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Die, Monster, Die!
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - British Film Institute Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (2nd August 2024). |
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The Film
 "Die, Monster, Die!" (1965) Stephen Reinhart (played by Nick Adams) travels from America to the rural English town of Arkham to meet his fiancée Susan Witley (played by Suzan Farmer). But getting to the Witley house proves to be troublesome, as when he asks anyone in town on how to get there, they all turn their backs to him or laugh away. Arriving on foot at the grand gothic style mansion, he is greeted by her father Nahum Witley (played by Boris Karloff), w wheelchair bound scientist who insists that he leave immediately. Stephen learns that it actually wasn't Susan that invited him, but her mother Letitia (played by Freda Jackson), who is bedridden. While he is happy to be with Susan again, there are sinister happenings that surround the Witley home, with a mysterious secret in the basement... American International Pictures announced that they would be adapting writer H.P. Lovecraft's story "The Dunwich Horror" as a feature film in 1964, but plans were shelved. Instead their first adaptation of a Lovecraft story would be his 1927 science fiction horror "The Colour Out of Space" under the production title "The House at the End of the World", made and released in 1965 with the release title "Die, Monster, Die!". The film would be the directorial debut of Daniel Haller, who had experience as an art director and production designer for producer Roger Corman on dozens of features. Although the original story was based in America and it was an American production company, the film has its location changed to England and had a mostly British cast and crew, with some exceptions such as Haller and Adams for example. The British cast was quite impressive, with the legendary Boris Karloff in the lead and minor roles going to character actors Patrick Macgee, Leslie Dwyer, Sydney Bromley and others in small appearances. "Die, Monster, Die!" had all the right ingredients for its genre, with a director that had a great eye for horror visuals, a legendary horror actor in the lead, and being based on a story from an iconic writer of horror and science fiction. But "Die, Monster, Die!" unfortunately has a lot of missteps and doesn't quite fall into the category of greatness. The opening of Stephen arriving in town is well established with the townspeople giving him the cold shoulder, knowing there is something wrong with the Witley family and the history with the town. Unfortunately many of the townspeople are never seen again or given a chance to establish background to their stories, as some laugh and some are in shock when they hear the name. There is one scene where Stephen returns to meet the town doctor, but again nothing else afterwards. Most of the action is placed at the Witley house with its small cast of characters, with the three Witley family members, Stephen, and also the butler Merwyn (played by (played by Terence de Marney) who is killed off fairly quickly. There isn't much to the characters as well, except for ironically the wheelchair bound father and the bedridden mother who seem to have more character than any of the others that are able to freely walk around. Adams playing Stephen is fair but not at all exceptional, who seems to be confused at the entire premise which may or may not have been him acting. His character is also not quite adept as seen during the final confrontation, making easy misses against his target and not being much help to Susan. In regards to Susan, she is the damsel in distress and not much else. She seems completely oblivious to the oddness of her family home and how her family is acting, and always seems out of place rather than in touch. There is the reveal of the glowing meteorite in the basement of the home that is affecting the area and the people, with the father trying to harness its power for good rather than evil, though the story is lacking a lot of scientific explanation and instead goes for shocks with transformations and the creepy web filled corridors of the home rather than believability. Characters frequently make odd choices and overall it feels lackluster in the entirety of the plot, not moving fast enough yet not having enough detail provided. On the plus side, there was a lot of emphasis on production design, with the Witley house set being fully furnished in a wonderful gothic flavor. The colors of the interior with darkened halls and a lived in space, as well as having a sinister looking basement area are fine touches to give the place life. The colorful nature of the glows from the meteorite's radiation is creatively used in some of the effects sequences, as well as the composited shots of the overgrown specimens that the couple find. Although on the other hand there are some effects that look amateurishly cheap, such as the fake bats that fly, the plants that start to engulf Susan, and the transformation makeup effects at the climax. Granted AIP were known for their low budgets, this should be expected but sometimes the lack of effort is strikingly noticeable. In the original script written by Jerry Sohl, the father character was not wheelchair bound. But as Karloff was experiencing severe pain with his legs that made it difficult for him to walk, the script was adjusted specifically for him and the house sets were equipped with elevators for him to logistically move around from floor to floor. Even if the script and the film had its flaws, Karloff is still an amazing presence to watch. His vocal deliveries and his look are genuine and he gives it his all, even if the story doesn't call for it, and that was the magic that he was able to deliver even in his older age. As for scenes where he is transformed and becomes quite agile, it is obvious that it was a stunt performer for those scenes. The film was released on October 27th, 1965 in the United States as "Die, Monster, Die!" and a few months later in the United Kingdom on February 20th, 1966 as "Monster of Terror". It was not particularly ravaged by critics, nor was it completely ignored by audiences, but it was certain that it was not a highlight of the careers of many involved. It has its fun moments and some creative visuals, but it is missing character strength and doesn't have a fully comprehensible plot for the story to move on. Over the years it has had cult appeal and has had a number of DVD and Blu-ray releases. This newest release on Blu-ray from the BFI is giving the B-grade science fiction horror a generous special edition, packed with great extras. Note this is a region B Blu-ray
Video
The BFI presents the film in the original theatrical 2.35:1 aspect ratio in 1080p AVC MPEG-4. The transfer comes from MGM, the rightsholder to most of the AIP library. The film was actually shot in fullframe 1.37:1 using spherical lenses but converted to widescreen in a process similar to Super 35 in which the top and bottom of the frame are cropped, rather than shooting it with anamorphic lenses. With this process, there is more pronounced film grain in the image, though there is no distortion at the sides of the frame that can be found with films shot with anamorphic lenses. The film showcases a variety of colors with the dark interiors of the Whitley place as well as the neon glows and brightness shown with the mysterious rock's presence. There is good detail with the set designs, wardrobe, as well as for characters on screen, and the transfer does a good job with the presentation, with sharpness and clarity. It does have defects though, as there are examples of film damage to be found at times, with speckles and light scratches, as well as some screen wobble and weaving and flickering of colors at certain spots. While damage has been mostly been cleaned, thankfully the film grain has been kept intact with the HD transfer. It obviously could look better with further restoration tools applied, but it is in a fairly good state overall. The film's runtime is 78:35.
Audio
English LPCM 2.0 mono The original mono audio track is presented uncompressed. The remastered audio track sounds very good here, with clear dialogue throughout, accompanied by the various pulsating and creepy sound effects as well as the music composed by Don Banks sounding well balanced. There isn't too much of a workout with the soundspace, but thankfully there are no errors or damage such as hiss, pops, or dropout to be heard for a smooth experience with the sound. There are optional English HoH subtitles for the main feature, in a white font which are well timed, easy to read and without errors.
Extras
Audio commentary with Vic Pratt and William Fowler (2024) This new and exclusive commentary has the BFI's Pratt and Fowler, authors of "The Bodies Beneath: The Flipside of British Film & Television" give a lively and fun chat about the film. They discuss the visuals from the psychedelic colors, matte paintings and other effects, the small appearances by a number of notable faces as the townspeople, the difficulty Karloff had with his health at the time, location information, information on individual cast and crew members, quotes from contemporary reviews, lengthy number of horror movie tropes (not cliches) that the film has, and more. They point out the positives as well as a number of weaknesses of the film, and it's filled with a lot of great information. in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles "A Karloff Konversation" 2024 interview with Vic Pratt and Stephen Jacobs (19:23) This interview has Pratt together with Jacobs, author of "Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster" as they discuss the actor's twilight years as an actor. Talked about are his roles for AIP in the 1960s in gothic horror features, being the presenter for the acclaimed anthology TV series "Thriller", his appearances on talk shows and on stage, while also battling his health issues. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles Scenes from Ken Hollings and David McGillivray's forthcoming film "Let Me Die a Monster" (2024) (14:07) Author and musician Ken Hollings and writer David McGillivray developed a biopic script based on the life of actor Nick Adams and his relationships with Elvis Presley, James Dean, and Godzilla back in 1997 entitled Let Me Die a Monster, though the script was never made to screen. In this featurette, Hollings gives his introduction about the unrealized production and its background, which is followed by two rehearsal scenes of actors Iain Stirland playing Adams and Darryl Crick playing Presley. This is followed by McGillivray's memories of the script. Hollings' forthcoming book is "Paradise: The Trash Project Volume Three" due in November 2024. His latest album is "Incredible Night Creatures of the Midway" as a member of the band The Howling. in 1080i50 AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles "Nick Adams and Die, Monster, Die!" 2024 interview with Ken Hollings and David McGillivray (7:23) The two are interviewed together here, as they recall discovering Adams' films and McGillivray also goes through his old diary notes and what his younger self thought of the films at the time. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles "Sell, Monster, Sell!" 2024 interview with Tony Tweedale (12:13) Tony Tweedale was uncredited in the film prints, but was a unit publicist for the film. He recalls meeting Karloff and having high praise for the actor, and also talks about some of the other cast and crew of the feature. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles "The Peaches" 1964 short by Michael Gill (16:13) In this experimental short directed by Michael Gill and photographed by Walter Lassally, a beautiful and clever young woman who loves peaches more than anything moves out of home to find a new life. A whimsical and comical short that is narrated by Peter Ustinov and starring Juliet Harmer, and also features the director's young son AA Gill who would later become a prominent food critic. There isn't really a connection between this and "Die, Monster, Die!", as it is more on the side of experimental comedy and not at all a gothic horror. It doesn't share any of the same cast or crew so it is an odd inclusion for this disc. The director of "Die, Monster, Die!" directed the comedy film "The Georgia Peaches" in 1980 but there is no relation to that either. The film is in very good condition, with excellent black and white sharpness, though there are some minor damage marks that are visible. For audio, the narration and music are fairly clear throughout. Note this short is also available on the BFI's Blu-ray of "The Girl with Green Eyes" from their Woodfall - A Revolution in British Cinema boxset. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English LPCM 2.0 mono without subtitles Image Gallery (10:59) A series of black and white production stills in an automated slideshow without music. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4 Theatrical Trailer (with optional commentary by Vic Pratt and William Fowler) (1:55) The trailer presented here seems to be in an incomplete state, as it lacks the title cards mentioning the film’s title or the actors names, resulting in only having scenes from the movie edited together with the film’s sound effects. Most likely it would have been added with narration, text superimpositions, and additional music. It is transferred from a film source so it does look fairly good even with the minor damage marks that are visible. Pratt and Fowler add some of their thoughts to the trailer’s editing, but do not mention about its incomplete state. The trailer has also been embedded below. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 2.35:1, in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles Booklet The first pressing includes a 28 page booklet. First is the essay "A Menagerie of Horrors" by Stephen Jacobs which looks at the film, its story, the production and behind the scenes, and its strengths and weaknesses. The next essay is "All the Colours of the Comic Dark: H.P. Lovecraft and the Unrepresentable" by author Xavier Aldana Reyes which looks at the history of Lovecraft adaptations to screen and the difficulties of bringing his work to screens over the years. Next are "Let Me Die a Monster" by Ken Hollings and "So Anyway, Where Have We Got To?" by David McGillivray on the background of their unproduced abstract script focusing on the life and work of Nick Adams. There are also full film credits, special features information, transfer information, acknowledgements, and stills. The film has been released on DVD and Blu-ray by other companies in the past. The 2014 Blu-ray from Shout! Factory in the US was disappointing, having only the incomplete trailer as the sole extra. The German Blu-ray from Wicked Vision Media in 2016 was better, with an exclusive German commentary, and having a number of stills galleries and trailers. Other notable clips: A clip from the film, courtesy of Scream Factory A trailer with added text and narration A coffee commercial with Boris Karloff A CBS News segment on Karloff landing the role of the narrator for "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" in 1966 A trailer for the 2021 documentary "Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster"
Overall
"Die, Monster, Die!" may be a cheap B-grade horror that doesn't do justice to the original source material by Lovecraft, but still has it's B-grade charm with the presence of Karloff and some impressive visuals. The BFI Blu-ray is excellent with a lot of great exclusive extras included. Recommended. Amazon UK link BFI Shop link
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