Un silencio de tumba (1972)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Famous movie actress Annette Lamark (Glenda Allen) buys a private island and one weekend she decides to have some friends out for a party. She also invites her sister Valerie (Montserrat Prous) who has just been released from a mental hospital. Pretty soon Annette's young son is taken with a ransom note left behind demanding money. Before long people begin to turn up murdered.
UN SILENCIO DE TUMBA isn't the greatest film from director Jess Franco but for the most part it's an interesting thriller that has the filmmaker getting away from some of the trashier films that he was making around this era. The film, also known as SILENCE OF THE TOMB, doesn't feature any graphic violence, gore, sex or even any nudity so it's not your typical Franco film. The film does manage to be mildly entertaining throughout thanks in large part to Franco's direction.
At just 84-minutes the film is certainly short enough but its biggest problem is the fact that there's really not too much that happens. There's certainly a "story" being told here but unfortunately there's just not enough of it to really hold your interest throughout the running time. The first fifty-minutes are pretty much just at a stand still as the sister constantly begins to suspect countless people before we finally get to the murders. I really wish the screenplay had been a tad bit better or at least did a bit more with some of the supporting characters.
There were some impressive things here including the direction by Franco. As I said, the film certainly gets away from some of the trashier elements that were in most of his films from this era so that's refreshing. I'd also argue that the music score is one of the better from any of the director's films. I also thought Prous was quite good in her role but then again the entire cast was good and helped keep the film moving.
UN SILENCIO DE TUMBA isn't a masterpiece or even a good movie. It's certainly well-made and is worth watching if you're a fan of the director.
