The two sides of Roger Corman are represented with The Terror (1963) and The Little Shop of Horrors (1960).

Corman’s Gothic, spooky side is on display in The Terror, an atmospheric horror tale of a French soldier whose encounter with a ghostly woman leads him to a mysterious castle full of dark secrets. The pairing of a youthful Jack Nicholson as the soldier and veteran Boris Karloff as the castle’s owner make The Terror a memorable example of Corman’s mid-sixties Goth period. Though Corman is credited as director, several others took a turn behind the camera, including Nicholson himself, Monte Hellman, and Francis Ford Coppola.

Meanwhile, Corman’s more whimsical side is on display in The Little Shop of Horrors. This legendary cult film features a bumbling florist’s assistant who creates a giant plant that happens to crave human blood. The usual Corman stock company is on hand, including Jonathan Haze and Dick Miller, plus a cameo by Nicholson as a dental patient with a high threshold for pain.

For thoughts on The Terror (1963) and The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/ZKxNTPdeCv4?si=mkMN-GlJLLUl2DvN&t=60]

Video Quality

The Terror and The Little Shop of Horrors arrive on Blu-Ray debut thanks to Film Masters with brand new 1080p masters in both their original aspect ratios. The Terror is noted as being derived from an HD restoration from 35mm archival materials while The Little Shop of Horrors comes from an HD print. While The Terror is the more impressive of the two, both transfers hold up decently to look better than they ever have, especially considering the down-and-dirty nature of these Roger Corman productions. These two releases are pretty similar to one another and will be discussed as a pair with any meaningful differences pointed out.

The color photography stands out in high definition with natural grain intact. The grain field seems less refined in The Little Shop of Horrors, but both transfers are resolved without major issues. There are thankfully very few moments where anything appears clumpy or unnatural. The hues are saturated pretty well with not much fluctuation in the temperature. Print damage remains but has been tidied up considerably with these presentations, with only intermittent nicks and scratches making their way through the restoration process. Once again, The Little Shop of Horrors shows off its limitations where it has not been afforded a restoration.

There is a fine amount of detail present with some texture on the costumes and within the impressive locations that serve as the setting. The contrast is fairly firm across the board, but the tracks do experience fleeting moments of density fluctuation and clarity in the print. Black levels are passable with no inexcusable occurrences of black crush or compression artifacts. There are moments during The Little Shop of Horrors when you will notice the fine detail cannot match The Terror, but it is not a lacking transfer by any means. These films are not the best from Film Masters to date, but they do a good enough job with this outing.

Audio Quality

These two films come with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mono track that represents these stories perfectly well. Dialogue and background noises stay balanced with competing elements. The artistic intention of both of these tracks is preserved with each outing. These tracks do emanate with a minor amount of age-related wear and tear including some light crackles that likely date back to the source elements. Film Masters has done their best to provide the most consistent track possible for these. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for all feature films and commentary tracks.

Special Features

The Terror (1963)

Audio Commentary: Film Historians C. Courtney Joyner and Dr. Steve Haberman provide a very informative commentary track in which they discuss the history of the film, the direction of Roger Corman, the troubles during production, the location shooting, the special effects of the picture, the background of the creative figures involved, how this film fits into the period in which it was released, and more.

Ghosts In The Machine – Art & Artifice in Roger Corman’s Celluloid Castle Visual Essay: A terrific 44-minute visual essay is provided here that gives background to Roger Corman’s early filmmaking prowess on shoestring budgets, his run of Edgar Allan Poe tales, the troubled production of The Terror, and more.

Trailer: The two-minute 2023 Re-Cut Trailer is provided for The Terror.

Booklet: A multi-page booklet is provided featuring writing from Courtney C. Joyner and Mark McGee.

Little Shop Of Horrors

Audio Commentary: Film Scholar Justin Humphreys and star Jonathan Haze provide a welcome commentary track in which they discuss the production history of the film, Roger Corman repurposing the shooting location from other films, the aesthetic of the film, the background of the creative figures involved, how Haze got his entire friend group hired onto the production, the film’s legacy and more.

Hollywood Intruders: The Filmgroup Story – Part Two: A great 17-minute continuation of the documentary that started on the Beast From Haunted Cave Blu-Ray release that takes a closer look at the output of Filmgroup by Roger and Gene Corman, the importance of artwork to the success of their films, their place in the Hollywood system, and much more.

Trailer: The disc provides the minute-and-a-half 2023 Re-Cut Trailer for Little Shop of Horrors.

Final Thoughts

The Terror and Little Shop of Horrors are two movies from Roger Corman that showcase his range with different levels of quality. The Terror is a very atmospheric, engaging narrative that just so happens to be nearly inscrutable and plagued by production woes. Something went a bit awry in the composition of the film which makes it a fascinating misfire. Little Shop of Horrors is much more consistent and would be our choice as the star of this set. It is a different animal from the musical remake that has overtaken in popularity, but this original version has a lot going for it. Film Masters has released a Blu-Ray featuring a fine A/V presentation and a few enjoyable special features. While not perfect, both of these films look the best they ever have on physical media. Recommended

The Terror and Little Shop of Horrors will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD on December 12, 2023.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Film Masters has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.