Review(s): DVD The Blind Dead Collection (Tombs of the Blind Dead/The Ghost Galleon/Return of the Evil Dead/Night of the Seagulls/Amando De Ossorio)
Amando De Ossorio's quartet of Blind Dead films from the 1970s
"The Blind Dead Collection" brings together writer-director Amando de Ossorio's four-part horror masterpiece about the undead Templar Knights, skeletal corpses of corrupt Crusaders who worship Satan (or worse) dressed up in armor, who emerge from their tombs and walk very slowly after their victims. Atmosphere is the key to Ossorio's films and one of the interesting things about these films is that the rules of the game for the Blind Dead seem to change with each one, but that is just part of the fun.
"Tombs of the Blind Dead" ("La Noche del terror ciego") begins 500 years ago when the Templars were sacrificing virgins and drinking their blood. Eventually the locals attacked the Templars, burning out the eyes of the knights before burning them at the stake. Ever since then no one goes near their castle, that is until Virginia White (María Elena Arpón) hops off a train in the middle of nowhere and ends up spending the night there. That night the Templar knights rise (slowly) from their tombs and follow the sounds of Virginia's screams. When Virginia's dead body is found her friends Betty Turner (Lone Fleming) and Roger Whelan (César Burner) go off to investigate the castle, thinking that maybe somebody is using the local tale as a cover for criminal activity. This explains why they drag along local smuggler Pedro Candal (Joseph Thelman) and his girlfriend Maria (María Silva), to investigate the place, which only gives the Templars more victims to pursue. This disc has both the 86 minute dubbed into English version and the original 101 minute Spanish film. What has been cut from "La Noche del terror ciego" is the nudity, a rather chaste lesbian love scene, the bloodier parts of the flashback, and one of the more gratuitous rape scenes of all-time. The edited flashback is actually the prologue for "Tombs of the Blind Dead."
"Return of the Blind Dead" ("El ataque de los muertos sin ojos") is a sequel that stands on its own since the rules are changed, but rather compatible. This second film begins with what happened to the Templars in 1473 when the local villagers got tired ot the knights sacrificing virgins and drinking their blood. Now it is the 500th anniversary of when the Templars were burned at the stake and the villagers are celebrating their victory, including burning Templar manikins at the stake. Barricading themselves inside a hacienda are a small group of people trying to survive, including Jack Marlowe (Tony Kendall), who showed up in town to provide fireworks for the celebration, his old girl friend Vivian (Esther Roy), and the corrupt mayor (Fernando Sancho). The mayor keeps calling the governor for help, but the governor's mistress keeps telling him that everybody in the town is drunk because of the big celebration, so they are on their own. In the dubbed English version the Templars simply rise from their tombs, get on their horses, ride into town, and start slaughtering the locals. However, if you see the slightly longer original version there is a scene where Murdo (José Canalejas), the creepy looking guy in town, makes a blood offering to raise the Templars from the dead. This is the best of the four.
"The Ghost Galleon" ("El buque maldito") from 1974 is the weakest of the quartet, both because of the budget and the idea. A publicity stunt has two models on a boat in the middle of the ocean when a fog shows up that conceals a derelict ship on which there are banished Templars. A rescue party shows up consisting of manly Howard Tucker (Jack Taylor), the lovely Lillian (Maria Perschy), and Professor Grüber (Carolos Lemos), who provides the necessary background on the Templars, to try and rescue Noemi (Bárbara Rey), the model who is still alive. The problem here is that it seems to take forever for the rescuers and the Blind Dead to end up in the same part of the ship, and the final scene will have you scratching your head as to why the Templars were stuck on that ship for several centuries.
"The Night of the Seagulls" ("La Noche de las gavitos") was released in 1975 and begins with another flashback to the Templars ripping the heart out of a bare-chested maiden with a slight twist: the corpse is fed to the crabs. Then we come to the present time where Dr. Henry Stein (Victor Petit) and his wife Joan (Maria Kosti) arrive in a coastal town to set up a practice. But everybody wants them to leave because of its deep dark secret. This time the rules are that for one week during the year the locals have to leave a maiden out for the Templars, otherwise they will get medieval on the town. The Steins try to help rather than flee, and fortunately there is a demon statue that the Templars worship that serves as their Achilles heel and which allows some people to see this final installment as linking to the writings of H.P. Lovecraft (it seems a weak link to me).
The fifth disc has a brief documentary about Ossorio and some rare interview clips. It is not much but apparently that is all there is available out there. But given the affection for these films that is represented by the distinctive packaging for the set you would think there would have been volunteers for some commentary tracks. Having the orignal Spanish versions of the first two films is definitely an advantage over just watching the dubbed English versions. I think those who will like this set enough to add a fifth star are those for whom this is a nostalgic trip down memory lane, but this was my first exposure to the Bind Dead and while I can see the attraction and they are certainly memorable I do not think they are up to the level of being great horror films.
The Blind Dead: An Excellent Horror Series
Amando De Ossorio was a Spanish film director who was responsible for one of the most horrific film series ever made: The Blind Dead. The Blind Dead were a band of horsemen from Hell who were skeletons covered with robes.
These films are most effective because they combine creepy atmosphere with sex/violence in a truly memorable way. They hunt with their hearing since their eyes are all burnt out.
The overall package is very good. The transfers are very good. Blue Underground produced a well designed case art and booklet.
Highly recommended.
Don't Move! They Can Hear Your Fart, er, Heart!
Ah, The Blind Dead films. Every Eurohorror fan has either seen them or heard about them. All four films deal with the cloaked, skeletal zombie/vampires that move about as fast as the line at the DMV, but still manage to get their victims anyway. The films are very atmospheric, stylish and just plain fun. Like the Leprechaun series, the sequels aren't really sequels in the literal sense, but different stories and situations with the same villians. This would account for the differences in their origin and their weaknesses which seem to change film to film. The films look great despite their lack of budget and studio backing. The acting isn't always top notch, but the real stars are the blind dead, and they're always fascinating to watch. I'm not gonna go into a plot synopsis for these films, God knows the other reviewers have already tackled that, and probably more detailed than I would anyway. Once again I have to give thanks to Blue Underground for empathizing with us fans who aren't content with the crap that sits on the shelves of Lackluster Video. All four films look and sound great, and the booklet is a fun read. The fifth disc consists of an interview with Armando De Ossorio and what looks to be a half hour European tv special on Armando. It's a tad disappointing coz both these features combined are only about 36 minutes. But hey, if there were more out there, you know Blue Underground would have found it. My only disappointment would be the price of this set. It's a little steep. I can't think of any 4 movie set worth that much. Since it's a hefty price for a workin' man, I wouldn't suggest purchasing this if you haven't already seen it......unless you're loaded of course. I'd say to try and find a way to rent the films(good luck with that!) or somehow see them before taking the plunge. Plus, if you look around online, you can find this set about twenty bucks cheaper. You'll still be paying a bit, but it's the Blind Dead films, man! The guys at Blue Underground have certainly scored another hit with this one.
Related DVD's The Blind Dead Collection (Tombs of the Blind Dead/The Ghost Galleon/Return of the Evil Dead/Night of the Seagulls/Amando De Ossorio)
Val Lewton's name is synonymous with the subtlest, most mysterious brand of horror filmmaking in Hollywood's golden age, and the nine horror classics he produced at RKO between 1942 and 1946 constitute the most remarkable cycle of creativity in B-movie history. (For the record, the Lewton/RKO legacy also includes two non-horror entries, Youth Runs Wild and Mademoiselle Fifi.)
Before becoming a film producer, the Russian-born Lewton was a prolific writer of pulp fiction, nonfiction, and a couple of pornographic novels. He also worked for years as assistant to David O. Selznick, a legendary producer with a distinctive personal signature--and a flair for grandiosity Lewton himself never emulated. It's ever so revealing that, on Selznick's Gone With the Wind, it was... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Boris Karloff DVD Release Date: Released the 04 October 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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"Hammer Horror Series" presents some of the studios best films from the early sixties period, though they might not be the most familiar to Hammer fans. A few, in fact, might come with baggage attached, but this collection dispells some of that baggage. In particular, Hammer's "Phantom of the Opera" has suffered more abuse over the years than any other of its films. The hard truth is, it's pretty good. The reason it has such a bum reputation might be because most people first saw it on television, which seriously impaired it. In it's proper aspect ratio, and with the extra scenes filmed for American TV left out, it's really pretty good. Not perfect, but pretty good. The biggest liability with the film are the horrendous opera sequences. "Evil of Frankenstein" has similarly been... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Herbert Lom - Heather Sears Director(s): Terence Fisher DVD Release Date: Released the 06 September 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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We (the Eurohorror fans) are already waiting more than a year for this release.Where is it?? I haven't seen the film yet,but according to many this is better than Don't Torture A Duckling. All we can do is wait I suppose :-( Only one star for the waiting...will be more when/if it arrives.... Cheers, "Crystal Plumage" More Info about this DVD Director(s): Lucio Fulci DVD Release Date: Released the 22 February 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I love how they have a special notice in the beginning about how they as the distributors of this movie think this is an incredibly irresponsible and offensive film of the type that should never have been made and should never be made again. But we must promote free speech no matter how vile the voice may be. Then they give some quotes about free speech including Thomas Jefferson.
Yeah, we must remember the past so we will never be doomed to repeat it. This movie is an abomination and we hope a movie like this never gets made again.
So, here's our 2 disc totally uncut special edition complete with director commentary.
You can tell they are truely sincere about this because they state they are have "absolute sincerity"!
Too funny!
More Info about this DVD Director(s): Ruggero Deodato DVD Release Date: Released the 25 October 2005 Special Order
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If like me you are in love with Edwige Fenech this movie is a must have. I love the soundtrack and surreal S&M imagery which Sergio Martino peppers his film with. Like a beautiful dream, hypnotic, sensual lust pumped up massively by the melodious melancholic score, one of my favorites.
NoShame films have given the viewer a magnificent uncut transfer which looks stunning plus extensive special features.
A highly impressive dvd in the same league as the best releases from masters Anchor Bay and Blue Underground.
I for one will be keeping an eye open for future releases from these bright new dvd stars.
10 / 10
More Info about this DVD Director(s): Sergio Martino DVD Release Date: Released the 31 May 2005 Usually ships in 6 to 8 days
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