Tombs of the Blind Dead (1971)

Two beautiful young women, friends from years before at school, go on a train trip with a man they both have feelings for.  When one of the women realizes she has lost the contest she grabs her bag and leaps off the train.  The last her friends see is her walking away.  When they arrive at their destination and realize she hasn’t been seen since leaving the train they go in search for her.  But she has been killed (which the audience already knows by then) by the undead knights that prowl the countryside.  With the help of some smugglers her friends go back to where she was killed to try and figure out who killed her.  Right on cue the dead rise up again, but will any of them be left alive to tell the authorities what happened?

This is the first of the four Blind Dead movies made by director Amando de Ossorio.  These movies aren’t very well known outside the fans of Euro horror, which is a real shame.  This is especially so in the case of Tombs of the Blind Dead, which is a great movie.  The story is the perfect balance of scares and gore, with just a bit of sleaze tossed in for fun (the flashback to school).  The movie builds a great atmosphere and tension as the blind dead slowly rise up to take their victims.  The main characters are interesting enough, but some of the supporting characters are fun and creepy.  I’m thinking specifically the morgue attendant, which is a great character.  The cast is solid but not spectacular.  But this is such a great story and well paced film that they don’t have to be, all they have to do is not screw it up and they don’t.

There is some gore in the movie, including a severed arm and much blood drinking.  But don’t go into the Tombs of the Blind Dead expecting a gore fest.  This movie is more about creating a creepy atmosphere.  This is accomplished thru the camera work, which weaves in and out of the sets giving the audience the feeling they are part of the action.  The lighting, which creates all sorts of shadows for the blind dead to slowly emerge from (really awesome effect), also helps pull the audience in.    The music is perfect for the movie, including an uber creepy chant used every time the blind dead start to get up and movie around.  Finally the design of the creatures themselves is unique and unlike anything that I had seen before.  The filmmakers do an excellent job of pulling off the skeletal creatures without making them look like puppets.  I especially enjoyed the undead horses and how they were shot.  Oh and speaking of horses never try and get away from the undead on an undead horse.  It doesn’t end well.

Really if you like horror movies you have to check out this series.  The Tombs of the Blind Dead is the first of four and is followed by Return of the Evil Dead, The Ghost Galleon, and finally Night of the Seagulls.  For more information check out the Blue Underground website at www.blue-underground.com/

3 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2009 John Shatzer