rods. Giant from the Unknown finds a 500-year-old Conquistador resurrected by a lightning strike.
In Monster from Green Hill, wasps sent into space to test radiation exposure turn into giant creatures. The Brain from Planet Arous has two alien brains – one evil and one good – arriving on Earth.
The four movies are presented in a 4K scan from 35mm archival prints in their original, theatrical aspect ratios. Special features include full-length archival commentaries by film historians Tom Weaver, Stephen R. Bissette and Gary Crutcher, and four original mini-documentaries from Ballyhoo Motion Pictures (Richard E. Cunha: Filmmaker; Missouri Born: The Films of Jim Davis; The Man Before the Brain: Director Nathan Juran; and The Man Behind the Brain: The World of Nathan Juran). Also included is a collectible booklet insert with a new essay by Tom Weaver on the films.
In a press release announcing this distribution deal, Film Masters mentioned future restorations and releases in the Wade Williams Collection could include Plan 9 from Outer Space, The Crawling Eye, Champagne for Caesar and The Day It Came to Earth. Yes, please.
HAMMER FILMS
Since being acquired in 2023 by British theater producer and lifelong Hammer Film fan John Gore, Hammer has been busy getting movies into the hands of fans through home video releases.
As part of its limited collector editions that debuted last fall, Hammer released a spectacular six-disc set of The Curse of Frankenstein with a 168-page booklet, 68-page comic and many commentaries, interviews and featurettes. Hammer also has also a great series of very affordable one- and two-disc sets with impressive extras.
Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1971). Available April 6.
An archaeologist’s daughter may be the reincarnation of a queen whose tomb was discovered by her father in this film based on Bram Stoker’s
The Jewel of Seven Stars. The double-disc set includes a 64-page booklet with new essays and the original press kit, along with new features such as “Valerie Leon: Inside the Mummy’s Tomb” and “That’s a Wrap: Kim Newman explores Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb.” It also has an audio commentary with author/film historian Steve Haberman, and interviews with Valerie Leon and Christopher Wicking.
Crucible of Horror AKA The Corpse (1971). Available April 20.
This is part of The Hammer Presents Collection which was started in late 2025 to showcase British horror films that weren’t made by Hammer, but “are similar in style and substance to the classic Hammer horrors,” according to the Hammer Films website which is well worth checking out to learn more about Hammer.. These films are restorations scanned from the original film negatives.
Crucible of Horror is a 2K restoration from the original negative and includes new commentary with William Fowler and Vic Pratt who are co-authors of The Bodies Beneath and creators/curators of the British Film Institute’s ongoing Flipside video series.
Doctor Blood’s Coffin (1962) and The Snake Woman (1961). Both are available May 4.
Also in Hammer Presents are these two films directed by Sidney J. Furie that are getting separate releases with restorations from original scans.
In Doctor Blood’s Coffin, a doctor sets up a lab in a small Cornish village to revive the dead – with unwilling victims, of course. Hazel Court co-stars. It has a new commentary with Jonathan Rigby, an actor, film historian and author (English Gothic), and Kevin Lyons, editor of the website Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television.
The Snake Woman is born after a doctor injects his wife with snake venom to cure her insanity and she gives birth to a baby born ice cold and without eyelids – like a reptile. You can see where this is going. It has a new commentary by writer, filmmaker and film programmer Heidi Honeycutt and TV and film critic Sarah Morgan.
Kino is known for its eclectic array of indie and international films as well as a Studio Classics Division.
The Flesh and Blood Show (1972). Now available.
Actors are stalked while rehearsing for a mysterious theater group at a deserted seaside resort. It has an audio commentary by film historians Kat Ellinger and Martyn Conterio; “Flesh, Blood and Censorship,” an interview with director Pete Walker; and interviews with actors Jenny Hanley and Stewart Bevan, and third assistant director Terry Madden. For this Kino Cult release, the 3-D sequences have been newly aligned by the 3-D Film Archive and are presented in both stereoscopic and anaglyph formats.
The House of Seven Corpses (1973). Available April 21.
Things go horribly wrong when a film crew makes a movie inside a mansion where seven members of a family died. When will people learn not to read The Tibetan Book of the Dead? The cast starsJohn Ireland, Faith Domergue and John Carradine. Extras include new audio commentary by author and film historian David Del Valle with producer and director David DeCoteau. There’s also an archival interview with John Carradine and commentary by associate producer Gary Kent.
Abbott and Costello in Hold That Ghost (1941). Available April 28.
In their first comedy-horror film, the affable duo inherits a mobster’s abandoned roadhouse where loot is rumored to be hidden. Chaos will ensue. Joining them are Richard Carlson, Joan Davis, Evelyn Ankers and the Andrews Sisters. It’s from a 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative. New commentaries are by author and film historian Alan K. Rode and another by film historian Samm Dighan.
Arrow Video is a British film distribution label that specializes in cult, classic and horror movies. Here’s one release that caught my eye.
Salem’s Lot (1979). Coming March 31.
Tobe Hooper’s terrifying TV miniseries with its chilling Nosferatu-like character gets a4K restoration in this two-disc set that also includes the shorter international theatrical cut. It’s absolutely packed with extras including fun stuff like a Salem’s Lot town sign sticker, a double-sided fold-out poster, the original shooting script gallery and a booklet with new writing on the film by critics Sean Abley, Sorcha Ni Fhlainn and Richard Kadrey,
Archival material includes interviews with director Tobe Hooper and stars Lance Kerwin and Julie Cobb. New features are plentiful and include commentaries by film critics Bill Ackerman and Amanda Reyes, another by film critic Chris Alexander. “King of the Vampires” is an interview with Stephen King biographer Douglas Winter. “New England Nosferatu” is an interview with filmmaker Mick Garris. “Fear Lives Here” looks at the locations of Salem’s Lot today. “Second Coming” is a new appreciation by author and critic Grady Hendrix.
– Toni Ruberto for Classic Movie Hub
You can read all of Toni’s Monsters and Matinees articles here.
Toni Ruberto, born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., is an editor and writer at The Buffalo News. She shares her love for classic movies in her blog, Watching Forever and is a member and board chair of the Classic Movie Blog Association. Toni was the president of the former Buffalo chapter of TCM Backlot and led the offshoot group, Buffalo Classic Movie Buffs. She is proud to have put Buffalo and its glorious old movie palaces in the spotlight as the inaugural winner of the TCM in Your Hometown contest. You can find Toni on Twitter at @toniruberto or on Bluesky at @watchingforever.bsky.social
