#alien zone

In the first tale, a teacher (Judith Novgrod) fears her home is being invaded by someone... or something. The second involves a serial killer (Burr DeBenning, The Incredible Melting Man) who films his murders. In the third, the best detective from America (Charles Aidman, The Twilight Zone) and Britain (Bernard Fox, Titanic) team up to solve a mystery. Finally, a businessman (Richard Gates) is essentially tortured into becoming an alcoholic.

It's no surprise to learn that the shorts started as The Twilight Zone spec scripts by writer David O'Malley (The Boogens), as the characters of victims of circumstance, before be reworked into the feature. While none of them are outright bad, director Sharron Miller (Cagney & Lacey) struggles to make any stand out. At only 81 minutes, the segments aren’t long enough to develop characters or even much of a story arc.

The House of the Dead has been restored in 2K from the 35mm camera negative for a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack from Vinegar Syndrome. It features reversible artwork, and Vinegar Syndrome has an exclusive embossed slipcover designed by Earl Kessler Jr., limited to 1,500. Special features include a 44-minute audio interview with Miller and a 51-minute audio interview with O'Malley - both of which provide good insight on the film - along with a gallery of behind-the-scenes photos.

Even with its half-baked stories, wooden performances, and out-of-place muzak score, The House of the Dead benefits from the charms of a horror anthology. If you don't like one of the segments, the next one is never far behind. It ends on a fairly strong note, with the final segment being the most reminiscent of The Twilight Zone, and a satisfactory conclusion to the wraparound.

Special features:

Audio interview with director Sharron Miller

Audio interview with writer David O’Malley