Search - Horror Classics 07: Corpse Vanishes/The Devil Bat on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 6/22/2024...

The Corpse Vanishes - Not the best from Bela Lugosi!

Bela never looked better!

08/17/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I must admit, I was sweating bullets when I brought this DVD home, I was convinced that there would be something wrong with it, either bad audio, bad video or both. I have both of these films on the digitally remastered versions of the "Bela Lugosi Collection" VHS tapes whose manufacturers name escapes me at the moment. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the picture and sound. And after seeing this DVD, I think it looks even better than the tapes, as well it should! No extras though, I was never big into the "extras" anyway, besides you can't expect many with films like these, but I still love 'em! My hat is off to the Roan Group...I know they've released quite a number of these films on DVD that the bigger studios won't touch, and I've passed them up a number of times, until now. So take my word for it, If you've held off on this DVD waiting for some sucker to "jump in" and write a crappy review, I hate to disappoint you. This is a pleasant surprise. So come on in, Bela fans, the water's fine!"

Lugosi's best Poverty Row films on one disc!

A. Gammill | West Point, MS United States | 04/06/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, you know whether or not these are "your" type of movies. They're cheap, short and have Bela Lugosi just as his star was beginning to fade. THE CORPSE VANISHES is a typical Mongram 40's programmer, but Bela's really pretty good in it. The real attraction here is THE DEVIL BAT. An unexpected dose of humor is sprinkled throughout the macabre events. Lugosi is perfect as Dr. Carruthers, fiendlishly plotting deaths with his giant mutated bats. And surely no other film in history has used shaving lotion for such a sinister purpose! Naturally, one wishes for more supplemental materials. But the picture quality (and for the most part, the sound) is up to the usual Roan standard of excellence. There are several other povery row Lugosi films available from Roan (The Invisible Ghost, Bowery at Midnight, etc.) but if you only buy ONE, this is the one to get."

Corpse and a Bat

Ned | Eldersburg, Maryland United States | 05/26/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In the Devil Bat, Dr. Carruthers (played by Bela Lugosi) raises oversize bats that are enlarged by a special electrical machine. When the company he works for becomes rich because of the perfumes and colognes he has developed, he seeks revenge with these large bats that he has trained to "hate" a particular shaving cologne. His revenge is against his employer and family but a reporter puts together the bats and cologne and douses it on Carruthers. One of the last scenes is a giant bat going after Carruthers.In The Corpse Vanishes, Dr. Lorenz (played by Bela Lugosi) keeps his wife young by kidnapping young females brides and extracting glandular fluid from them and then uses the fluid for his wife. He does this by kidnapping young brides, using a special orchid that puts them in suspended animation. He keeps the brides in an underground vault until their "fluids" run out.The Devil Bat and The Corpse Vanishes are not Bela's best work but I think most Bela Lugosi fans will enjoy these two.The quality of the pictures on the DVD are not crisp - but there are times where some of the old movies need a little less quality to give them their flair."