Wow. Kudos right off the start to Universal for this outstanding box set. Not only do consumers get 14 (!) separate classic Universal monster movies, but three incredibly cool busts of the featured creatures. What more could any DVD fan want?

Each of the monsters films (Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, Dracula) are housed in their own separate cases. Frankenstein and Dracula get 5 movies a piece with Wolfman fans getting treated to 4. Each set is housed on 2 discs, one with graphics on top, the other double-sided. Note the packaging shows each disc with artwork on the top. The Wolfman set is contained on the back of the box, the others on the side. A clear plastic lets owners look at the individual DVD's when they are in the box.

The front of the box holds the busts of the monsters. Created by Sideshow Collectibles, these are not only heavy but surprisngly well made. Made of rock-solid polystone and hand painted, these are gorgeous collectible pieces. A mix of tape and wires holds them in place. A marble-looking styrofoam serves as their backdrop. The entire set weighs somewhere in the area of 10 pounds, so be careful when picking this one up for the first time.

The discs are housed in a flimsy cardboard sleeve with a clear pastic front. Some artwork has been added to the plastic with lightning and other things like castles for effect. Pulling out the actual case from the sleeve reveals a super-thick hardcover book-like package. The discs rest on a hard plastic that prevents the disc from coming loose. Each individual set also comes with a sheet listing the films included. There is an annoying "Made in Mexico" sticker on the outer sleeve that can't be removed without ruining the package. Worse yet, the stupid sticker covers up the specs of the movies. The one sticker on the bottom of the box wasn't enough?

I'm not going to sit here and review 14 different films, but a quick preview reveals some great looking transfers and clear Dolby 2.0 sound. Doing some research reveals that only Bride of Frankenstein has been cleaned up from the original (and out of print) DVD release. A few of these films are now available for the first time on the format including a critical favorite Spanish version of Dracula. A complete list of the films follows.