This “Universal Horror Collection: Volume 1” is one of the all-time great collections Scream! Factory has ever put together.

Shazam! is the most consistently entertaining film Warner Bros has released as part of their DC Extended Universe tales. It’s an enjoyable lark that taps into some pretty sensational giddy juvenile wonders, it’s massive heart overflowing in themes about kindness, responsibility, friendship and family that are nothing short of timeless.

Batman is a great superhero film that features outstanding direction from Tim Burton and superlative performances from Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton. While certainly a product of its era, the film has still withstood the test of time marvelously.

This movie is just a heck of a lot of fun to watch. It’s very entertaining. While the director’s cut that is also included here doesn’t really change anything substantive (the running time for both versions is identical), it is interesting from the standpoint of seeing some of the minor tweaks that had to be made for the film to receive a PG-13 rating.

In typical Hammer fashion the actual climax is a bit sudden (and, in this instance at least, slightly underwhelming), and I can’t say all of the East-meets-West storytelling elements work as comfortably as I frequently wanted them to. None of which makes The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires any less entertaining, discovering this Hammer/Shaw Brothers production a true joy and am glad the folks at Scream! Factory took the time dig this one out of the vaults for all of us to see.

I love Jack Arnold’s Tarantula. It makes me smile. While not exactly up to the high standards set by THEM! or Godzilla, the movie is a smart, well-crafted giant monster yarn that features a handful of engaging performances and one killer titular creature.

The Street Fighter films have stood the test of time for a reason as Sonny Chiba’s magnetic ferocity simply cannot be denied. Shout! Factory’s three-disc set features magnificent presentations of all three motion pictures, and while special features are relatively sparse, what is here is still pretty great. A collection that fans of the series certainly will want to add to their personal libraries.

From this point forward Green Book will always be judged by its Best Picture win at the 91st Academy Awards more than it will be assessed via the weighing of its various strengths and weaknesses.

For fans of classic 1930s and ‘40s horror, The Return of the Vampire is close to essential. It’s a quite entertaining and imaginative riff on both vampire and werewolf legends and features a wonderfully droll star turn by an elegantly magnetic Bela Lugosi.