The Ghost Galleon, (1974)

         Amando de Ossorio’s Blind Dead are back and this time, they have a boat!!!

We begin with what was supposed to be a simple publicity stunt… A coupla’ bikini-clad cuties in a stalled-out boat are rescued and get some big press for the sporting goods company. Easy, right?

Unfortunately for the models, a mysterious fog envelops their tiny craft, and disrupts their radio transmissions. Stranger still, that fog concealed an old Spanish galleon, with creaking, rotten timbers and ragged sails.

Meanwhile, concern for the missing models becomes enough to mount a search party, and soon, all are on the haunted old ship as night falls, and those boxes in the hold are starting to open…

What is almost a straight-ahead haunted house story, the ancient galleon is very atmospheric - dusty, dark, cluttered, and claustrophobic, providing a great, creepy tension.

And, of course, the Templar knights are, as always, awesome! All skeletal and decaying, in their filthy monk-like robes. Oh sure, there is no emerging from the cemetery soil scene, but the opening of their crates is done quite well, if fairly vampiric in nature, even in returning to them during the day.

The incredibly slow approach of the dead knights seems, in this setting, far more scary. In the wide open Spanish plains and town squares of the previous films, an able-bodied person could outpace them with a brisk walk, (thusly necessitating their ghost steeds.) Here however, in the tight and crumbling quarters of the old boat, all of the drama of the previous films is now taking place in a very confined area with no escape.

Ossorio continues with his practice of assembling an eclectic collection of the living - from models, publicists, henchmen, and the prerequisite Templar Knight historian. One must assume this is done to vary the reactions to situation. Luckily for the viewers, the characters are fairly entertaining, because they seem to get far more screen time than their deceased counterparts.

Held up to the ZMR for an objective rating, and The Ghost Galleon earned itself a 2.22 out of a possible 4 points. Although this is a step back from the first two Blind Dead films, it still provides some good scares, and a really great ending.

As per usual, YouTube has a decent trailer to entice you further ☞ THE GHOST GALLEON.

     

     (And try to look past the crappy toy ship shots.)