A Study in Terror Blu-ray Review

Here are two facts about me that you probably didn't already know:

1. I'm a big fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories.

2. I've always been fascinated with Jack the Ripper.

So, with that being said, I guess you can say I was looking forward to watching the underrated 1965 British thriller A Study in Terror, which was recently released on Blu-ray from Mill Creek Entertainment.

Directed by James Hill, the film stars John Neville and Donald Houston as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, the famous England Detective Duo who find themselves on the hunt for a madman, a.k.a Jack the Ripper!

With Scotland Yard baffled by the horrifying murders of several prostitutes, Sherlock makes it his personal quest to unravel the mystery after a strange package arrives at his Baker Street home. While Dr. Watson would prefer not to get tangled up in Jack the Ripper's legacy, he tags along with Sherlock through the dark alleys of nineteenth century London, where they stumble upon a world of aristocracy, blackmail, and terror!

Final Thoughts

Back in the 1990s, AMC was commercial-free and the cable channel actually aired "classic movies," including old-school horror flicks. This is where I fell in love with the Hammer Film horror movies of the 1960s and 1970s. While A Study in Terror isn't "Hammer" related, it's still a British film with a similar Gothic touch. I recall watching it for the first time on AMC around Hallowee when I was a teenager. I liked it then and I still like it today!

Like many horror movies of the 1960s, A Study in Terror wasn't well received by mainstream critics in 1965, however, over time it has received a small cult following. Film Fact: Dame Judi Dench ("M" from the James Bond films) has a small role as Sally Young.

The film transfer on the Blu-ray isn't exactly perfect, but it didn't bother me a bit, as I'm just glad the movie got released in 1080p High Definition Widescreen to begin with. For those of you who are probably curious about the sound, well, the audio is in uncompressed PCM 2.O.

Overall, A Study in Terror is an entertaining horror-thriller that deserves to find new life through this Blu-ray release. The only real downside I found with the Blu-ray is the lack of special features, which they're are none! Nevertheless, I'm still in love with the Blu-ray and I do recommend it to other Sherlock Holmes fans, as well as horror fans in general.