‘Dan Curtis’ Late Night Mysteries’ Blu-ray Review
Dan Curtis is best known as the creator of the gothic sci-fi horror soap opera Dark Shadows, but his legacy extends far beyond that cult classic. He also produced the TV movies The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler, and both wrote and directed the chilling feature Burnt Offerings.
Throughout his prolific career, Curtis’ production company crafted numerous standalone TV films for ABC’s Wide World of Mystery series. Now, Kino Lorber’s Kino Cult division has brought together four of these eerie television specials in a brand-new Blu-ray collection titled Dan Curtis’ Late Night Mysteries.
- Shadow of Fear (1974) A rich woman, an industrialist’s wife, finds her home nearly destroyed and with menacing phrases painted on the walls. Besides calling the police, her husband calls his security manager, an ex-cop who hesitates before accepting the task. *** 3/5
- The Invasion of Carol Enders (1974) After her murder, Diana Bernard sends her spirit to get trapped in Carol Enders so she can expose Diana’s killer. *** 3/5
- Come Die with Me (1974) A man kills his older brother when he is refused a loan and then is held in bondage by the housekeeper who knows of the murder. *** 3/5
- Nightmare at 43 Hillcrest (1974) Police looking for drug dealers mistakenly raid the house of a typical suburban family. However, rather than admit their mistake and jeopardize their careers, several of the police officers decide to plant heroin in the family’s house, and change the records of the raid to make it look like the family was the target of their investigation all along. *** 3/5
These TV specials have been transferred to Blu-ray in 1080p and are presented in their original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The audio track is an English DYS-HD Master Audio 2.0. There is also the option for English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing. Of course, these TV specials were shot on videotape, so these TV shows have been carefully adapted to HD. Now what results is a pretty impressive looking transfers – in fact, they look a whole lot better than I expected. But Kino Lorber didn’t just throw these four episodes on two discs and be done with it; they added some cool bonus features too.
Special Features:
- Introductions to All Four Films by Jeff Thompson, Author of House of Dan Curtis: The Television Mysteries of the Dark Shadows Auteur
- Shadow of Fear Commentary by Amanda Reyes, Author of Are You in the House Alone? A TV Movie Compendium 1964-1999
- The Invasion of Carol Enders Commentary by Television Historian Scott Skelton
- Come Die With Me Commentary by Author/Podcaster Dan Budnik and Film Historian Robert Kelly
- Nightmare at 43 Hillcrest Commentary by Film Historians Amanda Reyes and Heidi Honeycutt
The bonus introductions and audio commentaries really take these TV episodes to a whole new level. I appreciate all the additional information given to these shows that are not the most well-known.
***** 5/5
This collection of Late Night Mysteries will make a great addition to anyone’s Dan Curtis collection, so head over to Amazon and order your copy today.
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