Nostalgia Kinky

I recently spent a week with Eureka’s very fine Terror in the Fog: The Wallace Krimi at CCC Blu-ray box-set. Originally available as Region 2 locked release, this set is now available as a limited edition unlocked Blu-ray box-set for stateside viewers. As with any collection that covers half a dozen films, the quality of the titles varies, but Eureka’s box set is a beautiful box, packed with incredible extras. Folks seemed to like my recent Shawscope box ranking so I thought I would do that again here. Also, like my Shawscope review, I originally posted these over at my Letterboxd, where this list from best to worst is mirrored over there. I’ve added a small amount of clippings related to each film as well I found. Enjoy.

1. The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle:

Woah, what do we have here?!? While the first film, The Curse of the Yellow Snake, in Eureka’s Terror in the Fog: The Wallace Krimi at CCC Blu-ray set left me feeling quite underwhelmed this second film is one of my absolute top recent discoveries. Directed with an awesome display of skill and cinematic bravado by a guy who is becoming a new favorite Harald Reinl, The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle (1963) is an incredibly stylish and utterly fascinating work that is an exciting watch from the first frame to last. An obvious influence on both the later Italian Gialli of the sixties/seventies and English language slashers of seventies/eighties, The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle is a real trailblazer that predicts famed set-pieces in films as far-ranging as Fellini’s Toby Dammit to Mihalka’s My Bloody Valentine. More than anything else though, Reinl powers a real Proto-Giallo here, which despite being in Black and White, predates so many of the later classic Giallo tropes, some found well into the seventies. It is impressive as hell. Featuring an incredibly innovative and delightfully weird early electronic score by Oskar Sala, evocative moody photography by cinematographer Ernst W. Kalinke and a strong script from the pens of Ladislas Fodor and Gustav Kampendonk, The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle works as a mystery and a black comedy as well as a fine chiller, making it one of the most successful blending of genres I’ve seen in a minute. Editor Walter Wischniewsky’s carefully crafted cutting keeps this Karin Dor led ensemble flying along, nailing the landing at a perfectly realized 89 minutes. Awesome stuff. Tim Lucas discusses the film’s origins and how it connects to the works of Bryan Edgar Wallace in his excellent ten minute introduction to The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle found on Eureka’s new box. It’s another great and expertly researched talk by Tim, whose enthusiasm for the film is well warranted. Speaking of expertly researched, we have two more heavyweights on the commentary, British historians Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby and my goodness what a charming listen this is. Can these two guys please like narrate my life sometime? I laughed a lot during this incredibly warm and informative chat and I’m so glad to hear I wasn’t alone in thinking Martino’s Torso. What a classic this is and what a pleasure it is to discover it via this fine new 2K scan.

2. The Racetrack Murders:

Eureka’s excellent Terror In The Fog : The Wallace Krimi at CCC Blu-ray box-set ends on a surprisingly strong note with the delightful 1964 film The Racetrack Murders. Stylish, exciting, funny, this Bryan Edgar Wallace adaptation is amongst the strongest movies in Eureka’s set as well as being amongst the most purely entertaining. Packed with more memorable characters than an Agatha Christie ensemble, The Racetrack Murders is so much fun, succeeding as a mystery, thriller and dark comedy.

Amongst the most pleasant surprises about The Racetrack Murders is just how much it shows off the growth of director Franz Josef Gottlieb, who seems like a different man behind the camera here compared to his earlier 1963 titles found on Eureka’s set. Gottlieb really comes into his own here, crafting a wonderfully inventive and fascinating film. Add on the fact that Gottlieb write the script as well, making The Racetrack Murders a minor personal and professional triumph.

Stepping away from the Proto-Slasher elements of the earlier works in this Krimi set, The Racetrack Murders is downright sunny with its mostly outdoor daytime setting, set around one back-stabbing moment after another at a horsetrack. Despite the film’s relative brightness, the razor-sharp black white photography by the very awesome Richard Angst is exceptional. The Racetrack Murders is a great looking film.

Like the rest of the film’s found on Eureka’s set, the strong ensemble cast here is amongst the highlights. That said, there is one clear standout performance here and it’s just about the best damn turn on the set. German actress and singer Trude Herr walks in, steals the entire show and then features in one of the most unforgettable endings of the mid-sixties. Playing the absolutely hilarious and sometimes shocking Molly Dobson, Herr is in ferocious form and is absolutely unforgettable.

Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby are on hand for a commentary and Tim Lucas supplies another introduction. The very unorthodox The Racetrack Murders is damn near my favorite film in the set. It’ll finish in the number two spot but wow!

3. The Mad Executioners

Another strong entry in Eureka’s Terror in the Fog: The Wallace Krimi at CCC Blu-ray set, The Mad Executioners didn’t blow me away as much as The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle although I still found much to admire and enjoy. Directed with some real stylish intensity by Edwin Zbonek, this is another evocative Bryan Edgar Wallace adaptation and quite a kick to watch.

Zbonek might be the least well-known filmmaker on this Eureka box, but this 1963 entry features a very strong and confident eye behind the camera. Fresh from his ambitious Man and Beast (1963), Zbonek makes the most out of the opportunity for CCC delivering a finely tuned and quite creepy little thriller.

Packed with a great cast, including the great Maria Perschy who was gearing up to work opposite Montgomery Clift as Freud, moody as hell black and white photography by Richard Angst and another incredibly fun and innovative score by Raimund Rosenberger The Mad Executioners is a wonderfully realized film.

While not as obviously influential as The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle, The Mad Executioners still stands as a great little proto-giallo, with some extremely memorable set pieces throughout. And did I mention wonderfully dreamy fog? Lots and lots of lots of fog. The film looks terrific via Eureka’s new 2K scan and Tim Lucas is on hand for another information packed introduction. We also are treated to another delightful audio commentary from Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby. Great stuff all the way around.

4. The Phantom of Soho

The Phantom of Soho is amongst the most obvious influences on the Italian Gialli, most especially on Dario Argento, and yet I found myself not enjoying this one near as much as the previous films on Eureka’s Terror In The Fog : The Wallace Krimi at CCC Blu-ray box-set. Most of this is due to director Franz Josef Gottlieb, whose work I just find on the clunky side. That said, The Phantom of Soho is still a very enjoyable film again graced by extremely memorable Richard Angst shot B&W cinematography. While visually there is much to admire throughout, including some rather memorably filmed kills, the films I’ve seen by Gottlieb so far just don’t move, making this the most sluggish film on Eureka’s set. This is the one title in the Krimi box forced to utilize a standard definition print but the presentation is still just fine and an English dub is on hand once again. Tim Lucas is back for another near ten minute introduction and Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw deliver another fine commentary. Both supplements are packed with information that highlights the film’s strengths and notes its influence.

5. The Monster of London City

While I greatly enjoyed the first Edwin Zbonek directed title on Eureka’s Terror In The Fog : The Wallace Krimi at CCC, his The Monster of London City (1964) left me pretty cold. While not a bad film, this 1964 Bryan Edgar Wallace adaptation just feels unremarkable and, unlike the other films found on Eureka’s set, a bit cheap. More than anything else, this feels like a retread of The Phantom of Soho, a film that I wasn’t all that crazy about to begin with.

Like the first film on Eureka’s set, The Curse of the Yellow Snake (1963), The Monster of London City is hampered by the relatively weak cinematography of Siegfried Hold. This film is especially effected by Hold’s disappointing black and white photography, making this the most lackluster looking movie found on Eureka’s collection. Cast wise, the film is fine with standout costar Marianne Koch appearing in this the same year she did Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars!

Eureka’s 2K scan is again strong and an English dub is also on hand, along with the original German mono. Tim Lucas supplies another close to ten minute introduction and we have a new team on hand for a commentary track with Kim Newman and Stephen Jones.

6. The Curse of the Yellow Snake

Eureka’s Blu-ray box-set Terror In The Fog: The Wallace Krimi At CCC kick-offs with the 1963 thriller The Curse of the Yellow Snake. Directed and co-written by Austrian filmmaker Franz Josef Gottlieb, adapted from the Edgar Wallace novel The Yellow Snake, this wintry adaptation was amongst their earliest Wallace and son inspired films. Boasting a nice new 2K restoration and supplements by luminaries such as Tim Lucas and Kim Newman, The Curse of the Yellow Snake has been granted a quality HD release from Eureka.

What a wild filmography Franz Josef Gottlieb had. Known later for his sexploitation films starring the likes of Olivia Pascal, Gottlieb had only directed a few titles before this one for CCC. His inexperience shows, as this Wallace adaptation is a pretty lifeless affair in both the directing and writing departments. Gottlieb thankfully improved dramatically behind the camera as the sixties progressed and his experience grew.

What it lacks from its director, The Curse of the Yellow Snake gains in the work from its equally inexperienced cinematography Siegfried Hold, who delivers thoughtful black and white photography throughout. The Raimund Rosenberger composed score, which utilizes some early electronic elements, is also fairly interesting and innovative.

The film’s plot, which concerns some nonsense about a Chinese cult attempting to get back an ancient treasure, is about as dated and stereotypical as imaginable. Worst of all is Swiss actor Pinkas Braun playing the half-Chinese villain, complete with his eyes visibly pulled back in one of the most overtly racist portrayals I’ve encountered in some time. It’s rough. It’s so bad that the highlights of the film are all when Braun doesn’t appear on screen.

The Curse of the Yellow Snake has some really nice and snowy on-location photography in London (interiors were shot in Berlin) and much of the cast is fine but ultimately the film’s weaknesses far outweigh its strengths. Extras are stronger than the film, including Tim’s 12 minute introduction and the commentary from Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw. Eureka’s 2K scan looks just great.

Each film includes options for the original German mono audio or English dubs. Along with the supplements I mentioned above, this collection also features a new interview with Alice Brauner, a video essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and best of all a feature-length chat with Tim Lucas and Stephen Bissette discussing the history of the Krimi and these films. This limited edition also features a beautiful book featuring new writing by Howard Hughes, Barry Forshaw and Holger Haase. Eureka’s excellent and comprehensive beautiful hardshell box with reversable sleeves can be ordered from MVD.

-Jeremy Richey, February 2026-