NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Arrow Blu-ray (September 2021): Arrow have transferred Edward L. Cahn's Zombies of Mora Tau to Blu-ray. This is only available from Arrow, at present, as part of their Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman which includes Creature with the Atom Brain, The Werewolf, Zombies of Mora Tau and The Giant Claw.

As with the other three in this set, the SD transfers are darker, greener with compromised contrast and we lose a sliver of information on all four edges, as in this case, the 1080P is in 1.78:1 aspect ratio opening-up the frame a small degree (4%.). It predictably looks much better - brighter, better shadow detail and contrast as well as exporting healthy, consistent grain texture rather than the noise/compression artifacts of the 14-year old DVD. It's a definite, pleasing, upgrade for fans of the film.

NOTE: We have added 56 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Arrow use a DTS-HD Master 1.0 channel mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Zombies of Mora Tau has, surprisingly, few aggressive moments and the score is an amalgamation of stock music, uncredited - by the likes of film composers Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (The Return of the Vampire, Night Editor, And Then There Were None,) Mischa Bakaleinikoff (The Lineup, New Orleans Uncensored, The Crooked Web, Cell 2455 Death Row, Comanche Station, It Came from Beneath the Sea, The Giant Claw, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, The 27th Day, 20 Million Miles to Earth, Lady for a Day,) score by avant garde classical composer and pianist George Antheil - who has written music for Dementia, The Sniper, In a Lonely Place, Make Way for Tomorrow (1937), Sirocco (1951), House by the River (1950) Tokyo Joe (1949) and other Ray films, including, Knock on Any Door (1949,) George Duning (Two Rode Together, The Eddy Duchin Story, 3:10 to Yuma, Jeanne Eagels, The Shadow on the Window, My Sister Eileen, The Mob, Affair in Trinidad, Tight Spot, Johnny O'Clock, The Dark Past, Convicted, and Between Midnight and Dawn etc.,) Hugo Friedhofer (Plunder of the Sun, One-Eyed Jacks Two Flags West, Man in the Attic, Ace in the Hole, Body and Soul, Gilda, The Bishop's Wife,) Miklós Rózsa score (Criss Cross, The Killers, The Lost Weekend, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, Double Indemnity) and others sounding clean, adding creepy moods, with consistent dialogue in the lossless transfer. Arrow offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Arrow Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Kat Ellinger. She discusses how Zombies of Mora Tau was a fresh take on the zombie genre, the opportunities that arose in genre films in the 50s, the experimentation, the new market of teenagers etc. She also talks about Katzman, Edward L. Cahn, the cast and crew. It's at her usual well-researched format analyzing the film's lesser discussed details in an informative manner. There is also a brand-new 20-minute visual essay exploring the intersection of mythical horror creatures and the rational world of science in the films of Sam Katzman by critic Josh Hurtado. It is entitled Atomic Terror: Genre in Transformation. It's amusing seeing the new 50's take on horror, the link between science (atomic age) and mythology and corresponding filmic shift - it's well worth the watch. There is also a theatrical trailer and image gallery. As part of the Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman is a fully illustrated 60-page collector’s book featuring extensive new writing by Laura Drazin Boyes, Neil Mitchell, Barry Forshaw, Jon Towlson and Jackson Cooper as well as an 80-page collector’s art book featuring reproduction stills and artwork from each film and new writing by historian and critic Stephen R. Bissette, 2 double-sided posters featuring newly commissioned artwork by Matt Griffin and reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork for each film by Matt Griffin.    

Edward L. Cahn's Zombies of Mora Tau is possibly my favorite of Arrow's Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman Blu-ray set. It has the typical modest special effects but makes up for its with extensive zombie extras. It's certainly not Jacques Tourneur's "I Walked With A Zombie" but did evokes memories of that masterful film. Marjorie Eaton as Grandmother Peters also adds another layer of mystery as she channels Maria Ouspenskaya from The Wolf Man. Another short but delightfully imperfect nostalgia gem in the Arrow Blu-ray package. Strongly recommend to fans of these 50's 'B' fantasy, sci-f- and horror genres.

Gary Tooze