Night of the Sea Gulls (1975)

(And yes! 'Sea Gulls' is spelt that way here.)

     Amando De Ossorio’s Blind Dead return again for their fourth and final film of the series. This time, they reside in a castle by the coast of a remote village.

     Our story opens with a new doctor and his young wife settling into his deeply rural and remote coastal appointment. As rumors of mystery abound, a old church bell tolls, and weird noises are heard one evening, the couple witnesses a strange ritual down by the shore. Dismissing it as an old local custom, they return home none the wiser.

     Unbeknownst to them, (and yes! I love using the word ‘unbeknownst!’) the Blind Dead are a-rising! And even more surprisingly, (*Spoiler Alert!*) the whole town knows!

     It appears that sacrifice is demanded to keep the Templars at bay - seven girls, every seven years. Soon, the doctor and his missus must decide: Escape & live, or try to stop the madness!

     Once again, De Ossorio employs his tried and true, (and to be honest, fairly perfect,) grave emerging scenes from the first two films. The atmosphere, like its predecessors, is creepy and stark, making the glacially-slow movements of the Knights all the more intense. That, their blindness, and their thirst for blood victims seems to be the only constants from previous films. 

    You see, once again, this appears to be an entirely different story and mythos from the previous three movies. So, to call it a sequel would be an inaccuracy. 

    For example, no more are the Knights satanic. In this installment, they seem to worship some ancient, pagan, deep-sea god, whose stone image seems like something straight out of a Lovecraft novel!

See what I mean!?!

     So, as usual, I referred to my Zombie Movie Rubric  for an objective and irrefutable rating. Here, NIGHT OF THE SEA GULLS landed a 2.0 out of a possible 4. 

     Now, I know that this seems to be an average, middle of the road rating, and, as such, makes it far better than oh-so-many terrible zombie films, but still, to me, it is the weakest entry in the Blind Dead series. Worth a watch, if only to complete the tetralogy.

In fact, a very long trailer, found on YouTube might even be enough to sate one’s dead, evil, Templars appetite. 

So, Here is just that! NIGHT OF THE SEA GULLS. 

 

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.)

Zombi 3 (1988)

    Shortly after an experimental reanimation drug is created, a group of terrorists steal it and one becomes infected. The government agency responsible decides on a ‘sweep and clear’ of the area while 3 small groups of tourists converge only to be caught between the military action, and the now-widespread walking dead.

    First of all, it must be said - Zombi 3 does not hide its influences! The ‘shoot ‘em up’-style of action is very reminiscent of Romero’s ‘Dawn of the Dead,’ while the scientists versus military dynamic harkens to 1985’s ‘Day of the Dead.’ Even the method of mass transmission, (the airborne ashes of a cremated zombie,) is taken from ‘Return of the Living Dead,’ also released just three years prior! 

    These make it even more surprising that the movie seems to completely ignore its own predecessor, Fulci’s amazing ‘Zombi.’ 

    Providing its own cause for the outbreak, and the subsequent spread of the infection, ‘Zombi 3’ seems more like a standalone reboot than it does a sequel.

    The acting is not good, get that straight. I know that an Italian film that is dubbed into English, often times the dialog is altered somewhat to fit the actors’ mouth movements. I am typically as forgiving of this as I can be, but with only a few exceptions, it was clear that these “actors” were new to this. Or just blatant ‘over-actors.’ And this on the parts of both the living and the dead.

This over-the-top scientist acted like a dropout of
the William Shatner/Adam West School of Acting!!!

    There is an inconsistency between the zombies, too. At times, they are perfect Romeros, (see my Zombie Classification Chart,) other times Russos, sometimes wielding weapons, frequently jumping from above, (TOO frequently!), and don’t even get me started on the flying head! (Yes. You read that correctly!)

    On the film’s positive side, it DOES have a good and clear story arc, beginning to end: Creation of the virus, outbreak, spread, conclusion. Very linear. I like that! No meandering.

    The movie also has a couple of genuine scares, (that awesome pool rescue!), and even a zombie siege on a (poorly,) fortified stronghold. I also like the fact that even if the living characters are devoid of backstory and fairly interchangeable, it is surprising to see just how frequently and dispassionately the movie kills one off! Kind’ve refreshing that way!

    Lots of Fulci gore for the fans of that, too. True, a good deal of it comes from festering pustules and blisters that accompany the zombism this time around, but plenty of flesh tearing, too. 

    For all its faults, I didn’t dislike this film. In fact, I kinda enjoyed it. My objective grading device, the Zombie Movie Rubric, however, was not so kind. Action / Pacing, Zombies, and Budget save this from the “Total Stinker” category, tallying up a 1.33 out of 4 for a score. 

    It is really hard to believe this is the sequel of Fulci’s masterpiece, Zombi. (Or Zombi 2, depending on your source.)

    So, I wouldn’t say avoid this one, it has its moments, but I can’t recommend it, unless you are desperate for an cheesy, 80’s, Italian zombie flick, and you keep your entertainment standards humble.

    YouTube seems to have the movie in its entirety for viewing, too! If you still haven't decided to watch this, here is a (long,) trailer to help make up your mind! ZOMBI 3 

    Also, I can’t help thinking this movie had hopes of being shown in 3D. There is a disproportionate amount of second-person 3D zooming!