TOMBS
OF THE BLIND DEAD (1971)/RETURN OF THE BLIND DEAD (1973)Director: Amando de Ossorio
Anchor Bay Entertainment
TOMBS
OF THE BLIND DEAD (1971)/RETURN OF THE BLIND DEAD (1973)DVDs have more than enough storage space on them to feature two films. The only reason we do not see many double features is simply because the DVD companies would then not be able to make you buy two discs, causing them to lose some of their profits. While having no extras at all, TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD & RETURN OF THE BLIND DEAD is an excellent DVD due to its pairing of the two films. I wish more double features would be considered, two pairings especially: THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES & DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN, and COUNT YORGA & RETURN OF COUNT YORGA. Other interesting pairings could be films that originally shared a double-bill in the theaters together.
TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD opens up with a woman screaming, which is a prelude to the ending, and then cuts to a poolside scene in which Virginia (Maria Elena) runs into an old friend Betty (Lone Fleming). They strike up a conversation and Virginia's friend Roger invites Betty to join them for the weekend. Betty agrees but it soon becomes apparent that Virginia is jealous of Roger's attention towards Betty. Virginia decides to get away from both Roger and Betty, and hops off the train in the middle of seemingly nowhere.
Walking off in search of a town, Virginia reaches a deserted, crumbling monastery. She decides to spend the night inside one of the buildings while outside bells begin to toll awakening the Templar knights, a group of cursed zombies who hunt humans by sound as their eyes were plucked out by crows after being hung by vengeful villagers. Virginia wakes up to the sound of the knights approaching on their horses and tries to escape as she realizes that she is in mortal danger. She manages to reach one of the knights' horses and takes off before being captured and killed by the Templars.
Meanwhile Roger and Betty have become concerned for Virginia's safety and travel to the town of Berzano, the last place they saw their friend. They search the ruins of the old monastery and come across some of Virginia's belongings. Their search is cut short by a police inspector who informs them of Virginia's murder. Local townsfolk are uneasy about helping out with information even though they seem to know the cause behind Virginia's mysterious murder. Soon enough though, Roger and Betty find out the history of the Templar knights who in their search for eternal life, turned to black masses and human sacrifices before being hung by villagers in response. Not totally convinced of the story they hear, Roger and Betty go out to continue their investigation not knowing the danger that lies ahead…
"She doesn't know what she's in for…What do you mean?…Nothing, just shovel more coal" TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD (LA NOCHE DEL TERROR CIEGO) is suitably creepy with its scenic locations invoking a total feeling of decay which suits the Templar knights of the title. The director, Amando de Ossorio (the introduction erroneously states that he passed away in 1996) had created a unique and original creation with the Blind Dead. They are a welcome addition to the classic monsters: Dracula, Frankenstein's creature, the werewolf, mummy, etc., which were overplayed in the theaters at this point. Ossorio was even able to create a unique look for cursed sacrilegious knights; a rotted and decaying form which truly looks as if the dead have risen.
When you compare say the zombies of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) with TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD you will appreciate how much more horrifying the Templar knights appear. It is very interesting how Ossorio chose to shoot the Templar knights in slow motion as most directors go for the "hide your monster as long as you can and then show it in brief glimpses" style. But the slow motion effect is highly effective in the entire Blind Dead series creating, a growing sense of dread as the knights slowly stalk their prey by sound?another unique feature to them. Who would ever consider making a handicap monster? You can imagine that some variations on this theme would just not work (example: TOMBS OF THE HEARING IMPAIRED!)
This first film in the series is clearly one of the most enjoyable as it introduces the title characters with their origin. The problem with the later sequels was that Ossorio never bothered to take his Blind Dead much further into new territory with the exception of HORROR OF THE ZOMBIES (1974). It seems as if he kept remaking the same film while taking liberties to change the origin of the Templar knights.
Ossorio also plays the film for the exploitation crowd as he features some extremely attractive women and puts them in many tantalizing situations. The themes of lesbianism and sadism towards women appear in all of the Blind Dead films but the particular rape scenes in most of the films are pointless and detracting to the films' overall plots.
RETURN OF THE BLIND DEAD begins with a retelling of the legend of the Templar knights, which sets the scene for the town of Berzano's preparation of the 500th year celebration of their defeat. A fireworks pyro technician, Jack (Luciano Stella), arrives in town to help set up for the event and runs into an old girlfriend, Vivian (Esperenza Roy). They realize that they still have feeling for each other and Jack tries to convince Vivian to leave with him after he has finished his job. Meanwhile the Templar knights have begun to rise from their graves to enact their revenge on the anniversary of their death.
Vivian's attraction to Jack becomes apparent to the jealous mayor (Fernando Sancho) who has his henchman rough up the newcomer. At that moment a fleeing woman whose lover was slaughtered by the knights gets word to the mayor that the knights are on their way to the town, causing the beating to end abruptly. The mayor has Howard, his head henchman, go out to verify the story which he does after seeing the knights in person. The mayor then tries to get the governor to send help but he is thought to be drinking since the story is unbelievable and the town is having a festival. From there on in, it's a battle between the town and the Templar knights for survival.
"We are immortal, do you hear me? Immortal!" Ossorio's second Blind Dead film is as entertaining as the first mostly since Templar knights have more screen time. As mentioned in the first review, Ossorio basically kept remaking his first film while playing around with the origins of the knights. The difference in the origin between the films is that while the Templar's eyes were eaten by crows in the first film, the second one has the angry villagers burning their eyes out in retaliation for their horrific crimes.
The plot is better put together with the festival to celebrate the demise of the Templar knights. Jack Marlowe (played by Luciano Stella, AKA Tony Kendall) is a heroic and strong character, which the first film did not really have. The villagers also fight back against the Templars in the second film providing some exciting battles. One would assume that the cripple Murdo was thrown in for comic relief much as the morgue attendant was in the first film. The scene were he interrupts Jack and Vivian making out by the ruins is particularly funny. Vivian tells him, "Why don't you go to the festival and find yourself a nice girl?" as Murdo drools and babbles on about the legend of the Templar knights.
The ending itself is sort of anti-climatic as the Templars simply perish with the arrival of daylight. However, RETURN OF THE BLIND DEAD is extremely enjoyable and its fast moving plot makes the action seem relentless. Unlike the first film, which was presented in the original Spanish language with English subtitles, the second film is dubbed into English, which is sometimes hard to follow. Foreign language films always seem to fare better when presented in their original language with optional subtitles. Both films look fantastic on the DVD?colorful and clear with the striking sound you expect from this format. The films are also presented in their original 1.66:1 aspect ratio. While this DVD has been out for a while and may be hard to find at this point, it is definitely worth your money and time to find it. (Chris Gullo)