Horror Rises from the Tomb

Horror Rises from the Tomb

1972

Director- Carlos Aured

Cast- Paul Naschy, Emma Cohen, Helga Liné, Víctor Alcázar, Cristina Suriani, Betsabé Ruiz

From Spain

            

       This movie has one of the best titles ever. It’s cheesey and scary at the same time, which sort of sums up this movie. This film is also the best (or worst, depending on your view) example of the Spanish exploitation horror films of the 1970s. First, there is lots of unnecessary nudity and when the beautiful girls (of which there are many) aren’t naked, they are wearing pointlessly revealing outfits. Second, the gore is bright red and very little is left off screen to the imagination. And third, there are very few rules as to how the story should play out. One minute it’s a ghost story and the next it’s a zombie siege. In short, this movie is very entertaining.

            

       The story begins in the middle ages with the execution of two evil aristocrats; Alaric de Marnac and his mistress, Mabille De Lancré. They are accused of many things; witchcraft, vampirism, lycanthropy, cannibalism and devil worship. Before dying, they place a curse upon their killers and vow to return.

            

       Fast forward a few hundred years where a group of friends (through a plot device too convoluted to get into) are staying at the ancestral home of a decedent of Alaric de Marnac. Alaric’s spirit begins to influence people, driving some to murder and possessing another. Eventually, both de Marnac and his mistress are brought back to life and they wreak havoc both by summoning a crowd of zombies to assault the protagonists and also by seducing and killing the locals.

            

       Horror great Paul Naschy pulls double duty both as a hapless victim (and descendant of de Marnac) and as Alaric de Marnac himself.  The make-up job is good. Naschy looks particularly satanic with his black hair and pointed beard. It’s a nice change of pace from his usual role, the protagonist werewolf, Waldemar Daninsky.

            

      Most of the cast members appeared in several other Spanish horror films of the era, including  Betsabé Ruizwho appeared in the evil Templar movie, Return of the Evil Dead. The make-up is pretty good, especially the disembodied head of Alaric which looked very realistic for the early 70s. It has, at times, the dreamy nightmarish quality of Jean Rollin’s films, though it’s a lot more coherent than anything Rollin ever made. Modern audiences that prefer their films to follow certain conventions probably won’t like it, but if you are able to sit back and just let the director take you for a ride, you will enjoy this sexy, bloody horror film.

           

           A sort of sequel was made about 10 years later. Paul Naschy reprised his role as Alaric de Marnac in Panic Beats. That film though, has nothing to do with this one and is more of a supernatural murder mystery. Naschy also did a sort of remake of the film several years later in the very enjoyable, Night of the Werewolf which combined the plots of Horror Rises from the Tomb and another Naschy werewolf film The Werewolf vs. the Vampire Woman.