Search - Tower of Evil on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Not For Children Movie Release: 1972 DVD Release: 11/02/1999 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 29 mins Studio: Elite Members Wishing: 2 Genres: Horror, Slasher Film

This gory low-budget British outing involves a team of archaeologists landing on fog-shrouded Snape Island -- recently the site of a hideous double murder -- in search of the tomb of a Phoenician chief and subsequently falling victim to an unseen maniac. Accompanying the shore party is a private detective (Bryant Halliday), hired by the family of the young woman suspected of the crimes (Candace Glendenning), who is determined to get to the bottom of the mysterious murders. Though it is eventually determined that the real killer is still at large, the archaeologists stubbornly refuse to abort their dig...and summarily suffer the consequences. Released originally in 1972, this crass, exploitative potboiler (based on a story by horror author George Baxt) found its way to American theaters in 1981 as Beyond the Fog in an attempt to cash in on John Carpenter's 1980 film. Released later to video and cable as Tower of Evil. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Tower of Evil, an awful movie, isn't much better as a DVD. Picture quality isn't the problem. Even though the disc doesn't use an anamorphic transfer, the image is excellent. Though the film was made in 1972, one would swear by what is presented on the disc that it was made last year. Of course things like costumes and dialogue betray that, but the picture is so good that it meets theatrical print standards. The sound, though only in two-channel Dolby Digital, still comes across fairly well. There is a fair amount of off-camera noise that really could have used separate signals, but it simply isn't the case. Overall, dialogue is clear and distortion-free -- for a film of this age it's hard to ask for more. It's the extras that set this disc aside from some of the other Elite DVD productions; though many titles from this company have a wealth of supplemental materials, this title has nothing more than a trailer. ~ Trent Fordham, All Movie Guide