My Review of it.
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TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD(1973)
(Directed by Amando de Ossorio)
Plot: Three friends discover a deserted monastery filled with undead Templar Knights who want their blood. Also known as “The Blind Dead” and “Noche Del terror ciego, La”.
Review:
“Tombs of the Blind Dead” is a Spanish zombie film, although it’s debatable if these are actually zombies(the director refers to them as Mummies). Anyway, it’s developed a cult following and spawned three sequels, which I hear decrease in quality overtime. Anyway, the idea of this movie intrigued me so I decided to check it out. Did it live up to my expectations? Mostly yes.
I do have to warn you. You’ll have the option to watch the Spanish or the English dub version. I don’t care if you don’t like to read, watch the Spanish version. The English version cuts out a lot and rearranges some of the scenes. Basically, the English version is called “The Blind Dead” and the Spanish version is “Noche Del terror ciego”.
The story begins with Betty and Virginia meeting at a hotel resort. They were apparently friends in school, although Virginia doesn’t like talking about it much. Virginia is with Roger, although they aren’t technically a couple. They decide to take a trip to the country via train. Roger seems to be flirting with Betty, much to Virginia’s annoyance, so Virginia leaves them. Betty follows and we learn through an interesting flashback transition using smoke that they had a lesbian love affair. Up until now you presume Virginia loved Roger and that’s why she keeps getting so annoyed, but maybe she’s in love with Betty. Either way, that’s never really explained and Virginia decides to jump off the train. Betty and Roger call out for her but it’s too late.
So Virginia finds the old monastery, which is bound to roll your eyes. Seriously, I didn’t buy Virginia jumping off the train into the middle of nowhere and staying at this old creepy monastery. So once night happens, the undead Templar’s arise and chase her. Does she make it? Well, no. Roger and Betty decide to go look for her. What follows from here is the couple find out about the legend of the monastery, them teaming up with a smuggler who is being accused of Virginia’s murder, and Virginia coming to life in your typical undead fashion.
The first thing I’d like to discuss are the zombies, or mummies. They are completely different than the Romero zombies. Keep in mind, “Dawn of the Dead” hadn’t come out yet and that’s what turned Romero zombies into the typical definition what a zombie is. They are much more skeletal than usual. Their eyes were poked out, which explains their blindness. Despite this, they can ride their apparently undead horses as well as carry swords. Still, they’re very slow moving as well…..well, till they get on their horses. They’re actually very cool, and it’s nice to see a different type of zombie.
But what really sticks out here is the atmosphere. The locations are very gothic, and the graveyard itself is very spooky. The noises add to this, showcasing a haunting ambiance mixed in with the zombies groans. The suspense slowly rises, ended at a shriek. When the undead are around, the tension is severe and I loved that. I also dug the score, even though it isn’t necessarily scary. It simply feels like your typical 70’s Euro-horror score.
Unfortunately, “Tombs of the Blind Dead” is far from perfect. The pacing stumbles pretty heavily in the middle block, where the characters are doing research on *beep* we either already know or don’t really give a *beep* about. There are also some serious gaping plot holes. Why are the horses not undead when the people are? Well, that’s easy, even I wouldn’t know how to make horses appear to be undead, especially in the 1970’s. But with that said, I don’t think 13th century mummies/zombies would have teeth that could pierce flesh, or even have eyes to begin with. Also, what are the rules surrounding them? You think they can only come out at night, but they don’t leave when day comes. Do they only come out when someone visit’s the monastery and they leave when they kill them? Finally, what was with that rape scene? That was immensely pointless.
“Tombs of the Blind Dead” is kind of like “Zombie” in that if you can get past its flaws and admire its strengths, you will enjoy it. I personally enjoyed how fresh this was compared to most films of this genre. It’s fairly original, spooky and has a pretty haunting ending. The ending in itself, with all its absurdity, left quite an impression on me.
The acting is pretty good on all accounts. Lone Fleming(Betty) does good as both the strong woman and the vulnerable woman. Cesar Burner(Roger) was pretty imposing as the lead. Mario Elena Arpon(Virginia) does good in her limited screen time.
Violence: Rated R. The uncut version is pretty gory for it’s time. Some blood, but the real kicker is either is the chopped off arm scene or when a woman is stripped and cut up.
Nudity: Rated R. A few breasts and a backside.
Overall: If you like zombie films, gothic films or foreign horror films, then you should enjoy “Tombs of the Blind Dead”. But even if you’re not a major fan but like atmospheric horror, then I’d also recommend it to you. Sure, it’s not perfect, but what it does right it really does right. It's a gem in a genre where we are lucky even if we get zombie movies of quality like "Burial Ground", which is pretty sad.
3/4 Stars
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