It’s not even October yet, but horror shows for Halloween are already starting to roll out in force. These are all making their DVD debut.

Image Deseret Morning News archives Boris Karloff, with Susanna Foster, is a murderous theater physician in "The Climax." THE BORIS KARLOFF COLLECTION (Universal, 1937-52, not rated, $29.98, three discs). These five enjoyable flicks, starring the venerable Boris Karloff, demonstrate his often underrated range and ability. -"Night Key" (1937, b/w) isn’t a horror film but has Karloff made up to play an aged inventor whose innovative new burglar alarm is stolen by his partner. (Home video debut) -"Tower of London" (1939, b/w) is also not a horror piece, but it’s the best of these films, a period melodrama with murder on its mind, as evil King Richard III (Basil Rathbone) kills those who block his succession to the throne, with aid from his executioner (Karloff). Vincent Price has a supporting role as an ill-fated duke. -"The Climax" (1944, color), Karloff’s first color film, is at its best when it focuses on him as a theater physician who killed an opera star 10 years earlier and may kill again. But the picture weakens when it meanders through a romantic subplot. Echoes of "Phantom of the Opera." -"The Strange Door" (1951, b/w) is the weakest of these but has its moments - with Karloff as a quiet servant who becomes the hero. Charles Laughton is way over the top in the lead role as an insane 18th-century French lord. -"The Black Castle" (1952, b/w) also reduces Karloff to a supporting role as a good guy in another gothic period piece, as a nobleman (Richard Greene) visits the castle of an evil one-eyed count (Stephen McNally) to find out what happened to two friends. Lon Chaney Jr. also shows up. Extras: Full frame, subtitle options (English, French), chapters.

INNER SANCTUM MYSTERIES (Universal, 1943-45, b/w, $29.98, two double-sided discs). These are low-budget B-movie murder mysteries - all starring Lon Chaney Jr. - that took their franchise name from the "Inner Sanctum" radio anthology series. -"Calling Dr. Death" (1943). Did a doctor (Chaney) murder his wife before losing his memory? He undergoes hypnosis to find out. -"Weird Woman" (1944) is, arguably, the best of these, as a college professor (Chaney) marries a voodoo priestess (Ann Gwynne) during a South Seas trip, brings her home and has to contend with a jealous ex-girlfriend (Evelyn Ankers). -"Dead Man’s Eyes" (1944). Did an artist (Chaney) who was blinded by a jealous model really kill his future father-in-law to get his eyes for a transplant operation? -"The Frozen Ghost" (1945). Did a stage hypnotist (Chaney) kill someone while he was under self-hypnosis? -"Strange Confession" (1945). A research scientist (Chaney) is double-crossed by his boss, who releases a drug too early and tragedy results. -"Pillow of Death" (1945). Did a lawyer (Chaney) kill his wife so he could openly romance his secretary? Extras: Full frame, subtitle options (English, French), chapters.

FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY (Universal, 1973, not rated, $19.98). Great cast helps in this lavish, well-mounted - more-faithful, but still-not-fully-faithful - TV adaptation. Michael Sarrazin is the creature, Leonard Whiting the good doctor, with James Mason, Jane Seymour, David McCallum, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson and Agnes Moorehead in support. The videotape release was an abbreviated two-hour version, but this DVD contains the entire two-part miniseries (about three hours without commercials). Extras: Full frame, optional English subtitles, chapters.

LET’S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH (Paramount, 1971, PG-13, $14.99). Atmospheric but slow-moving yarn has Zhora Lampert as a woman recently released from a mental hospital, starting a new life with her husband and a friend at a large country home with farmland. There she repeatedly sees a ghostly woman (Gretchen Corbett) she thinks is just in her imagination, but eventually a nontraditional vampire story develops with no explanations. First half is quite creepy but it wears out its welcome. Visually, it resembles "Carnival of Souls" (1962). Extras: Widescreen, optional English subtitles, chapters.

VOODOO MOON (Anchor Bay, 2005, not rated, $19.98). Five disparate characters come together to get vengeance on a demon that caused them pain and trauma. Better-than-usual, and recognizable, cast helps this one: Charisma Carpenter, Eric Mabius, John Amos, Jeffrey Combs and Dee Wallace (having apparently dropped "Stone" from her last name). Extras: Widescreen, deleted scenes, featurettes, photo gallery, trailer, optional English subtitles, chapters; DVD-ROM applications.

LEFT IN DARKNESS (Anchor Bay, 2006, not rated, $19.98). Mediocre supernatural thriller about a young woman (Monica Keen) who dies and finds herself trapped in a netherworld where she must battle demons and follow clues from dead relatives to achieve redemption. Not rated, but on an R-rated level. Extras: Widescreen, audio commentary, featurettes, trailer, optional English subtitles, chapters.

MASTERS OF HORROR: IMPRINT (Anchor Bay, 2006, not rated, $16.98). According to the box, this one is so over-the-top graphic and difficult to watch that it never aired on Showtime’s "Masters of Horror" series ... though it’s hard to believe there’s anything that Showtime would decline to air. Based on a Japanese novel, it has an American journalist (Billy Drago) in Japan looking for a lost love. On an island inhabited by demons, he is told ghoulish torture stories by a deformed prostitute. Extras: Widescreen, audio commentary, featurettes, photo gallery, trailers, text bio of director Takashi Miike, optional English subtitles, chapters; DVD-ROM applications.