El buque maldito

This is one of the entries in Ossorios' Templar zombie series. The Templars were witches burned alive at the stake thousands of years ago. They are back as skeletal zombies. This one is the best of the series. Atmospheric and spooky it's worth a look. Don't expect digital effects like your modern so called horror film, but expect an actual HORROR FILM!! If you like this one check out the other Templar films, Tombs Of the Blind Dead, Return Of the Evil Dead or Fangs Of the Living Dead(not easy to find). Digital effects are destroying horror films, if your not a fan of the older stuff, go to your local video store, look in the old horror section, and rent some REAL STUFF!!

The Templars Zombies return in this average sequel , now in a medieval ship . Two models with advertising aims embark aboard a yacht when find the damned ship . Later on , a diverse group (Jack Taylor, Maria Perschy , Manuel De Blas , Carlos Lemos and Barbara Rey) on board and sail to look for the models and again encounter the ghastly vessel drifting like the Errant Dutch boat .

In this second following (the first sequel was ¨Return of evil dead¨) from the original ¨Tombs the blind dead¨ also we find the famous blind dead zombies which rise from the tombs 500 years after to wreak havoc upon a beautiful bikinied Euro-babes . This scary horror movie contains eerie and creepy scenes when appear the living dead Templars . The fable is sometimes silly and laughable , though the action and terror moments are middlingly made . It is the following to the first great success and immensely popular ¨Tombs of the Blind dead¨ which to be continued by a trilogy : ¨Return of evil dead¨ , ¨Horror of Zombies¨ and ¨Night of the seagulls¨ . The zombie-like pack of ancient priest warriors awake and rising from the graves to kill and torture the unfortunate victims . They were condemned and eternally dammed by cult practising human sacrifices and blinded by crows . They meet their victims by means of screams and sounds . This is a cheap Spaniard production with lack luster and low budget , and it has been released multiple times on DVD over the years. . Special effects are ridiculous and embarrassing , just like the ship , an absurd toy-miniature into a bathtub that is frankly lousy . In the film appears known Eurotrash actors as Maria Perschy (¨Fumanchu castle¨ , ¨Hunchback of Morgue¨ , ¨Exorcism¨ ; however , she played for Howard Hawks in ¨Man's favorite sport?¨ with Rock Hudson) and Jack Taylor (usual player for Jess Frank : ¨Eugenie¨ , ¨Count Drácula¨ , ¨Necronomicon¨, ¨Commando Mengele¨), he posteriorly worked for Amando De Ossorio in ¨Hydra,sea serpent¨.

Eerie and frightening musical score especially when the Templars clergymen appear , being composed by ordinary Anton Garcia Abril . Colorful and atmospheric photography by Raul Artigot . The motion picture was regularly directed by Amando De Ossorio . Amando began in films as a writer and assistant director and continued his career by making short films and industrial documentaries . He was one of the main directors of the Spanish horror boom in the 70s, specially for his quartet of films about the living dead Templars which started with his first great success and immensely popular ¨Tombs of the Blind dead¨ which to be continued by a famous trilogy . Amando owns his own studio and created and/or designed many of the simple special effects sequences you see in any of his many imaginative undertakings . He displayed a varied career and specialized on all kind of genres as Western in "Rebels in Canada" and "Grave of the Gunfighter" , Historical as ¨Los Cantabros¨ , Monster movie as ¨Serpent of sea¨ and , of course, Terror as ¨Malenka¨ , The possessed¨ and ¨night of witches¨ . Ossorio also studied painting and photography , moreover, he also made his living as a painter of creepy images of the Knights Templar in his later years. ¨El Buque Maldito¨ is a mediocre attempt to cash of following exhausted medieval warriors saga . Followed by another inferior sequel ¨Night of the seagulls¨ also titled ¨Night of the death cult¨.

I read that this is the weakest of the 4 Blind Dead movies, but it isnt that bad. I found it on the cheapo Brentwood 4 film DVD set called Horror Rises From The Grave - in this set the film is titled Zombie Flesh Eaters. Found in the cheapo bin at a huge chain video store inhabiting 99% of all shopping malls. The print is passable, but not great. The title sequence is partially missing (probably to accommodate the name change), the lack of gore and nudity make me think that this version is a TV edit, but until they release a Criterion version, this one is OK.

Typical ghost ship story, with a couple of twists. Namely the ghost ship is full of Templars. Creepy scenes with the bearded Templars running around in their grubby oilskin robes are so well done that they excuse surreally wooden dialog, huge plot holes and the all time goofiest burning toy ship in a bathtub scene you will ever see. Classic!!

Horror of the Zombies otherwise known as The Ghost Galleon is the third movie in the Blind Dead franchise and presently the lowest rated on IMDB.

I loved the first film, I found the second rather disappointing and this deserves its place as the lowest rated.

It tells the story of two women out on the ocean who run into a huge galleon. Upon investigating they fall afoul of the Blind Dead and their employers come looking for them.

The ship setting was a great idea and had limitless potential but sadly the whole thing is a real sorry swing and a miss.

For a start everything looks shoddy, the sfx have taken a step backwards and look terrible. The ominous charm of the franchise is all but gone and truth be told very little actually happens and our ocularly challenged undead friends are barely on screen at all.

I can't believe such a great franchise is nose diving so badly, I can only hope the finale ends it on a high but it's not looking good.

The Ghost Galleon is a weak entry and an all round pretty lame film.

The Good:

Some great ideas

The Bad:

Timeline is still confusing

Very dull

Lacks everything that made the first movie so effective

Some beyond bad sfx

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

A petrol fueled motor boat cannot move out the way of slow moving incoming traffic

Religious scientists, still the most baffling oxymoron

C´mon people, this film is not that bad as often said! In any case it´s much better than the awful fourth part of the series! Okay, gorehounds surely will be disappointed, because there is only one splatter scene brought on, but director Armando de Ossorio did a good job with creating a wonderful creepy atmosphere with lots of fog, half-dark pictures and middle aged monk chorales. Somehow this film even could be watched as a predecessor to John Carpenter´s classic "The Fog", because both movie are quite similar to each other in view of the mood and the style. If you like the Blind Dead-series you should not miss this one!