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

ADDITION: Eureka Blu-ray (October 2022): Eureka have transferred a new package; Maniacal Mayhem (Three films starring Boris KARLOFF) to Blu-ray. The films are The Invisible Ray (1936), Black Friday (1940), The Strange Door (1951) and follows their six-film Karloff At Columbia Blu-ray set from 2021, with The Black Room (1935), The Man They Could Not Hang (1939), The Man With Nine Lives (1940), Before I Hang (1940), The Devil Commands (1941) and The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942) reviewed HERE and their Universal Terror (Three films starring Boris Karloff) Blu-ray package, from earlier this year, with Night Key (1937), The Climax (1944) and The Black Castle (1952), reviewed HERE. The three films in this set and cited as being "presented from 2K scans of the original film elements". The Invisible Ray (1936) Black Friday (1940) were released on Blu-ray in the US (Region 'A') in Shout! Factory's 4 Blu-ray package, from 2019, Universal Horror Collection: Vol.1, reviewed HERE. The Invisible Ray and Black Friday. were in the 2005 Universal Bela Lugosi DVD set (reviewed HERE.) The Strange Door (1951)was released on Kino Blu-ray, in 2019, reviewed HERE. We've compared captures below and the results appear to duplicate the previous strong 1080P transfers but I might give and edge to the UK rendered HD presentation. Most will not be able to differentiate and all will be very pleased with the black levels and thick grain. There are the same light damages marks but these look gorgeous in 1080P, dripping with vintage film textures and foreboding dark atmosphere.  

NOTE: We have added 96 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-rays, Eureka use a linear PCM dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language for all three films. The scores are typically dramatic in spots heightening the dram and horror aspects. On The Invisible Ray by Franz Waxman (Untamed, Rebecca, Dark Passage, Bride of Frankenstein, Rear Window, Sunset Boulevard) on Black Friday by Hans J. Salter (The Killer that Stalked New York, The Strange Door, Cover Up, Man Without a Star, Scarlet Street, The Land Unknown, The War Lord, The Mole People) and Frank Skinner (The Appaloosa, Madame X, Magnificent Obsession, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, All That Heaven Allows, and The Naked City) and on The Strange Door the music sounds very familiar as it was a lot of stock pieces by the likes of William Lava, Charles Previn, Miklós Rózsa, Hans J. Salter, Frank Skinner, Herman Stein etc. and others may recognize Luigi Boccherini's Minuet (3rd movement from String Quintette E major, G.275). These pieces add to the film experience and sound competent, with minor depth, via the lossless rendering. Dialogue is clear and audible. Eureka offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'B' Blu-ray.

The Eureka Blu-ray offers a new commentaries on The Invisible Ray and The Strange Door with author Stephen Jones and author / critic Kim Newman and on Black Friday with Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby. I'm a bit pushed for time but look forward to indulging later. I enjoy all these commentarists. On The Strange Door Blu-ray there are three “The Sire de Maletroit’s Door” radio adaptations from 1947, 1952 and 1975, respectively taking up about 1 3/4 hour's time. There are also stills galleries, trailers and the package has a limited edition Collector’s Booklet featuring new writing on all three films by film writers Andrew Graves, Rich Johnson, and Craig Ian Mann and is housed in an LE O-Card Slipcase.

Wonderful pulpy, horror, sci-fi vintage entries; Legosi, Karloff. The Strange Door has wonderful atmosphere... Gothic-era pubs, townsfolk chasing ne'er-do-wells with torches, a creepy mansion with a dank, shadowy basement... and, of course, it has Laughton and a crouching, wild-eyed, Karloff. The Blu-rays provide the opportunity to see these for Region 'B' vintage film fans and those keen on this genre of spooky, mysterious, horror thrillers made a lifetime ago. New commentaries add essential value. Keep them coming Eureka!

Gary Tooze