GRAVEYARD OF HORROR (1971)
Director: Miguel Madrid
Image Entertainment

Originally titled NECROPHAGUS in its native county of Spain, this film was picked up by Independent International, retitled to fit their roster of outrageously named horror entries, and sold directly to television without any theatrical release. This was fittingly so, as hardly anything (if anything at all) had to be edited out for broadcast--the film has no sex and gore unlike most other Spanish horrors of the same period. It's hard to believe, but this won a prize at the 1971 Festival of the Cine de Terror at Sitges in Spain (it must have been an uneventful year for Spanish horror).

The story involves a young man (Bill Curran) who comes to Scotland to see his wife, only to learn that she died during childbirth. He stays in the family's gothic castle and witnesses much Soap Opera-type bickering and two strangers parading around in Halloween masks and monk robes, up to no good in the cemetery. It seems that Curran's brother was a mad scientist who buried himself alive (in order to prove some ridiculous theory) and is now being fed fresh corpses with the assistance of another scientist (Spanish cinema heavy Frank Brana), who is also fooling around with his wife!

Teeming with confusing editing and listless pacing that will induce instant dosing (don't even attempt to watch this at 3 AM, the time it usually aired on TV), GRAVEYARD OF HORROR is a mess that's only recommended to diehard Spanish horror buffs. Close-ups of the transformed scientist's monstrous eyes are pretty effective, but when we (briefly) see his face and sharp claws, it looks as though the producers went to a dime store and picked up a bargain bin "Creature from the Black Lagoon" rubber mask. You also get treated to the crazy-eyed Spanish character actor, Victor Israel (THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED, HORROR EXPRESS) as the devious crypt caretaker.

The DVD of GRAVEYARD OF HORROR utilizes the same transfer found on the old Super Video VHS release from the 80s. The image is full frame, and even though the sides are a bit tight, the framing is not too bad. Colors take on a less than sparkling appearance and reveal rusty, brownish hues. Fleshtones often look pink and faded. There is some print damage at the very start of the film and during some of the reel changes, but the rest of the presentation only suffers from minor defects. The English-dubbed mono audio is perfectly acceptable, with no significant flaws.

There are not extras for the film itself, but included are trailers for BEAST OF BLOOD, BRAIN OF BLOOD, THE BLOOD DRINKERS, BLOOD (CURSE) OF THE VAMPIRES, BRIDES OF BLOOD, MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND and a black & white teaser trailer for a live spook show called "House of Terror." (George R. Reis)

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