All Hallows’ Eve always feels like the best time of year to watch a horror movie. I tend to go out of my way to find a variety of films that I’ve been planning to see, but never seemingly got around to. Movie theaters briefly bring back fan favorites for one more communal jump scare to compete with new releases, and this year, Film Masters releases a double dose of “Euro-Kinski” terrors for the spooky season in Creature with the Blue Hand Special Edition!

So, what exactly is a “Euro-Kinski?” It’s a feature film that stars Klaus Kinski that originated in Europe. Through 40 years, the actor has appeared in more than 130 film roles, from 1948 to 1988. In the process, those genres (and languages) would run the gamut, creating a cult following for the filmmaker. Just in time for Halloween, two creepy Kinski classics, newly scanned in 4K from original 35mm archival elements will be available on Oct. 22 in a special two-disc collector’s edition via Blu-ray and DVD formats.

“Everything is possible on this particular night…”

Beginning with Creature with the Blue Hand, Kinski plays not one, but two characters. Based on the 1925 Edgar Wallace novel and released as a long-running series of Rialto Film adaptations, the actor shows his range by employing the evil twin trope with much success.

As Dave Emerson, he’s been sentenced with a guilty murder charge, but found not responsible for his actions. Forced to live in an insane asylum, he knows he’s not mad, but others believe it to be true. After escaping the questionable sanitarium, a succession of bloody sequences points its frightful finger toward Dave as the cold-blooded killer.

Could this be true?

Evading the law, along with his upper-class family, Dave attempts to prove his innocence the hard way and reveal the actual maniacal horrors of his life. Is Dave actually the Big Bad, or is his twin brother, Richard, somehow to blame? Presented in color on Blu-ray for the very first time in North America, Creature with the Blue Hand combines story elements of mystery, crime and horror genres.

“The ravings of a maniac don’t interest me.”

Web of the Spider wraps Kinski into a different type of terror. As a fictionalized ghost story, Edgar Allan Poe (played by Kinski) receives a visit by journalist Alan Foster (Anthony Franciosa) on All Soul’s Eve. Hoping to pull Poe out of his poor mental state and possibly lead to a soon-to-be-released horror story, Foster accepts a bet by Lord Blackwood to stay the night at Providence Castle in order to end that property’s “terrible legend.”

Your mind can surely play tricks on you when you’re all alone, exploring a new place that’s totally desolate. A ghost story at its core, this haunted house plays the setting for a gothic murder mystery, with Alan playing the detective… as well as possible victim on the one night a year these characters actually come to life. Talk about madness, indeed.

“The darkest hour is just before the dawn…”

This horror-themed collection will be released on Blu-ray ($29.99) and DVD (19.95) and will be available to purchase online. Creature With the Blue Hand and The Bloody Dead are presented with an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, while Web of the Spider is presented with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Both discs are region locked to North America and include English SDH. Their audio is DTS-HD/Dolby AC3s.

This collection highlights a variety of featurettes, including bonus film, The Bloody Dead (offered on Blu-ray for the very first time), archival commentary, full-color insert booklet, full-length commentary, original cinematic trailers, recreated trailers and two great Ballyhoo Motion Picture documentaries (“A Man of Mystery: Inside the World of Edgar Wallace” and “Kinski Krimis: Inside the Rialto Film Adaptations”), along with a second bonus film, Castle of Blood.

That’s a whole lot of bang for your buck!

I found it interesting to learn about this one-time household name for writing mystery, thriller, adventure and crime novels, since I didn’t have any previous knowledge about him, beforehand. Watching Wallace’s big-screen adaptations focused the attention on the author, but the documentaries really served the meat of his story. To learn that he directed the first horror “talkie” and to realize Wallace’s understanding of self-promotion way back in the day is something that’s familiar to customers everywhere today were two huge revelations. It’s simply a shame that his fame didn’t survive his death.

Another factoid that I enjoyed getting more information about was the Rialto film troupe. The same group of actors and filmmakers collaborated for the most part in just about every release of the studio, often featuring many of Wallace’s stories for the big screen, which were usually shown in drive-in theaters. Usually filmed with a low budget, their releases were fast and furious. And Kinski was absolutely the breakout star of the bunch. The rest, as they say, is history…

Halloween is right around the corner and this Film Masters release is a really good one to get you into the proper spirit. If Wallace was alive today, I assume he’d have a creepy catchphrase to help promote these films during the spooky season. Instead, I’ll just offer this truth: If you like ghost stories and murder mysteries, you should definitely grab this Blu-ray release!

“We can’t always tell a murderer just by his looks…”