A Orgia dos Mortos

There's plenty of skullduggery in store for Serge Chekov when he travels to a gloomy estate to collect an inheritance bequeathed him by his late uncle. Not only does he have to contend with witchcraft, sexual seduction, and a séance upon his arrival, the guy also stumbles upon gratuitous necrophilia and just when you think the plot can't get any sillier, he's shown a laboratory where the dead are secretly reanimated...

Resembling an Italian horror film from the '60s (like the ones with Barbara Steele, only in color), TERROR OF THE LIVING DEAD is all about atmosphere even though there's an actual mystery (later explained through flashbacks) going on right under the nose of a none-too-bright police inspector puffing a Sherlock Holmes pipe. Like Amando de Ossorio's trilogy, the dead are blind here, too, and there's also bare breasts and a woman's heart removed but I don't know what (if anything) can be inferred about audience tastes at the time. Filmmaking in Franco-era Spain obviously didn't shrink from explicit gore (there's an autopsy and a nice beheading here) but they were rather squeamish about nudity, it seems. There's a spinning montage as our hero gets drugged and seduced by the femme fatale and they're in bed together but he's got his pants on while she's completely nude. That's not the only thing weird; the film is set in nineteenth-century Scotland but I'm not sure the filmmakers knew where that was since the characters all have names like Chekov and Nadia and the fine-looking locations resemble Eastern Europe. Genre icon Paul Naschy plays a gravedigger who likes his ladies ice cold and he looked a lot like John Belushi in some scenes. A WTF? film, for sure.

Paul Naschy (born Jacinto Molina Alvarez) was a fixture in Spanish Horror-as far as actor's go, he was that countries Karloff. So when he died in late 2009, he left behind a vast array of work that has maintained a cult following-"Night of the Werewolf", "Blue Eyes of a Broken Doll", "Count Dracula's Great Love"-to name a few. While I mentioned his passing in my review of "Premutos", looking back, I should have written a review of one of his movies instead of that movie. So without further ado, here's a look at the Italian-Spanish production "The Hanging Woman", in which he played a hunchback.

Serge Chekov (Stelvio Riso) is a swinging 70's kinda guy whose come to Scotland to gain an inheritance. In between sexing up the ladies, he runs into the hanging corpse of a lady. Soon, events revolving around a satanic coven, mad science, murder, zombies roaming the graveyard, and Igor (Naschy), who also happens to be a necrophiliac.

Though Naschy only has a supporting role, "The Hanging Woman" is still quite a treat of 70's style Gothic Horror. In fact, much of the film is quite reminiscent of the 70's era Hammer output, with its emphasis on fog drenched atmosphere, Gothic locales and low key exploitation elements such as nudity and some minor gore. The movie itself is quite capably directed by capably directed by José Luis Merino, who offers a nice mix of eerie moments with ones that range from tasteless (Chekov's treatment of women, Igor's um...kinks) with ones that just outright daffy (the reason the dead are walking could have come from one of those old 1940's quickies.) That's part of what makes the whole thing so much fun-sure, it feels a bit familiar at times, but the familiarity helps the movie instead of hindering it. Also worthy of mention is the undertone of black humor that permeates the proceedings. While the movie would never be mistaken for a comedy, scenes involving characters such as a horny witch are clearly done with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

Which brings me back to Naschy. While I mentioned he doesn't have a huge role, fans of his should still love this. Here, he manages to bring all kids of baggage with Igor-insecurity at one moment, to moments that bring forth revulsion the next-with ease. It's easy to see why folks such as myself hold him to such esteem, as he was able to take such characters and make them his own. Such a role and performance is a testament to his talents as an actor.

If there are any problems, it would be that apart from the more eccentric characters (particularly Igor), nobody here is all that interesting. Chekov is just your typical chauvinistic jerk who doesn't have many redeeming qualities, whilst Doris (Dianik Zurakowska) is yet another damsel in distress character. A bit more thought into some of the characters would have helped.

That out of the way, fans of Paul Naschy and European Horror fare will certainly find a lot to enjoy here. If that's your cup of tea, then check it out.

The Hanging Woman takes obvious influence from both the classic Hammer Horror films and Mario Bava's Gothic masterpiece Kill, Baby...Kill. The result is a slightly plodding, though undoubtedly interesting and very atmospheric little horror film. Like many European films from the seventies; this one has a whole slew of titles, which range from those that don't make sense - 'Dracula the Terror of the Living Dead', to cash-ins; 'Zombie 3: Return of the Living Dead', and innuendo; 'The Orgy of the Dead'...but The Hanging Woman is the best on the merit that it actually fits the story. The plot focuses on a man that travels to an old Scottish village in order to claim his inheritance; an old house, currently inhabited by his uncle's science partner. Upon his arrival; a woman is found hanged in a graveyard; though the circumstances are suspicious as she was already dead before the hanging. Things turn a little more awry when the nature of the experiments going on at the house are revealed, and the village may be harbouring a dark secret.

The plot features a number of different elements, which includes black magic, zombies and grave digging. It has to be said that it can be a little messy at times; though nowhere near as much as many films of this ilk and the plot really flows rather well and the various different elements are well used. Undoubtedly the best thing about the film is the atmosphere and director José Luis Merino succeeds admirably in this respect as the atmosphere is thick and foreboding and this helps to further the plot. The film is essentially a mystery with horror elements, and the director keeps our interest with lots of good ideas and some interesting characters. Paul Naschy is the only cast member likely to be recognised by anyone watching the film; but the unknown cast all do well with their roles; particularly Stelvio Rosi and Dyanik Zurakowska. There's not a great deal of blood in the film; but patience is rewarded towards the end with an excellent decapitation sequence. The film is not very well known and I can't say I'm surprised about that; but it's certainly well worth a look and fans of this stuff shouldn't be too disappointed with it.

Firstly everyone expecting gory bloodbath will be sorely disappointed,because this film is almost completely bloodless(however there's some mild violence like quick decapitation,but not too much).Secondly,if you like Euro-horror you'll certainly appreciate "The Hanging Woman".Why?Because it's well-made and there are some lovely atmospheric bits.The acting is surprisingly good and Paul Naschy as a necrophiliac servant Igor simply steals the show!The film reminds me early Hammer horror movies,mostly because it features some elements typical for English horror like tunnels,secret passages,tombs etc.There's also a little bit of sleaze(both ladies have a nude scenes),so fans of nudity will not be disappointed.Of course "The Hanging Woman" has its faults:it's overlong,quite boring and some scenes are rather stupid,but if you like Spanish horror give this one a look.

An Italian and Spanish production of cult Bernard Woolner (you must remember him in `Swamp Women' of Roger Corman) which is directed by Jose Luis Merino (`Altar Of Blood') , who also written the script with Enrico Colombo (`Altar Of Blood') . As you can understand from the title , the film has a lot to do with zombies , who directly are similar to zombies of Amando De Ossorio (Tombs Of The Blind Dead) . You shouldn't think of a gothic atmosphere , because our living dead are very slow , which is a negative point . Although this movie is not considered as a great movie , it stills remains cult , because of her almost – all star cast , which can be taken as a remain of 60's . In this b-movie you can meet Auro De Alba & Dyanik Zurakowska (`Frankenstein's Bloody Terror') , Maria Pia Conte (`The Death Dealer') , Girard Tichy (Mario Bava's `Hatchet For A Honeymoon') , Stelvio Rosi (`Shadows In The Dark') , Carlos Quiney (`Altar Of Blood') , the most classic of all in this cast is Paul Naschy (who has a role – model for many later generations) , as Igor! If this column was marking each movie for its cult worth , then `Beyond The Living Dead' would be marked at least with 9/10 , but this column is marking the whole movie … so , what we got here is … 7/10