The Screaming Skull/Attack of the Giant Leeches - Drive-In Discs Vol.1

Rating:
Summary: Closest thing to a real drive-in experience
Review: Long live Distort-O! What a fun concept. Turn off the lights, it's easy to picture yourself in a drive-in. In addition to the "low-fi" sound of the movie, you also get ambient noises like cars coming & going, people talking, etc. As for the movies, they're standard drive-in flicks. Low budget, bad acting, cheesy effects...the works. But you already know what you're getting into if you pay to see a movie called "Attack of the Giant Leeches." No fan of 50's cheese can do without this technically impressive double feature.

Rating:
Summary: This is DVD? "The Screaming Skull" deserves better.
Review: Look, I know that "The Screaming Skull" is no "Citizen Kane." It's an atmospheric cheapie that has endeared itself to me primarily through my vivid memories of Saturday afternoon TV. But that's no excuse for the cruddy treatment it receives on this well-packaged but technically and--yes--artistically abysmal DVD. I compared the disc with an old VHS copy and noted the following: missing shots, entire chunks of missing dialogue, bad splices, letterboxing (!) that crops and cramps the image, a generally dark and muddy transfer, and a phony digital end title card. This is DVD? Some of the cuts actually make hash of the plot. For example, a character screams in terror when she sees a macabre painting. But since the DVD omits the shots of the painting, her screaming makes no sense. Subsequent dialogue about the painting is jettisoned as well. So when the painting suddenly appears in a later scene, a crucial plot twist can register only as a confusing "huh?" Other omissions completely undermine the relationship between two of the movie's characters. On the basis of this disc, it's no wonder that people think so little of this movie. If Elite Entertainment couldn't be bothered to find an adequate print of the movie, why bother with all the "drive-in" extras? "The Screaming Skull" is a frequently creepy (and, okay, occasionally funny) movie that deserves more than its role here as the peg on which to hang a marketing concept. Look for it on VHS. Avoid this disc.

Rating:
Summary: This is DVD? "The Screaming Skull" deserves better.
Review: Look, I know that "The Screaming Skull" is no "Citizen Kane." It's an atmospheric cheapie that has endeared itself to me primarily through my vivid memories of Saturday afternoon TV. But that's no excuse for the cruddy treatment it receives on this well-packaged but technically and--yes--artistically abysmal DVD. I compared the disc with an old VHS copy and noted the following: missing shots, entire chunks of missing dialogue, bad splices, letterboxing (!) that crops and cramps the image, a generally dark and muddy transfer, and a phony digital end title card. This is DVD? Some of the cuts actually make hash of the plot. For example, a character screams in terror when she sees a macabre painting. But since the DVD omits the shots of the painting, her screaming makes no sense. Subsequent dialogue about the painting is jettisoned as well. So when the painting suddenly appears in a later scene, a crucial plot twist can register only as a confusing "huh?" Other omissions completely undermine the relationship between two of the movie's characters. On the basis of this disc, it's no wonder that people think so little of this movie. If Elite Entertainment couldn't be bothered to find an adequate print of the movie, why bother with all the "drive-in" extras? "The Screaming Skull" is a frequently creepy (and, okay, occasionally funny) movie that deserves more than its role here as the peg on which to hang a marketing concept. Look for it on VHS. Avoid this disc.

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly worthwhile!
Review: My wife insisted we buy this, and I really had my doubts. I was, however, pleasantly surprised! This is one of the most enjoyable discs we've bought. While the movies are hardly the best, the overall experience makes this disc a great buy. The ads, intermission, and "Let's All Go to the Lobby" are worth the price of the DVD alone. Throw in the goofy movies, the Distort-O! Sound, and the drive-in background noise, and you've got yourself a great disc. This makes for a fun family night in front of the TV. While some of the content may be too much for younger kids, my ten year old son loved both movies and the extras. We're eagerly awaiting Volume 2!

Rating:
Summary: Great Dated Movie
Review: The movie "Attack of the Giant Leeches" is a great movie even considering the dated material and the low budget. Even with these shortcomings it is entertaining in todays standards. The acting is good,the direction has flair and the setting is truly spooky. The highlight of the film is the part of Miss Vickers she is truly sexy even by today's standards and it is easily understood why Miss Vickers has developed a cult folling from this film.
The second feature is also well done again considering the budget limitations. I would highly recommend this DVD to any Sci-Fi or horror movie lover.

Rating:
Summary: A "Fun" idea
Review: To begin with-neither of these movies are especially good, although "Giant Leeches" is the more entertaining of the two. The fun is found in the "Drive-In" experience. The Distorto sound is a pretty good gimmick, and the videos themselves are reproduced in a fuzzy, slightly distorted manner, appearing on your tv pretty much the way they would at a drive in theater. I suppose nice crisp B&W would be more appealing-but hey-this is supposed to be a drive in movie experience--and if you've ever seen a drive in movie with great sound or crisp video-I'd like to know where!!!The extras are all fun in a nostalgic way- but could easily become a bore if all movies were presented this way. So take this for what it's meant to be--two rather poor movies, presented with poor sound (optional) and poor video transfer-just like a real drive in without the dirty restrooms!

Rating:
Summary: A "Fun" idea
Review: To begin with-neither of these movies are especially good, although "Giant Leeches" is the more entertaining of the two. The fun is found in the "Drive-In" experience. The Distorto sound is a pretty good gimmick, and the videos themselves are reproduced in a fuzzy, slightly distorted manner, appearing on your tv pretty much the way they would at a drive in theater. I suppose nice crisp B&W would be more appealing-but hey-this is supposed to be a drive in movie experience--and if you've ever seen a drive in movie with great sound or crisp video-I'd like to know where!!!The extras are all fun in a nostalgic way- but could easily become a bore if all movies were presented this way. So take this for what it's meant to be--two rather poor movies, presented with poor sound (optional) and poor video transfer-just like a real drive in without the dirty restrooms!

Rating:
Summary: A "Fun" idea
Review: To begin with-neither of these movies are especially good, although "Giant Leeches" is the more entertaining of the two. The fun is found in the "Drive-In" experience. The Distorto sound is a pretty good gimmick, and the videos themselves are reproduced in a fuzzy, slightly distorted manner, appearing on your tv pretty much the way they would at a drive in theater. I suppose nice crisp B&W would be more appealing-but hey-this is supposed to be a drive in movie experience--and if you've ever seen a drive in movie with great sound or crisp video-I'd like to know where!!!The extras are all fun in a nostalgic way- but could easily become a bore if all movies were presented this way. So take this for what it's meant to be--two rather poor movies, presented with poor sound (optional) and poor video transfer-just like a real drive in without the dirty restrooms!

Rating:
Summary: Very poor transfers of classic 50's B-fliks!
Review: Well, I was extremely disappointed in this "drive-in" compilation. I own both Attack of the Giant Leeches and The Screaming Skull on video, and they're much better than what I found on this DVD. Perhaps I've become jaded, but I expect great digital work from Elite Entertainment, and I just didn't find it here. The "extras" are fun--all that schlocky drive-in stuff from the 50's. But my "fun" soon took a nose dive when I started watching the films themselves. Attack is muddy, blurry, and murky. Plus, where was the letter-boxing? The title card read "ack of the ant Leeches!" Very poorly done. As for Screaming Skull, well the print was terrible, just awful. And, as one reviewer said, there were huge chunks missing--bad enough the plot was crazy, but with these inexplicable cuts, how can anyone sane tell what's going on? Really, this has turned me off to getting any more Drive-In Classics from Elite. The recently-remastered "The Head That Would Not Die" looks like Citizen Kane by comparison. How would I rate this? How about "give me my money back?"

Rating:
Summary: Very poor transfers of classic 50's B-fliks!
Review: Well, I was extremely disappointed in this "drive-in" compilation. I own both Attack of the Giant Leeches and The Screaming Skull on video, and they're much better than what I found on this DVD. Perhaps I've become jaded, but I expect great digital work from Elite Entertainment, and I just didn't find it here. The "extras" are fun--all that schlocky drive-in stuff from the 50's. But my "fun" soon took a nose dive when I started watching the films themselves. Attack is muddy, blurry, and murky. Plus, where was the letter-boxing? The title card read "ack of the ant Leeches!" Very poorly done. As for Screaming Skull, well the print was terrible, just awful. And, as one reviewer said, there were huge chunks missing--bad enough the plot was crazy, but with these inexplicable cuts, how can anyone sane tell what's going on? Really, this has turned me off to getting any more Drive-In Classics from Elite. The recently-remastered "The Head That Would Not Die" looks like Citizen Kane by comparison. How would I rate this? How about "give me my money back?"