30/09/2012: Tombs of the Blind Dead (La Noche Del Terror Ciego) [1972]

While perusing my local independent rental store the other day, I happened across a copy of Tombs of the Blind Dead an intriguing Spanish documentary about the handmade mannequin industry in the 70's. The movie follows the story of hard working Bet, as she meets an old friend and decides to take a vacation and head out into the beautiful countryside by train. Along with a dramatic retelling of Bet's life, we get the world's first view inside the mannequin industry that dominated Spain in the 70's.

So, at this point half of you are scratching your heads at how weird and random a movie is and the other half are wondering if I'm insane. Hopefully at least one of you is laughing. Now, while some may think it strange of me to try and sell of this gem of a Spanish horror flick as a documentary of the mannequin industry, I've only stretched things about as far the English release planned to. By that I mean that when Tombs of the Blind Dead was being released in the U.S., it was going to be slightly edited and retitled to sell itself as a sequel to The Planet of the Apes. For those of you with the Blue Underground release, check out the english version's extras and you will find an intro explaining how man defeated the race of super apes 3000 years ago, but they vowed to return and destroy the earth. Titled Revenge from Planet Ape, with the write amount of cutting it might have worked, but who would want that?

In reality Tombs of the Blind Dead is an Spanish horror film written and directed by Amando de Ossorio and the first of his Blind Dead Saga. While not every horror fan has seen it, those that have know that is in fact one of the best, and is considered to be Spain's answer to Night of the Living Dead, although the debate over whether or not the blind dead can be classified as zombies still rages on. Despite that however, there is no question that Ossorio created a very atmospheric and visually stunning masterpiece that will not at all please zombie gore hounds. However, if you are making your way around European horror films of the golden age, you can't miss this masterpiece.

I swear her hair colour only changes to blonde for about 3 scenes.

Tombs of the Blind Dead is set mainly amongst the ruins of a ghost town in Portugal, where a number of people have disturbed the ancient resting place of an order of Templar Knights, who rise from their graves to terrorize those who have disturbed them. The movies story isn't it's strong point, but it isn't terrible either, with the story of an order of Templars who dabbled in the occult and black magic seeking immortality being a very interesting one. The ingenious twist however, is that the zombie-like, undead are blind, having their eyes pecked out as they hung from the gallows. While this isn't something any victim particularly takes advantage of, knowing that if they just stopped and stayed silent they would be safe adds an interesting element to the standard running for their life terror.

When I think of Eurohorror my mind first thinks of Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento, the most famous of Italy's horror masters. Fulci was known for his extreme amounts of blood and gore, as well as his directors vision and Argento was known for his artistry and giallo works. Ossorio leans more towards the latter, focusing on the visuals and cinematography with some heavier bits of blood and gore sprinkled throughout. While the plot might not be this movies strong point, it more than makes up for it with the excitement, visuals, and originality.

The slow motion horse riding has a very creepy undead-like effect.

  The strongest element of Tombs of the Blind Dead is without a doubt what you actually see on the screen. The locales used for shooting this movie are beautiful, from the Spanish countryside, to the crumbling ruins and the movie paints a delicate picture that will be torn apart by the undead who rise from the ruins. The special effects are varying, with the blood and gore looking rather fake during the flashback scene of the Templars sacrificing a virgin. (If this is the opening scene, your watching the re-cut U.S. release) Yet, the blind dead themselves look very well done, if not to far of a stretch from undead apes. Of course, the best looking thing on screen is the beautiful European women, and Tombs of the Blind Dead features a cast full of gorgeous actresses, even if the acting isn't Oscar worthy.

Tombs of the Blind Dead was also one of the earlier horror movies that mixed heavy amounts of blood and gore with scenes of eroticism. While it became very common to see movies that mixed scenes of eroticism  with violent scenes of blood and gore over the next decade, prior to Tombs of the Blind Dead, the balance between the two had always leaned one way or another. Ossorio however mixes the two, particularly during the Templar flashback scene, without ever getting to far into the exploitation side of things where it doesn't make any sense why the sex and nudity is even included. While the blood and violence might churn some stomachs, the gorgeous women are sure to be a welcome distraction.

Ah, yes the mannequins. I'll leave that for you to watch.

Overall Tombs of the Blind Dead is a European horror gem that any fan of the genre should get their hands on.With a great mix of the unique blind dead, artistic direction, and gorgeous women, it has everything a great horror film needs and more. I can't wait to check out the sequel or more of Ossorio's work.

Links:
Tombs of the Blind Dead IMDb