The
Blind Dead
Director- Amando
de Ossorio
Music- Antón García Abril
From Spain
The
Blind Dead saga consists of four, barely related, Spanish horror films that
center around a cult of evil Templar knights that have returned from the dead.
The first film, Tombs of the Blind Dead
has developed quite a following in the decades since its release.
All four films were directed by Amando de Ossorio, but the films all have a different feel and vary in quality. The musical score, by Anton Garcia Abril, consisting of Gregorian sounding chants mixed with evil groans, is one of the creepiest you will ever hear.
The
mythology and the presentation of the Templars is never consistent and it seems
like the director was more interested in creating certain moods and images than
in creating a consistent narrative. Sometimes the Templars seem vigorous,
riding down their victims on horseback. At other times they are barely more
than leathery husks, creeping along at a pace that would make a Romero zombie
seem like a track star. Astride their horses, the Templars make for an
archetypal image, reminiscent of Tolkien’s Nazgul.
Appearing
throughout the saga are several genre stars and scream queens that made an impact
on 1970s European horror. Like many movies of this time, they were released
under several names and sometimes different cuts. I’ve tried to include the
names that they are most commonly known by.
Tombs
of the Blind Dead (La noche del terror ciego)
1972
Cast- Lone Flemming, Cesar Bumer, Jose Thelman, Rufino
Ingles, Veronica Limera
This
film establishes the basic premise of the series. A thousand years ago, Templar
knights visiting the Holy Land, brought back the secret of immortality.
Unfortunately, the secret was drinking the blood of human sacrifices, mainly of
the young female variety. They were caught and executed for their crimes. As
they hung from trees, the birds pecked out their eyes, so now upon returning
from the dead, they hunt by sound.
A girl, after leaving her
friends on vacation due to jealousy, stumbles upon a graveyard inhabited by the
evil knights. She is soon murdered. Her friends, investigating her death, are
then hunted by the undead Templars.
The film builds slowly and is effective at creating
mood. It is reminiscent ,at times, of
the zombie genre in that the real threat of the Templars, who are rather
decrepit, comes from being swarmed by their massive numbers. Unlike zombies
though, that always moan and wail, the Templars are silent which makes them
that much more menacing, Also, whereas zombies are usually presented as
mindless, the Templars are focused and intelligent.
Of special note is an early
(and uncredited) appearance by a very tanned Britt Nichols as the Templars
sacrifice. Britt was one of Jess Franco’s regulars appearing in The Demons,
Virgin Among the Living Dead, Daughter of Dracula and several other Franco
films.
There is a big difference between
the English and Spanish versions. The Spanish version (La noche del terror ciego or The
Night of Blind Terror) contains almost 20 more minutes so make sure to
watch it over the English version.
Return
of the Evil Dead ( Return of the Blind Dead, El Ataque de los Muertos Sin Ojos
)
1973
Cast- Tony Kendall, Fernando Sancho, Lone Flemming, Frank
Brana, Luis Barboo)
The
mythos is changed slightly in this film. Instead of having their eyes pecked
out by birds, the Templars have their eyes burned out by angry villagers (which
is more horrible if you ask me). As the premise had already been developed in
the first film, this one gets to the action quicker.
The town
outcast, a sort of Quazimodo, sacrifices a young girl on the anniversary of the
Templar’s demise. They rise form the dead and then quickly set about murdering
everyone in the nearby town.
After
the standard period of unbelief, the surviving townspeople confront the
Templars and the movie switches to the standard zombie siege premise (we’re
stuck in hear and Templars are out there). In fact, the last half of the story
seems a lot like a modern zombie film in that the biggest threat comes not from
the Templars but from the conniving people trapped in the town. It must be
noted however, that this film predates Romero’s Dawn of the Dead by several
years, so it’s not really using tired old tropes, that’s just how the story
plays out.
Though
not as original as the first, it is a fun film. The cast is peopled with a
variety of extraordinary faces; Italian model Tony Kendall in the lead (who later starred in de Ossorio’s The
Loreley’s Grasp), western actor Ferndando Sancho as the corrupt mayor, and
fellow western and genre actor Frank Brana (who also appeared in Hannah Queen
of the Vampires )as the mayor’s henchman. Lone Flemming, who starred in the
first volume, also appears here as a different character.
In general, Return of the
Evil Dead can be described as a spicier remake of the original. It has
essentially the same plot with more nudity and gore. The Spanish version is a
little longer than the English version.
The
Ghost Galleon (Horror of the Zombies, Ship of Zombies, El Burque maldito)
1974
Cast- Maria Perschy, Jack Taylor, Barbara Rey, Carlos
Lemos, Manuel de Blas, Bianca Estrada, Margarita Merino
This installment
had the potential to be the best of the lot, but alas may be the worst. It
establishes its Satanic bone fides at the beginning with an evil horned skull
glaring at the viewer during the opening title. It also has a really creepy set
but falls short on the elements that made the other films entertaining; namely
scares, gore and sex.
The plot
of the movie is so silly and contrived it’s not worth going into, suffice to
say a group of supermodels end up on a ghost ship filled with the undead
knights. All the deaths but one take place off screen and the Templars , sans
their horses, must be content to shuffle around through the entire film.
The
movie stars, and relies heavily on actor Jack Taylor. Genre fans will remember
him from Jess Franco’s Dracula, Franco’s Female Vampire, Paul Nschy’s Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf,
Conan the Barbarian, The Ninth Gate and ,a hundred other things. He also worked
with de Ossorio on the much more entertaining Night of the Sorcerers.
Alas,
Jack’s star power was not enough to help this movie realize its full potential.
The first time I watched it I found it to be pretty boring. Watching it again
several years later, I still thought it was boring but I can see what de
Ossorio was trying to do and I think it was simply a matter of his reach
exceeding his grasp in terms of resources. The other three films were shot on
location in town square’s, beaches, and real medieval ruins. This film, on the
other hand, attempts to place itself on a medieval galleon ( those aren’t just
lying around) in the middle of the ocean. The ship, when seen from a distance,
is obviously a model and only shown in the briefest of glimpses. The sets on
the ship do look really creepy and one is reminded of the Scooby Doo and Johnny
Quest episodes involving ghost pirates. In the end though, I think the attempt,
while brave, was just too much to ask of the film’s humble budget .
Night
of the Seagulls (La Noche de las gaviotas )
1975
Cast- Victor Petit, Maria Kosti, Sandra Mozarowsky, Jose
Antonio Calvo, Julia Saly)
What’s
worse than a group of demonic knights scouring the countryside for hot girls to
sacrifice? How about a town that serves up the girls willingly!
A young
doctor moves to a new town and finds that not only is he unwelcome but the
townsfolk don’t take kindly to his asking about their nightly gatherings on the
beach. The villagers, in order to appease the Templars, serve up their own
daughters as sacrifices.
Night of the Seagulls takes a Lovecraftian turn and one is reminded a little of The Shadow over Innsmouth. The Templars, instead of being straight up Satanists in this installment, worship a strange amphibian idol. After the virgins are used up, their remains are left for the crabs and there are some really unsettling scenes of barnacle encrusted giant crabs meandering over the beautiful corpses. The girl’s tormented souls take the form of seagulls, whose cries can be heard at night.
The film
has a lot to offer scream queen fans. Maria Kosti also worked with de Ossorio
on Night of the Sorcerers and Demon Witch Child and she worked with Paul Nashy
in Vengeance of the Zombies and A Dragonfly for Each Corpse. Sandra Mozarowsky
also worked with Naschy in The Devil’s Possessed and Blue Eyes of the Broken
Doll. Julia Saly appears as one of the sacrificial virgins. She also appeared
in Demon Witch Child and worked with Naschy several times including Inquisition,
Panic Beats, and the Beasts Carnival. Her best role though was as the vampire
witch in Night of the Werewolf.
I think
de Ossorio really hit it out of the park with this one. It has everything
good about the previous installments
(sex, gore ,creepiness) but never slows down or gets boring. I’d go so far as
to say that he finished strong and that Night of the Seagulls is the best
volume in the series.
Amando
de Ossorio
Amando
de Ossorio’s directorial venture into horror was relatively brief but densely
packed. Like many Spanish and Italian directors of his day he cut his teeth in
spaghetti westerns. His first horror
film, Malenka, the Vampire's Niece was made in 1969, starring Anita Ekberg.
Today it is mostly known by a much catchier title, Fangs of the Living Dead and
often appears in box sets of vampire films,
Then between 1972 through
1975 he made all four volumes of the Blind Dead saga. In the midst of that he
also made The Loreley’s Grasp, Night of the Sorcerers and Demon Witch Child
(all of which came out in 1974, the same year as Ghost Galleon, which may
explain the lull in quality; the poor guy was worn out!). At any rate, that’s 7
films in 4 years! Imagine any director or movie company doing that today!
He made
2 other non-horror films before returning for one more horror movie, another
team up with Jack Taylor in 1984, The Sea Serpent. The Spanish horror scene, which had been
robust in the 1970s, had died down by the 1980s and maybe de Ossario couldn’t
find work. Or maybe he was just tired of working on small budgets. At any rate
he never returned to film. We are, at least, left with a small but important
legacy.
The
Blind Dead Legacy- 50 Years Later
Tomb of
the Blind Dead was a very successful film, and it changed the trajectory of de
Ossorio’s career, making him a horror director. In the short term it had some
imitators, like Jess Franco’s Mansion of the Living Dead. Long term however,
the films didn’t spawn a lot of imitators, largely I think, because they are
just too original to copy without doing so blatantly.
The films
have developed a cult following and in the 21st century a new
generation of independent filmmakers have attempted to carry on the Templar’s
legacy with mixed results. Curse of the Blind Dead (2020) attempts to put the
Templars in a post-apocalyptic setting and seems heavily influenced by The Walking
Dead. Full Moon, which created so many memorable genre films in the 80s and
90s, produced a short film, Scream of the Blind Dead that features a lone
heroine being stalked by an undead female knight. It’s avant garde and seems
more like a Jean Rollin film than anything else (not that that’s a bad thing).
But what
about the original films themselves? Do they hold up half a century later. The
answer is yes and no. I fear that to a modern audience, raised on a steady diet
of found footage jump scares, the slow building tension of the Blind Dead might
come across as boring or, even worse, quaint. It’s not hard to imagine the cell
phones lighting up as people look distractedly away from the screen as they
wait for some shocking thing to happen. So I wouldn’t recommend these films to
a casual horror fan and you certainly don’t
want to make this the film that you show to your date that isn’t a horror fan
at all.
Having
said that, for people who are true dyed in the wool horror fans, these films
still deliver. The practical effects, which consist mostly of make up for the
rotting knights, still holds up. The Templars really look like dirty, rotting
corpses that just dug their way out of the ground. The casting is good in all four films. Amando
de Ossorio does a really good job of building the tension in each volume. And as
stated earlier, the musical score is one of a kind. Devout enthusiast of horror
should see these films as some of the finest examples of Spanish horror. Anyone
hoping to make horror films one day will marvel at just how much can be done
with very little money. More important
that all of that though, for those that value ambiance, the films are still
very creepy.
So if
you are reading this blog, and have made it this far into this review, I can
safely assume that you are one of those aforementioned dyed in the wool horror
fans. So if you haven’t seen the Blind Dead saga, it’s definitely worth your
time. The whole series can still be found in a DVD box set. The first film,
Tombs of the Blind Dead has just recently received the Blu-Ray treatment and
should be very easy to track down.
Enjoy,
and remember, the Templars hunt by sound, so try not to scream!
BONUS: The saga produced a plethora of awesome advertising artwork. For a gallery of Blind Dead artwork, look here.
One of the greatest Horror series of all time.
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