The Spanish zombie film series known as the "Blind Dead" films finishes with this typically well done horror show. The Knights Templar are once again doing what they do best. This time, they haunt the residents of a coastal village for seven nights, every seven years. Beautiful young virgins must be sacrificed for the village to receive some semblance of peace. Into this setting come the intrepid young doctor Henry Stein (Victor Petit) and his lovely wife Joan (Maria Kosty). The locals make it clear that he is not welcome, but he insists on meddling in their business, and naturally comes to regret it.
"The Night of the Seagulls" is good and solid in the best tradition of Euro horror. It's as beautifully atmospheric as the best in the genre. Director Amando de Ossorio, who'd done all the previous entries, is in his element, and he crafts an effectively macabre outing. It's not going to be nearly gory enough for some viewers, but dwelling on the graphic violence is clearly not de Ossorios' priority this time around. It's all about the mood and the style.
One can hardly fail to notice that there is an absence of strong primary colours, therefore the picture doesn't exactly "pop". It's done in a true "black & white film in colour" manner. The music score by Anton Garcia Abril is sometimes repetitive, but overall it's eerie. The admittedly simple story plays like a nightmare come to life.
The acting is generally engaging; Henry and Joan are obviously not the brightest bulbs in the drawer, but they're not unlikable. Both Petit and Kosty are fine. Standing out are Sandra Mozarowsky as the brave Lucy, who's willing to befriend the couple, defy her peers, and divulge as much exposition as she knows, and Jose Antonio Calvo as the much abused town simpleton Teddy, for whom it's not hard to feel sympathy. The Knights Templar are as spooky and hideous as they've ever been.
Well worth watching for genre buffs.
Seven out of 10.
