Tombs of the Blind Dead

The story is about a renegade band of crusader-priests that turned from the Church and embraced the black arts. The opening sequence takes us back to the living Knights Templar and their cruel and graphic killing of a scantily-clad young female sacrifice. We then move up to the 20th century and the churchyard is nothing but a ruin, however, at night when females wandering about in the middle of nowhere chance upon the ruin, the knights wake from their crypts to feed on the blood of such passersby. Interesting story and one that has many problems of belief. These knights rise from the ground one moment, and in the next they are galloping on horses. Where did the horses come from? I couldn't find an answer....perhaps you can. The acting is passable, and I concede that grudgingly. But do not think I hold only contempt and despair for this film, because I really heartily recommend it. It is scary. It is very atmospheric. It is very intense at times. These dead knights are wonderfully made-up and really create frightening moments in the film as they walk toward their victims screaming. The knights were blinded after death and now when they rise from their earthy chambers they can only hear their way toward their victims. That is a very inventive concept. The director, Amando de Ossorio, knows what to do with lighting, set creations, and pacing the plot. There were three sequels to this film and that in itself shows it has SOME merit. The film also set the trend for mixing sex and gore. There is a good bit of both, more on the sex side, and what the female leads lack in acting ability they certainly make up for some of it in their...well how shall I put it....their physical presence.

I had seen only one film from the blind dead series (part 2 aka Return of the blind/evil dead) in the late 80s on a rented vhs. Although this film is the first in the series, i saw this for the first time recently. The story is about 2 girls n one guy who goes on a weekend trip. Sounds erotic huh. Don't get your hopes high. On the train ride there, one of the girl is overcome with jealousy and jumps off the train, deciding to spend the night in some nearby ruins. Wtf? It is a horror film n so the ruins are home of the blind dead knights who were into some satanic rituals until angry villagers killed them n left them for the crows to peck their eyes out. Some decent cinematography. It is an effective atmospheric film. The locations were really good. The abandoned n ruined village in the middle of nowhere, the endless fields, the only single train running n always passing by the ruins n the best part- the slow motion shots of the knights riding their horses in pursuit of their victims. When the knights r on the foot, they r slower than the snails but suddenly out of nowhere they get their horses n once they r on their horses, they ride faster in slow motions. Very creepy though. The skeletons, with their dark, odd beard hair features, actually look as if they've risen from their graves. Good effects.

'The Tombs Of The Blind Dead' is not strictly a zombie movie, but involves the resurrected dead (in this case blind heretics from the 13th Century). While not as explicit as Romero or Fulci it should appeal to fans of the living dead genre. The movie is strong on atmosphere and style, similar in some ways to Jean Rollin, but without the sex or pretension. The "blind dead" themselves are one of the creepiest and most effective concepts in any horror movie. Slow moving, relentless and deadly, with a penchant for flesh eating. The scenes where the dead ride horses to hunt their prey are classic horror. My only small criticism of this movie is that there were so few scenes of them. Modern horror fans who require wall to wall FX and a killing every 15 minutes will probably find this slow going, but true buffs will be mesmerized. Highly recommended.

A young woman stumbles upon an abandoned monastery and thinks it might make a good place to spend the night. She settles herself in beside a fireplace and gets ready for bed. But a strange noise keeps her from sleeping. Unknown to her, the graves in the monastery's courtyard are rumbling. The Templars have risen from their long sleep to find another blood sacrifice. Can the girl escape from the Tombs of the Blind Dead?

What a wonderful, one of a kind film with some genuine scares. Very few horror movies can claim to have truly unique plots and characters. Horror is a genre that feeds off itself and constantly recycles ideas. That's one of the things that makes Tombs of the Blind Dead such an interesting and refreshing movie. De Ossorio created a new mythos for his film. De Ossorio's zombie like creatures, the Templars, come complete with a fascinating backstory - Crusaders from the 13th Century who were put to death for practicing black magic, their eyes plucked from their sockets by birds. It would have been very easy for the movie to follow the zombie mold set out by Romero in Night of the Living Dead. But the Templars are not the mindless, stumbling brand of zombie. Instead, they move, hunt, and kill in an organized fashion. It means the Templars are even more deadly than your average zombie.

Tombs of the Blind Dead has so much going for it. The movie just drips with atmosphere. It's aided by a wonderful soundtrack featuring haunting music and an assortment of odd, creepy sounds. The crumbling monastery has to be one of the best sets I've ever seen. I can't imagine spending the night in this place. There are some places that look spooky in the daylight and this is one of them. The eyeless Templars are some of the most frightening creatures I've ever seen. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul - so what does that say if your eyes have been plucked out. And, the ending is marvelously down-beat. I really wasn't expected such an apocalyptic finish.

Oh, it's not perfect. There are a few things that bug me. For example, where do the Templars get their horses? Is there a horse graveyard somewhere? Also, the whole bit where the dead girl comes back to life. It's wonderfully creepy, but it feels like padding. But these things are minor in comparison with everything that works in Tombs of the Blind Dead.

Yet another example of the perception of a film being superior to the reality of actually sitting and watching it. There is no argument from me that the Blind Dead (The Templar Knights) are fantastic creations and director/writer Amando de Ossorio is to be revered for their birth. The scenes of the Templars stalking their victims and chasing them on horseback are striking and haunting and now occupy a special place in the pantheon of fantastique cinema. Unfortunately, "Tombs of the Blind Dead" is also a slow, boring, illogical mess. The performances are terrible, the "suspense" scenes are hit-and-miss, and the day-for-night photography, though effective in parts, is not believable. The film's bloody climax is a good one and the final freeze frame has some power, but it's sad to see such a wonderful concept handicapped by mediocre scripting and appalling acting. Still, there are defining moments of horror within the frames of this Spanish potboiler.