ADDITION: Vinegar Syndrome 4K UHD (May 2024): Vinegar Syndrome have released Freddie Francis's "Dr Terror's House of Horrors" to 4K UHD. The package includes a second disc Blu-rays with the feature and video supplements. It is described as "Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative" and the "4K UHD is presented in High-Dynamic-Range". We have compared three different Blu-rays of "Dr Terror's House of Horrors" HERE - an Odeon Entertainment Region 'B' Blu-ray from 2015, an Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray also from 2015 and a German Wicked-Vision Media Region FREE Blu-ray also from 2015. If you look at that older BD comparisons you see that the color scheme of each is different - sometimes slight, or rather noticeable as the odd-duck being the Olive Blu-ray. So, this new 2160P image looks marvelous - there is some heavy blue leaning and some sporadic pink but we really have no idea as to the color authenticity. This has bolder primaries - notable blues and reds, but the resolution and sharpness are an exquisite improvement. Grain is consistently showcased and overall, I would say it is darker without losing extensive detail. I can't tell you how many times I have watched this film but the Vinegar Syndrome 4K UHD is, by far, the best it has looked.    

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 54 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD recently: High Noon (software uniformly simulated HDR), Picnic at Hanging Rock (Criterion) (software uniformly simulated HDR), I Am Cuba (no HDR), The Demoniacs , The Nude Vampire (software uniformly simulated HDR), Nostalghia (no HDR), Werckmeister Harmonies (no HDR), Goin' South (software uniformly simulated HDR), La Haine (software uniformly simulated HDR,) All Ladies Do It (software uniformly simulated HDR), Old Henry  (software uniformly simulated HDR), To Die For (software uniformly simulated HDR), Snapshot (software uniformly simulated HDR), Phase IV (software uniformly simulated HDR), Burial Ground (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dark Water (software uniformly simulated HDR), Fear and Desire (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf (no HDR), Paths of Glory (software uniformly simulated HDR), Southern Comfort (software uniformly simulated HDR), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (software uniformly simulated HDR,) The Wages of Fear  (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Roaring Twenties (software uniformly simulated HDR), Universal Classic Monsters Limited Edition Collection (software uniformly simulated HDR), Scarlet Street (software uniformly simulated HDR), eXistenZ (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (software uniformly simulated HDR), Conan the Barbarian (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Django (no HDR), Lone Star  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspect Zero (software uniformly simulated HDR), Count Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Circle - The Haunting of Julia (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Warriors  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (software uniformly simulated HDR), Blackhat (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mark of the Devil (software uniformly simulated HDR), Barbarella (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Last Picture Show (software uniformly simulated HDR).

On their 4K UHD, Vinegar Syndrome use a reasonably robust DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. "Dr Terror's House of Horrors" is filled with plenty of train noise and various other fantasy-horror effects including a snarling werewolf etc.. There is some formidable bass but is exported remaining authentically flat. The, much-discussed, score is by Elisabeth Lutyens' (Never Take Candy From a Stranger, The Skull, The Terrornauts, Paranoiac, The Earth Dies Screaming, My Nights with Susan, Olga, Albert, Julie, Piet & Sandra)   and is not ineffectual with some subtle chords adding to the chilling atmosphere. There is other music; Tubby Hayes Bailey's Blues, Russ Henderson's Everybody's Got Love and Island of Happiness. Dambala is by Boscoe Holder, Kenny Lynch's Give Me Love and Tubby Hayes Voodoo. Clear and clean via the lossless. Vinegar Syndrome include optional English (SDH) subtitles - and the 4K UHD is region FREE, playable worldwide where the second disc Blu-ray is Region 'A' locked.

The second disc Blu-ray has the rest of the supplements on the Vinegar Syndrome package. "A New Home of Horror" is a 1/4 hour featurette including never-before-seen interviews with actress Katy Wild (They Came From Beyond Space), second assistant director Hugh Harlow (Dracula Has Risen from the Grave), propman Arthur Wicks (Event Horizon), continuity supervisor Pauline Harlow (The Devil-Ship Pirates) and dubbing mixer John Aldred (Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb) talking about their contributions to the production. "Tales of Terror" has author Stephen Thrower analysis of Dr. Terror's House of Horrors for almost 40-minutes. Stephen is always great. "House of Cards" is the previously shown, hour-long, archival making-of documentary by Nucleus Films on the film, shot, edited and directed, by Jake West. It has input from Jo Botting (360 Classic Feature Films: How an Archive Project Sought to Show the Canon, All Year Round), Kevin Lyons, Jonathan Rigby (Euro Gothic: Classics of Continental Horror Cinema) and English actor, writer and comedian Reece Shearsmith. There are previously published archival video interviews with actor Kenny Lynch, actor Ann Bell and actor Jeremy Kemp for almost an hour in total. plus there are shortish archival audio interviews with writer/producer Milton Subotsky and producer Max Rosenberg. There are English, German and Italian trailers, as well as two extensive promotional image galleries. The 4K UHD package has reversible sleeve artwork.

Freddie Francis's Dr Terror's House of Horrors was the first horror from Amicus Productions (established by Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg who had previously collaborated on John Llewellyn Moxey's 1960 The City of the Dead) and was also the first in a series of portmanteau or anthology films from the studio which included Torture Garden (1967), The House That Dripped Blood (1970), and Asylum (1972) among others. The segmented stories dealt with five male strangers getting their fortunes read on a train from London. Dr Terror's House of Horrors have Peter Cushing-induced (as 'Dr. Schreck') prophecies including a confrontation with a werewolf (know as Count Cosmo Valdemar,) and vengeful undead - creeping vines echoing desirable The Day of the Triffids, voodoo magic starring Roy Castle (Dr. Who and the Daleks) as a musician - an artist's disembodied, creeping, hand (precursor to Oliver Stone's The Hand) with a nasty Christopher Lee (Night of the Big Heat) feeling the brunt - and a fantastical, small village, vampire tale with a young Donald Sutherland (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) - who was paid £1,000 for his role. Really. There is also an epilogue with, somewhat, of a twist. Delightful. Certainly an intentional similarity to Hammer non-Gothic efforts. I've always liked this and thought it was under-rated because of the poor, un-representative, title. Amicus Productions can rank right up there with some of the most charismatic of Hammer Studios' efforts. The Vinegar Syndrome's 4K UHD release is such a welcome surprise. These guys are fearlessly dominating in this digital space. This is absolutely recommended - an pure keeper for this reviewer.

Gary Tooze