13 reviews
This Spanish-made horror flick suffers from many of the common short-comings of this type of genre; a disconjuncted plot, many awkward cuts and innane dialogues, actresses chosen for their looks more then acting ability, as well as a poor English over-dub of the Spanish screen play. The opening scene grabs your attention, but soon on "Graveyard of Horror" keeps you wondering not only what will happen next, but why what you just saw actually took place. That aside, the film does have some qualities which still can provide an attraction to the most-avid horror fan. The graveyard/castle settings provide a few atmospheric, though not chilling scenes. Best of all is the periodic use in the score of an uniquely errie whistled tune very similar to the melody of "Morning has Broken" which offers a seeming tranquil juxtaposition to the gory nature of this topsy-turvy grave robbing tale.
- gibsoncraig
- Jul 22, 2002
- Permalink
A Spanish movie that was (badly) dubbed into English and released here direct to TV. There's no nudity, sex or violence and there's very little blood so it's perfect for TV.
It deals with this handsome guy traveling to his ancestral home to see his wife (who died after giving birth to a still-born baby). But he can't get into the cemetery to view his wife's grave and everyone is VERY evasive on giving answers as to why.
The plot is all over the place with WAY too many people and situations to keep track of, the special effects are terrible and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. However this often played on a local TV station when I was in high school. It played from 11:30 at night to 1:30. I saw it and, back then, was scared silly! There's eerie organ music playing through most of the movie, the settings are atmospheric and the plot is so confusing that you have to play strict attention to follow it! Cool monster at the end too. Not a great or even good horror film but not a bomb either.
It deals with this handsome guy traveling to his ancestral home to see his wife (who died after giving birth to a still-born baby). But he can't get into the cemetery to view his wife's grave and everyone is VERY evasive on giving answers as to why.
The plot is all over the place with WAY too many people and situations to keep track of, the special effects are terrible and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. However this often played on a local TV station when I was in high school. It played from 11:30 at night to 1:30. I saw it and, back then, was scared silly! There's eerie organ music playing through most of the movie, the settings are atmospheric and the plot is so confusing that you have to play strict attention to follow it! Cool monster at the end too. Not a great or even good horror film but not a bomb either.
After having away for some time , a young called Michael Sherrington : Bill Curran, returns home to encounter his spouse to find out that she has died during the childbirth . He attempts to solve what happened , but no one , mother and sisters , answer his questions and in fact they have become hostile . There are also two doctors , Dr Lexter : Frank Braña and Dr Kinberg : Antonio Jiménez Escribano who seem to be suspicious by withholding information and know something about her . Then Michael goes to local cemetery asking for the gravedigger : Victor Israel to unearth his wife , but the latter threatens to denounce him to Police . Nevertheleess , the man goes on his obsession and buries out the tomb by digging up where his wife lies to see if he can find out what happened to her , ultimately to resolve that it is empty. Later on , Michael is attacked and knocked out by two weird demon masked beings , and he suddenly disappears .
A bizarre European Gothic with no much sense , horror , supernatural events , hideous monster, weirdness and lousy dubbing . A twisted and absurd mess whose results will leave you embarrasing and bewildering . Resulting to be a rare and eerie terror tale with thrills , chills , plot twists , and being really boring. There appears some habitual Spanish secondaries : Frank Braña, Victor Israel, Antonio Jiménez Escribinano , all of them regular in all kinds of genres of the Sixties ans Seventies as Spaghetti, Paella Western , Terror , Euro-spy sub-genre , Giallo , or Jesus Franco films .
It displays a dark and sinister cinematography by Alfonso Nieva , being extremely necessary a perfect remastering . As well as a gloomy and terrifying musical score by Alfonso Santiesteban. The motion picture was lousily and badly directed by Miguel Madrid who often uses pseudonym Michael Skaife, here providing a morbid and outlandish terror entry with plenty of flashbacks as well . Miguel Madrid was a hack writer and director . He only mady three films, this "Necrophagus" or "The butcher of Binbrook" or "Graveyard of horror" 1971 , an erotic film titled "Bacanal en Directo" 1979 and another terror giallo film , the really weird "El Asesino de Muñecas" 1975 . Rating : 2.5/10 . Below average . Bottom of barrel .
A bizarre European Gothic with no much sense , horror , supernatural events , hideous monster, weirdness and lousy dubbing . A twisted and absurd mess whose results will leave you embarrasing and bewildering . Resulting to be a rare and eerie terror tale with thrills , chills , plot twists , and being really boring. There appears some habitual Spanish secondaries : Frank Braña, Victor Israel, Antonio Jiménez Escribinano , all of them regular in all kinds of genres of the Sixties ans Seventies as Spaghetti, Paella Western , Terror , Euro-spy sub-genre , Giallo , or Jesus Franco films .
It displays a dark and sinister cinematography by Alfonso Nieva , being extremely necessary a perfect remastering . As well as a gloomy and terrifying musical score by Alfonso Santiesteban. The motion picture was lousily and badly directed by Miguel Madrid who often uses pseudonym Michael Skaife, here providing a morbid and outlandish terror entry with plenty of flashbacks as well . Miguel Madrid was a hack writer and director . He only mady three films, this "Necrophagus" or "The butcher of Binbrook" or "Graveyard of horror" 1971 , an erotic film titled "Bacanal en Directo" 1979 and another terror giallo film , the really weird "El Asesino de Muñecas" 1975 . Rating : 2.5/10 . Below average . Bottom of barrel .
This movie has a lot of potential. The lighting is eerie, the sets are great, there's crumbling castles, dark cemeteries, shadowy forests, all the elements of an atmospheric horror gem which reminds me of a Hammer Film. Unfortunately, the attacking scenes are awkwardly acted and edited and there is no coherrent story that makes much sense or holds your interest. While it retains a melancholy mood and is worth a look for any big horror fan, the overall experience is tiring without any clear idea of what's happening or when it's going to end.
The DVD is usually overpriced from $16 to $20, however it's still worth it for some rare bonus trailers.
The DVD is usually overpriced from $16 to $20, however it's still worth it for some rare bonus trailers.
- TheCinemassacre
- Aug 17, 2005
- Permalink
This extremely cheap and low-keyed Spanish horror, courtesy of Miguel "Killer of the Dolls" Madrid, definitely gets extra points for the moody atmosphere and eerie set-pieces. Now, if only the script was slightly better, this might even had been a hidden gem of early 70s euro-horror! The handsome Michael Sherrington wants to find out more about the circumstances in which his wife Elizabeth died, whilst giving birth to their stillborn baby. The estate is full of unhelpful people, including Michael's cranky mother-in-law and all of Elisabeth's yummy sisters, and even at the treating doctor's house and the graveyard he doesn't receive any answers. Michael doesn't see another option but to break into the tomb at night and exhume his wife. What Madrid really does well is generating an ominous atmosphere, via characters that genuinely look audacious (like Mr. Fowles, the cemetery caretaker) and wintery landscapes that make the film feel tangibly cold & raw. The pacing, on the other hand, is a problem. "Graveyard of Horror" contains far too many dull moments, as well as lapses in continuity and horrendous dubbing. And this may be very personal, but I also had many difficulties to distinguish the characters from one another. I kept confusing the daughters with the scientist's wife/assistant, for example. The film features a handful of creepy images, like hands squirming out of the muddy ground or smoke floating out human skulls, but there is a shortage of real action. Worth seeking out, but only if you have a reasonably high tolerance for cheapness and poor picture quality.
- BandSAboutMovies
- Sep 23, 2019
- Permalink
The English translation of the title on the DVD version of this film is "Graveyard of Horrors," but I think that must be an error. It should have been called "Graveyard of Horribles." Horrible acting, horrible editing, horrible story, and horrible music all make this a horrible film best left in a horrible graveyard.
Horrible.
Horrible.
What if someone made a horror movie that was completely devoid of plot?
Well, I think it would probably end up a little bit like this one. I don't think I've ever seen a move was so steady it its slide from hackneyed (at the beginning) to complete crap (by the end). I only stuck with it, because I kept thinking it couldn't possibly get worse. Well, up until the very end, "Necrophagus"/"Graveyard of Horror" proved me wrong.
Who would have suspected that a movie with an undead lizard-man, evil grave-robbing cultists, and mad scientists tossed in for no discernible reason could suck this bad? One would think there'd at least be some humor value... but not here.
Well, I think it would probably end up a little bit like this one. I don't think I've ever seen a move was so steady it its slide from hackneyed (at the beginning) to complete crap (by the end). I only stuck with it, because I kept thinking it couldn't possibly get worse. Well, up until the very end, "Necrophagus"/"Graveyard of Horror" proved me wrong.
Who would have suspected that a movie with an undead lizard-man, evil grave-robbing cultists, and mad scientists tossed in for no discernible reason could suck this bad? One would think there'd at least be some humor value... but not here.
- mark.waltz
- Oct 18, 2021
- Permalink
It's really strange and hard to find a movie like that:
The plot is interesting, but the acting, the editing and camara are, at best, amateur.
Everything is there to be a great gothic story: Dead love A monster A spooky castle Unspoken hate and revenge A graveyard with a really creepy keeper But from the start, everything goes south, image, sound and acting. Scenes seams to have been match together without rhythm or reason. You could argue that the bad doubling in English doesn't help and makes things worst. But comparing to many other "international" horror movies of the 70's with same treatment (Spanish or Italian made doubled in English for International release), this one is not accomplished.
Too bad, the story is solid, the idea great, the resolution good... But the form is a mess.
Everything is there to be a great gothic story: Dead love A monster A spooky castle Unspoken hate and revenge A graveyard with a really creepy keeper But from the start, everything goes south, image, sound and acting. Scenes seams to have been match together without rhythm or reason. You could argue that the bad doubling in English doesn't help and makes things worst. But comparing to many other "international" horror movies of the 70's with same treatment (Spanish or Italian made doubled in English for International release), this one is not accomplished.
Too bad, the story is solid, the idea great, the resolution good... But the form is a mess.
- bmsguitars-464-887354
- Aug 20, 2024
- Permalink
Firstly a warning: this film is a very aquired taste. If you like 'hip' new American Slasher films such as Wes Craven's "Scream", then this film is probably not for you (your head may explode!) But, if you are a devout fan early-70's Spanish horror films like me, this is very highly recommended. You may feel somewhat dis-orientated - but that is the film's intention, it does not want to you to have a clear idea of exavtly what is going on for the first 50 minutes! The director plays with the viewer by fragmenting the narrative in a jarring way backwards and forwards so the chronology can only be worked out at the end. The wintery locations and gothic imagery give the whole film a sense of unease and melancholy. There would be no point in me trying to explain the plot of this movie as it would ruin the dis-orientating experience. The title has become very mis-leading since Jorg Buttgereit unleashed "Nekromantik" upon the world: there is NO gore, NO nudity, NO graphic depictions of necrophilia. But it certainly IS as disturbing as Buttgereit's film because of all the dark undercurrents in the film's depictions of rural family life and the decay of heritage. However, it is advised that the movie be watched in the language it is shot in, Spanish, as the English dubbing in the American and Scandinavian video releases is truly appalling. Unfortuantely, the Spanish video release (Norma Video) is very very rare.
- gimpwilkinson
- Aug 5, 2001
- Permalink
- Woodyanders
- Jan 30, 2019
- Permalink