Plague of the Zombies is Britain's Hammer Studios only entry into the zombie genre. Like all Hammer Studio films, it is just dripping with class. Hammer has always spent a good chunk of camera time setting up the mood and story, so it does run slower compared to today's average zombie flick. Also, it is important to know that these are pre-Romero-style zombies, of the voodoo variety, so they are not attacking the living for their flesh. These guys are under the control of a "necromancer" who brought them back from their graves to work for him. As such, the zombies are not the actually danger here, they are merely the tools and weapons, (and also victims,) of the actual danger.
In the 1960s, Hammer Studios seemed to be focusing on its horror films, reviving classic monsters with Dracula: The Prince of Darkness, The Mummy, The Curse of the Werewolf, Phantom of the Opera, The Witches, and The Evil of Frankenstein. Plague is treated with the same polish and atmosphere as these movies, so the only way one would be disappointed in watching this is if they were 'dead set' (*snicker*) on seeing a flesh-eating, living dead flick.
So, there is your caveat: this is not a modern-day zombie movie. It is a voodoo/evil satanist/witchcraft-practitioner raising the dead as slaves type of movie. This movie is for fans of classic monster movies or of Hammer Studios productions, (like myself.)
The Zombie Movie Rubric gave it a 2.375 out of a possible 4 points despite its age and pacing, so that should tell you something.
Oh, yeah, Plague... also was the first film to show the now-famous 'dead-rising-from-their-graves' cemetery scene.
 |
| Plus, some good & creepy zombies! |
And of course, here is the official theatrical trailer available on YouTube: The Plague of the Zombies
No comments:
Post a Comment