The Grindhouse Double Shock Show: The Brain Machine/Astral Fiend

"Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's film Grindhouse may not have done especially well at the box office, but it did introduce the word ""Grindhouse"" to a new generation of movie fans, and this double feature disc from Alpha Home Entertainment offers two mid-Seventies sci-fi thrillers that reflect the more benign end of the 70's exploitation spectrum. Both The Brain Machine (aka Mind Warp and Grey Matter) and The Astral Fiend (aka Invisible Strangler and The Astral Factor) have both been transferred to disc in the full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The prints used as source materials have clearly seen better days, and the slightly muddy resolution and washed-out color suggests these discs were prepared using older video masters rather than creating new transfers from film elements. The audio for both movies has been mastered in Dolby Digital Stereo, though the mixes are stubbornly monophonic throughout; the sound quality is good enough, but nothing out of the ordinary. The dialogue for both features is in English, with no subtitles or multiple language options included. As a bonus, this disc includes trailers for fifteen other titles available from Alpha, most recent shot-on-video projects though some vintage Ted V. Mikels previews also make the cut. Given the less than impressive quality of both the movies and the disc presentation, this is only recommended to die-hard fans of Seventies sci-fi, though at very least it's budget priced so it won't break anyone's budget."