The Film Masters label continues the B-movie double-feature craze with a new Blu-ray release featuring another pair of obscure films in Devil’s Partner (the film title has no “the” next to Devil’s) and Creature from the Haunted Sea. Back in the day, Roger and Gene Corman’s company, Filmgroup, purchased Devil’s Partner be part of a double feature with Creature from the Haunted Sea and now the two films can once again be enjoyed together in high definition!
In Devil’s Partner an old man, Peter Jensen (Ed Nelson, Night of the Blood Beast, Teenage Caveman) sells his soul to the devil, and is transformed into a younger man and goes by the name of Nick Richards. Nick, using the powers of witchcraft and black magic, can turn into a horse and a rattlesnake to kill those he dislikes. As Nick he also is courting Nell (Jean Allison, Edge of Fury) who is the girlfriend of David Simpson (Richard Crane, Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, The Alligator People). Nick slowly tries to kill off David while stealing his girl. Sheriff Tom Fuller (Spencer Carlisle, The Girl in Lovers’ Lane) and Doc Lewis the local doctor (Edgar Buchanan, Shane, The Talk of the Town), are hot on the trail of Nick after several murders take place and putting two and two together.
Creature from the Haunted Sea is a Corman produced and directed low budget comedy, spy crime thriller horror that takes place during the Cuban revolution. A crook Renzo Capetto (Antony Carbone, A Bucket of Blood) has a plan for himself and his followers to get rich. Unbeknownst to him, a secret agent, AK150 (Robert Towne, Last Woman on Earth) has joined the gang to thwart the plans of Renzo. Renzo turns his back on members of his crew, murdering them and blaming the deaths on a fictitious sea creature that turns out to be real. The monster in this movie does look rather ridiculous but because the movie is a spoof to some degree, it works well here.
Much to my surprise, Devil’s Partner and Creature from the Haunted Sea are now on Blu-ray in an attractive, lavish two-disc set, thanks to the great efforts Film Masters. The release is also Region Free, making it even more enticing!
Having been released by Sinister Cinema, Alpha Video and other lesser DVD labels who just release movies without any restoration, Devil’s Partner debuts on Blu-ray is advertised as coming from a new 4k scan from 35mm archival elements and in two aspect ratios, 1.85:1 or 1.37:1. Having never watched the film in widescreen, it was both a revelation and a genuine pleasure to watch and easily preferred seeing the movie in the 1:85:1 aspect ratio. The black and white movie has never looked so good with a lot of details and rich texturing to both the characters and the mostly outdoor countryside scenery. Blacks look nice and inky with clear whites to go with a perfectly balanced greyscale. The widescreen version also allows us to see more of what’s on the left and right side of the frame. Film grain is present throughout the presentation to give the movie a natural, organic appearance. The full-screen version also looks equally splendid, and it just comes down to what your viewing preference is. Outside of some speckling issues, the picture quality for Devil’s Partner is most impressive and will be the holy grail of watching this picture for years to come!
The co-feature on this release, Creature from the Haunted Sea is also advertised as coming from a new 4k scan of 35mm archival elements with supplemental 16mm elements as well. Before the film begins there is a disclaimer about the release and how the quality of the image varies in some places due to the elements. The film can also be watched either in the 1.85:1 or 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with the video quality. For most of the film the characters and scenery appear clear with fine details. Yes, there are a few flaws as explained such as a few blurry or hazy shots, a few areas where black levels were mushy, but despite some shortcomings, this is the best the movie has ever looked. The full screen version of the film is the longer TV cut of the film which looks basically identical and has the same inconsistencies as the widescreen version. Again, it just depends on your preferred way to watch the movie.
On the two Blu-rays, both Devil’s Partner and Creature from the Haunted Sea have both English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 or Dolby Digital 2.0 options. Both options have strong dialogue and action sounds without much difference between the two and sound clear and perfectly balanced. The creepy theremin sounds (they can be heard in The Day the Earth Stood Still and Equinox) by composer Ronald Stein in Devil’s Partner are booming and are as loud as I’ve ever heard. Fred Katz’s score in Creature from the Haunted Sea also sounds perfectly clear and blends in well with the dialogue. English subtitles are available for both pictures.
Film Masters, who have yet to disappoint in the supplemental department for any of their releases, have again hit a home run, offering another bevy of extras for their Blu-ray.
Devil’s Partner has a commentary track with Larry Strothe, James Gonis, Shawn Sheridan, and Matt Weinhold of the Monstery Party Podcast. This enthusiastic commentary talks about the movie in detail and is worth a listen.
Ballyhoo Motion Pictures continues “Hollywood Intruders: The Filmgroup Story” with part three of the story. This is more of the same behind-the-scenes information and is consistent with the first two parts and will be of interest to fans.
There is also a 10-minute interview with Roger Corman on the formation of The Filmgroup.
Recut trailers, based on the original theatrical trailers, for both features are included on the Blu-ray discs.
Creature from the Haunted Sea’s extras include a commentary track with Tom Weaver, Roger Corman, Kinta Zertuche, and Larry Blamire which is a great listen considering the people involved in it. You get both Tom Weaver and Roger Corman in the same commentary which is automatically awesome!
Creature from the Haunted Sea includes a before and after restoration video showing how much effort was made for the movie on this release
There are also recut trailers based on the theatrical trailers for both Devil’s Partner and Creature from the Haunted Sea. There is also a Creature from the Haunted Sea trailerfrom 16mm archival elements, scanned in 4k.
Also included is a booklet with linear notes, which is another standard extra from Film Masters. Tom Weaver also provides the liner notes for Creature from the Haunted Sea while Mark McGee writes the liner notes for Devil’s Partner.
Film Masters has provided another fantastic package for Devil’s Partner and Creature from the Haunted Sea. Both movies look outstanding overall, and with all the supplements on the Blu-ray discs, this is a highly recommended release!
Devil’s Partner / Creature from the Haunted Sea
Director – Charles R. Rondeau / Roger Corman
Cast- Ed Nelson, Edgar Buchanan, Richard Crane, Anthony Carbone, Betsy Jones-Moreland
Country of Origin-USA
Distributor – Film Masters
Number of Discs – 2
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date – 12/29/2023