“Fox Horror Classics Volume 2” is an entertaining set of three little seen flicks.
The plots: “Dr. Renault’s Secret” involves a French scientist who creates a murderous half-man, half-ape assistant. “Dragonwyck” is a Gothic drama that centers on a young woman who goes to live with her mysterious and rich distant cousin in a mansion. “Chandu The Magician” has the title character teaming up with a scientist named Robert to stop an evil madman named Roxor from using a powerful, stolen Death Ray.
While none of these three features are brilliant by any means, they are all likeable nonetheless. ‘Renault’ is a fun little monster movie of sorts, while “Dragonwyck” is an interesting drama filled with subplots about everything from drug addiction to murder. The real center piece of the film, however, is a superb performance by Vincent Price whose character transformation is fascinating to say the least. My personal favorite film here is “Chandu The Magician.” This is truly a fun little adventure that contains weird sets/props, magic, surrealistic F/X scenes and a fun performance by Bela Lugosi as the villain. They certainly don’t make films like this anymore!
The 1.33:1 fullscreen picture varies in quality. ‘Renault’ and “Dragonwyck” have been cleaned up nicely, even if some shots look better than others. ‘Chandu’ on the other hand, isn’t in the best of shape as I noticed a lot of dirt and lines on the transfer.
The Dolby Digital Mono audio tracks are fine enough classics, but I do have to say that the sound on “Chandu” is a bit iffy.
* Fact booklet.
* Trailers for “Dr. Renault’s Secret,” “Dragonwyck,”
* Restoration Comparison for all three films.
* Advertising, lobby card and production still galleries for “Dr. Renault’s Secret.”
* “Horror’s Missing Link: Rediscovering Dr. Renault’s Secret”- A 16 minute featurette on the film complete with interviews from historians and experts in various film fields.
* isolated score track for “Dragonwyck”
* 2 vintage “Dragonwyck” radio shows with Vincent Price and Gene Tierney and Vincent Price and Teresa Wright.
* Advertising, U.K. Lobby card, behind-the-scenes and production still galleries.
* “A House Of Secrets: Exporing Dragonwyck”- A 16 minute featurette on the film.
* Commentary on “Dragonwyck” by Steve Haberman and Constantine Nasr. The two talk about everything from the score, the actors (and their careers), etc. Anyone wanting to know about the history of the project should give a listen.
* Still gallery for “Chandu The Magician.”
* “Masters Of Magic: The World Of Chandu” (15:00)- A featurette on the underrated, forgotten, weird movie.
* Commentary by Bela Lugosi know-it-all Gregory William Mank.
