Night of the Seagulls (1975)

This 4th and final installment in the Blind Dead series of movies again reinvents the knight’s origin.  This time they reside in an isolated castle and require the sacrifice of a young woman every 7 years from the nearby village or they will go on a rampage and kill everyone.  Unfortunately for them this year the new doctor and his wife, unfamiliar with traditions, screw the ceremony up by saving the girl.  Everyone flees when the knights ride out to lay waste to the surrounding countryside, except of course for those trapped in the doctor’s house.  How long can they hold out against the undead knights scratching at their doors and windows? 

After a disappointing 3rd entry director Amando de Ossorio gets back to basics and finishes the series up with another great movie.  The story has everything I want in a Blind Dead movie, including a retelling of the origin of the knights again and several attractive female victims.  Heck they even throw in another town “freak” to shuffle around, though this time he is a bit more heroic than before.  Night of the Seagulls is also a really creepy movie that starts building atmosphere from the opening frame and never lets up.  Additionally the movie has it frightening parts with a couple of good jump scares to get your heart beating.  The cast isn’t asked to do much other than run from the knights and scream in terror quite a bit.  But they do that very well.  Though they do jump on the undead horses to get away from the knights again.  If we learn anything from the Blind Dead it is that you should never try and escape them on their own horses, it doesn’t end well.  

As a fan of the series I love the look of the skeletal knights shuffling around chasing down their intended victims.  I’ve seen far too many zombie movies in my day, but these are entirely unique in their look.  Again here in their final appearance the makeup looks incredible.  Now I always feel the need to qualify this statement for those that have grown up with the work of masters like Tom Savini.  I love old horror films and for when the movies were made these effects are killer.  Toss in a dismembered body and you are guaranteed a good time.  The old tricks of amplifying and echoing the sound that the undead make, as well as the killer soundtrack are also back.  Nothing I’ve ever seen looks like or sounds quite like a Blind Dead movie.

I was worried after watching The Ghost Galleon that the series was running out of steam and creatively should have ended with Return of the Evil Dead.  But this movie didn’t disappoint and is a wonderful end to the series.  I highly recommend that everyone go and check this one out.  Night of the Seagulls is the last of the four Blind Dead movies.   It is preceded by the Tombs of the Blind Dead, Return of the Evil Dead and The Ghost Galleon.  For more information these movies check out the Blue Underground website at www.blue-underground.com/    

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2009 John Shatzer