Tombs of the Blind Dead, (1971)

    Sadistic, medieval knights perform a Satanic blood ritual that re-animates them in 1971 Portugal… Things go downhill from there.

So, here is some story: Just as Virginia and Roger plan a romantic camping trip for two in Portugal, Virginia meets an old college roommate, Elizabeth, and ol’ Randy Roger invites her along. The jealous and frustrated Virginia jumps the train out of spite at a remote and foreboding location alone, at the abandoned medieval town of ‘Berzano.’

The brave and outdoorsy Ginny shelters in some old ruins, builds a fire, and unrolls her sleeping bag. She’ll deal with it tomorrow. But her presence has not gone unnoticed…

Now the good stuff! With an amazing grave emergence scene we get a good look at these ‘Templar’ knights, blackened and skeletal, yet mustachioed and wearing filthy and rotting cloaks and cowls. They move incredibly slowly, even for the dead, (except when riding their undead steeds, of course,) and are thoroughly and completely silent. This silence is crushing  and accentuated nicely by echoed sound effects and a background monastic chant. The result is a profoundly creepy atmosphere.

Back to the plot. When Virginia’s bitten and bloodless body is spotted by a passing train engineer, super-swarthy Roger and the continually-surprised Elizabeth, (now kind of an ‘it’s complicated’ couple,) learn through rumors, legends, info-sharing special police, and, of course, the ubiquitous ‘Resident Specialist Historian’ all about the Templars. 

And soon, our uber-Spaniard, Roger and his “just friends” companion team up with a ridiculously sweaty smuggler, Pedro, and his lusty, Gypsy squeeze, Maria, to solve “The Mystery of Berzano!” 

So, yeah, okay, the story line for the living is all over and full of holes, (Hey! Much like Virginia!!!) but the backstory to the Templars is key. It is also very original and fascinating! And the mood created by this is just awesome. Remember, this is pre-‘jump scares.’ This is all suspense and atmosphere.  

Considered by many to be Spain’s answer to ‘Night of the Living Dead.’ And it is not hard to see why. Armando De Ossorio’s ‘Blind Dead’ is fresh and unexpected. Sure, there is some gratuitous exploitation bits and bobs, but born here was a new mythos of the undead, so a lot is forgiven. Yeah, I like this movie a lot. 

Held up to my impartial Zombie Movie grading Rubric, the ZMR, and ‘Tombs’ earned a whopping 3.0 out of 4 points! Acting, characters, and SPFX take the blame for the lower points with originality, explanations, film quality bringing in the numbers.

Now, although technically speaking not a ‘zombie apocalypse’ movie, as an entry in the ‘undead-rise-up-and-eat you’ category, it is a prime contender. Not surprisingly, it spawned sequels - 3 of them, actually, (reviews forthcoming.) Each of which finding its own new element/setting to keep it fresh.

This is a highly recommended late-night watch for anyone who reads movie reviews like this one. Best enjoyed with the lights out.

It seems that most YouTube trailers show assorted scenes from the film in non-sequential order. This makes them seem more confusing than they really are. Here is one: TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD

BTW, the whole film seems to exist on YouTube as well! So, enjoy!!!