Thriller: The Complete Series

Hosted by Boris Karloff, this television anthology from the early 1960s began as a mix of Alfred Hitchcock PresentsReviews - TV and Naked City, favoring psychological dramas and crime stories over tales of terror. But this approach only lasted for a dozen or so episodes before giving way to supernatural stories, classic horror yarns, and Twilight Zone–style tales of the fantastic, adapting works from such authors as Edgar Allan Poe, August Derleth, Cornell Woolrich, and Robert Bloch, whose “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper” (directed by Ray Milland) is one of the highlights. Karloff himself appears in a few shows, playing a mind reader in “The Prediction” who is suddenly blessed—or cursed—with the ability to actually see the future. But the jewel in the crown is “Pigeons From Hell,” an adaptation of a Robert E. Howard short story of a haunted mansion and a voodoo curse—one of the eeriest horror stories ever filmed for television. Presenting all 67 episodes, DVD extras include select audio commentaries (by producers, stars, horror experts, and aficionados), isolated scores spotlighting the music of composer Jerry Goldsmith and others, and stills galleries. Although less well known than either The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits, Thriller is a minor classic of its era that Stephen King cited as his favorite TV horror show of all time. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)