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This collection of 20 movies is called Chilling (not to be confused with the Chilling Classics 50 pack from the same company). It's a random assortment of horror, sci-fi, and action movies.

I almost feel bad for what I'm going to tell you about this set since it was a sort of customer appreciation gift to me from the company. While I appreciate them giving it to me I have to say that this isn't something I would have bought for myself. It's not that there aren't some decent movies here, some of these are classics, however, every movie worth owning is available in other packs with better overall offerings.

A lot of these flicks are so bad I don't recommend seeing them at all, and most of the ones that are decent have quality that is inferior even to other multi-packs from the same company. You'll get movies from the 60's through 1990 with one from the 30's.

These are unrestored and bare-bones. You're getting quantity over quality with these sets. My best recommendation is that if you like the combination of titles offered on this set more than say the 50 Horror Classics pack (which includes the best half of this set plus several other worthy classics of horror) then treat it as a sort of sampler. Check out the movies and watch for better versions of the ones you like without spending much on the ones you don't.

With this set you get 4 single-sided DVD's. Other Mill Creek sets I have put 2 or 3 movies on each side of a DVD and use both sides. This one puts 5 movies on a single side which would explain why the presentation quality is so bad.

Video:

The ratio varies from film to film but is generally the 1.33 TV standard or non-anamorphic widescreen which means the widescreen image (black bars on the top and bottom) is displayed in a 1.33 fram (black bars on the left and right if watching on a widescreen TV). The quality varies a good bit but is generally very poor and even worse than the presentations in other multi-movie packs.

Audio:

The audio also varies but is generally 1.0 mono. The quality isn't great but isn't intolerable.

Packaging:

Each disc comes in a paper sleeve that fits with the others in a plastic case.

There's a movie list with rudimentary info but no details about what you're getting. I'll list and summarize all the movies included for you here, but I've written more details about each one in their own reviews.

A couple of things to note about multi-packs from this company. First, they have been known to have logos pop up during the movies. I have been assured by the president of the company (ooohh, aren't I important?) that they have ceased this practice, and I didn't notice that happening with this one. Second, the movies contained in their packs sometimes change (rights issues and other things), but I've only seen this listing for this particular set.

Extras:

There are no extras of any kind in this set.

Movies:

Here's a list of all the movies included in alphabetical rather than presentation order. More in-depth reviews are available for each one as well as guides to other DVD versions.

-Astral Factor: A criminal with supernatural powers faces off against a cop with an attitude. It has an X-Files feel to the story and might be almost interesting if the production values weren't so horrible.

-Attack Of The Monsters: A couple of Japanese boys are abducted by aliens. The giant monster turtle / superhero Gamera is coming to the rescue, but he will have to fight off some other giant monsters first. This one is too childish for me, and that comes from someone who still loves watching cartoons.

-Blood Tide: An ancient sea monster plagues an island village where an American woman has supernatural ties to the creature's last virgin sacrifice from many years ago. This one is almost interesting thanks in large part to James Earl Jones, but it forgets that a monster movie is supposed to have a monster in it.

-Cosmos War Of The Planets: A sci-fi hero is sent to investigate an alien signal disrupting communications on Earth. He finds that robots have enslaved a society of telepaths that plan to force the hero to help them whether he wants to or not even though he already planned to anyway. This is a goofy sci fi that's not really worth the time.

-Creature From The Haunted Sea: This is a Roger Corman horror comedy that some consider to be a classic. It's about a gangster who plans to rip off his partners in crime under the cover of an attacking sea monster only to have the real monster show up on the scene at that exact moment. While it does deliver some laughs I found this one boring.

-Dementia 13: Francis Ford Coppola's first major directorial offering is about the estate of a wealthy, insane woman being haunted by her long-dead daughter. All of her family members put up with her so they will get a decent inheritance, but someone there is resorting to murder. It's a pretty good old horror flick.

-The Galaxy Invader: Hillbillies get their hands on an alien artifact and decide they want to capture the alien itself. It has all the production values of a guy making a film with his mom's camcorder.

-Gammera The Invincible: This is the original Gamera movie retooled for American release. Gamera is awakened by a nuclear explosion and proceeds to wreck Tokyo. It's not awful, but I would prefer the original movie to this version.

-House On Haunted Hill: Loren and his wife are throwing a party in a haunted house. As people start dying and vanishing sinister plots of ghosts and men come to light. This is a personal favorite of mine and a fantastic old flick starring Vincent Price.

-Laser Mission: Brandon Lee plays action hero as he dodges bullets to save a scientist who can build laser weapons. There's nothing to this one beyond mindless explosions and some barely passable comedy.

-The Last Man On Earth: This is the Vincent Price version of the I Am Legend story. He alone survives in a world that has become a den of monsters, but his universe is about to be turned upside down again.

-The Little Shop Of Horrors: This is another Roger Corman horror comedy. It's about a bumbling boy who discovers a strange plant that could make him famous, but the plant survives on blood needing more and more as it grows.

-Maniac: This one is an early example of shock-value cinema with violence and nudity not often found in movies of this era. The assistant of a mad scientist accidentally kills his employer. Trying to hide the misdeed long enough to find a way to bring the doc. back to life, the former thespian takes on the role of the doctor and goes insane with the pressures of keeping up the ruse.

-Moon Of The Wolf: A small town sheriff hunts down a killer as he slowly comes to the realization that he's dealing with a werewolf. This one is better than I expected for such an obscure low-budget offering.

-Night Of The Living Dead: This is the Romero classic about a group of people trying to survive an onslaught of walking corpses. This one is truly a classic.

-Phantom From 10000 Leagues: This one centers around an oceanography lab. There's a beam of radiation shooting up from the sea floor and a sea serpent that looks an awful lot like a guy in a goofy mask guarding it. Corpses and rowboats are washing ashore on a regular basis, scorched by radiation. An FBI agent and a scientist try to figure out what's going on and who's behind it all. It verges on being interesting but never quite nails it.

-Snowbeast: A savage creature is killing people at a a ski resort deep in the mountains. The survivors must decide if they have the courage to hunt down the beast or if hiding is the better option. While not terrible this one is unremarkable.

-The Terror: An officer separated from his regiment happens across a beautiful but mysterious girl he's certain needs his help. He begins an investigation into the dark secrets of a nearby castle run by a reclusive, old Baron. A pretty good ghost story for the most part this one doesn't quite deliver as well as I'd hoped in the end. It's one of the few Roger Corman movies I like. Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson star.

-They Came From Beyond Space: Aliens come to Earth and begin taking over the bodies of the people they encounter. Only a single scientist is immune and stands a chance of stopping the invasion. This one is so bad it's comical.

-Tormented: The ex of a husband-to-be shows up before the wedding to blackmail him. When he lets her die her ghost comes back to make his life miserable. How far will he go to protect his secret of what has transpired? It's a fairly good old ghost story.

Other Editions:

There are no other editions.

Final Thoughts:

You can get this set for extraordinarily cheap which means your cost per movie is ridiculously low, however you get what you pay for. A lot of these movies I recommend only to people who love to laugh at how bad movies can be. The ones that are worth seeing are often presented in almost intolerably bad quality. You can do better with other sets.