Scream Factory unveils the UNIVERSAL HORROR COLLECTION VOLUME 1 (review)

Four of the less appreciated Bela Lugosi/Boris Karloff Universal Pictures collaboartions come to Blu-ray with the UNIVERSAL HORROR COLLECTION VOLUME 1.  In THE BLACK CAT, a honeymooning couple in Hungary are forced to seek shelter with a doctor (Lugosi) in the mansion of a Satan-worshipping architect (Karloff) built over a World War I fort and the bodies of ten thousand men.  In THE RAVEN, a surgeon (Lugosi) enslaves a gangster (Karloff) and forces him to help him attain a young woman at any costs.  In THE INVISIBLE RAY, an eccentric doctor (Karloff) discovers an element a hundred times the power of Radium but his obsession costs him his discovery and his wife causing him to seek deadly, radioactive revenge on those who wronged him.  In BLACK FRIDAY, a doctor (Karloff) transplants the brain of a gangster into the body of his dying friend, but the personality of the gangster emerges to seek revenge on his killers (including Lugosi).

REVIEW LINK: Scream Factory/Shout! Factory (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

UNIVERSAL HORROR COLLECTION VOLUME 1 Blu-ray:

• Disc One - The Black Cat (1934):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by author/film historian Gregory William Mank
• Audio Commentary by author/film historian Steve Haberman
• "Dreams Within A Dream: The Classic Cinema Of Edgar Allan Poe" narrated by Doug Bradley
• "A Good Game - Karloff And Lugosi At Universal Part One: The Black Cat" documentary
• "The Black Cat Contest" vintage footage
• Still Gallery
• Disc Two - The Raven (1935):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by author/film historian Gary D. Rhodes
• Audio Commentary by author/film Historian Steve Haberman
• "A Good Game - Karloff And Lugosi At Universal Part Two: The Raven" documentary
• "Bela Lugosi Reads The Tell-Tale Heart” audio recording
• Still Gallery
• Disc Three - The Invisible Ray (1936):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by authors/film historians Tom Weaver And Randall Larson
• "A Good Game - Karloff And Lugosi At Universal Part Three: The Invisible Ray" documentary
• Re-Release Theatrical Trailer
• Still Gallery
• Disc Four - Black Friday (1940):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by filmmaker/film historian Constantine Nasr
• "A Good Game - Karloff And Lugosi At Universal Part Four: Black Friday" documentary
• Inner Sanctum Mystery Radio Show: “The Tell-Tale Heart” starring Boris Karloff
• Theatrical Trailer
• Still Gallery
• Insert booklet with poster artwork
• Collector's Slipcase