Monster Mayhem Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

Monster Mayhem Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 3, 2026

As has been discussed in some previous reviews, there are some tethers between the similarly named Film Detective and Film Masters labels for those interested in doing some background research. What that has boiled down to for Blu-ray collectors is a number of re-releases or re-packagings of former Film Detective releases under the Film Masters banner. In that regard, though, this is to my mind the first four film collection of former Film Detective offerings offered as a collection by Film Masters. These are advertised as "newly restored", though any real differences between these presentations and the older ones may be picayune, though these are all encoded via AVC (the older Film Detective releases utilized a variety of codecs, including MPEG-2). A big plus is the porting over of formerly offered supplements, including some really fun commentaries by Tom Weaver (who also contributes a typically cheeky essay in the insert booklet).

This two disc set basically "reorganizes" the prior standalone releases of the four films by Film Detective. Therefore, I'm pointing to the Film Detective releases with the following links for those who need plot information in particular, though those reviews also offer detailed lists of supplements and more in depth reactions to the technical presentations. I'll sum up the technical merits and relist the supplements below for convenience sake.

Disc One

Frankenstein's Daughter Blu-ray review

Giant from the Unknown Blu-ray review

Disc Two

Monster from Green Hell Blu-ray review

The Brain from Planet Arous Blu-ray review

Monster Mayhem Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots 1 and 2 are from Frankenstein's Daughter, screenshots 3 and 4 are from Giant from the Unknown, screenshots 5 and 6 are from Monster from Green Hell, and screenshot 7 and 8 are from The Brain from Planet Arous.

All four films in the Monster Mayhem Collection are presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Masters with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in 1.85:1 (note that previously available alternate 1.33:1 framings are not included here). As mentioned above, the oldest Film Detective releases used a variety of "quaint" codecs, and the encodes here are probably arguably a bit tighter looking, though maybe surprisingly not by huge amounts. That said, as I freely admitted in the original reviews, even the MPEG-2 encode of the old release of Frankenstein's Daughter looked amazingly good, so maybe huge improvements should not be expected in any case. One way or the other, all of the positives I mention in the previous reviews have certainly made it over to this set. I do recommend those interested to peruse the previously published reviews for more detailed reactions to the presentations. For those interested, I've attempted to come close to duplicating some of the frames of the screenshots included in my original reviews so that side by side comparisons can be done.

Monster Mayhem Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Kind of similarly to the lack of the "full frame" presentations on some of the previous Film Detective releases, this set also eliminates the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono options and goes with the previously available DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks. I frankly heard no really discernable differences in the audio presentations here when compared to the older releases. All four tracks are decently intact, though the same thinness and occasional pops and cracks mentioned in previous reviews are extant here as well. Optional English subtitles for both the film and the commentary tracks are available.

Monster Mayhem Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: More information on many of these supplements is available in the above linked reviews of the original Film Detective releases. I do recommend those interested in these films to peruse the previous reviews in any case, as not all of the supplements from those prior releases have been ported over to this set.

Disc One

• Richard E. Cunha: Filmmaker of the Unknown (HD; 36:00)


• Frankenstein's Daughter Commentary with Tom Weaver is accessible under the Setup Menu for that film.


• Giant From the Unknown Commentary with Tom Weaver is accessible under the Setup Menu for that film.


• Giant from the Unknwon Archival commentary with Gary Crutcher is accessible under the Setup Menu for that film.

Disc Two

• Missouri Born: Films of Jim Davis (HD; 14:41)


• The Man Before the Brain: Director Nathan Juran (HD; 13:52)


• The Man Behind the Brain: Director Nathan Juran (HD; 11:42) Justin Humphreys.


• Monster from Green Hell Commentary with Stephen R. Bissette is accessible under the Setup Menu for this film.


• Brain from Planet Arous Commentary with Tom Weaver and 'The Weaver Players' is accessible under the Setup Menu for this film.

Monster Mayhem Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This set may be a budget friendly way to acquire these four fun monster movies from days of yore, though diehard fans may still want to opt for the older releases with the extra supplemental features. Technical merits are generally solid for anyone considering making a purchase.