It's frightening how bad Halloween movies can be

Here are some Halloween titles new to DVD, and while a couple are worth a look, most are pretty dismal.

• "The Man With Nine Lives" (Columbia, 1940, not rated, b/w, $14.94). When Boris Karloff is on the screen, this film is quite watchable, but otherwise it's a pretty goofy story of cryogenics — using ice piled on the patient! Karloff is a scientist who's quite aggressive in proving his theories.

Extras: Full frame, subtitle options (English, French, Japanese), chapters.

• "Torture Garden" (Columbia, 1967, not rated, $14.94). This is one of several Hammer anthologies, here with five fantastic yarns hosted by carnival sideshow barker Burgess Meredith. The best is by far the last, with Peter Cushing and Jack Palance as collectors obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe. Written by Robert Bloch ("Psycho").

Extras: Widescreen, subtitle options (English, French, Japanese), chapters.

• "The New Kids" (Columbia, 1985; R for violence, language; $14.94). James Spader, who is now winning Emmys as a sleazy lawyer on "Boston Legal," plays a teenager terrorizing other teens in this bland thriller. Lori Loughlin and Eric Stoltz co-star; directed by Sean S. Cunningham, best known for "Friday the 13th."

Extras: Widescreen, subtitle options (English, French, Japanese), chapters.

• "Pulse" (Columbia, 1988, PG-13, $14.94). Good special effects give a boost to this ridiculous yarn about killer appliances. If you can get into the premise, you might find some guilty-pleasure fun. Cliff De Young and Roxanne Hart star.

Extras: Widescreen, subtitle options (English, French, Japanese), chapters.

• "Mortuary Academy" (Sony, 1988; R for violence, sex, nudity, language; $14.94). A couple of dumb-and-dumber brothers named Grimm (Christopher Atkins, Perry Lang) must graduate from the title academy (think "Police Academy" with dead bodies) to gain an inheritance. Familiar faces, including Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov, and in the final scene, Cesar Romero (!) don't help.

Extras: Full frame, chapters.

• "Monster High" (Sony, 1989; R for violence, sex, nudity, language; $14.94). This wretched exercise has high school teens saving the world when their school is taken over by mummies, zombies and other creatures, all part of an extraterrestrial plot.

Extras: Widescreen, subtitle options (English, French, Japanese), chapters.