The Hanging Woman

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

This film is an example of a zombie movie which has zombies that are created rather than transformed by a virus as generally depicted today. The usual differences between the two are that those created (by voodoo, black magic or science) generally follow instructions from their creator, don't eat flesh and don't infect others. Produced in 1973 in Europe it had a good Gothic feel to it. Likewise, although it was originally filmed in Spanish and dubbed in English the overall effect wasn't too bad either. However, one clear fault was that the lead actor, Stelvio Rosi (as "Serge Chekov") sported a haircut from the early 1970's even though the film was supposed to have taken place sometime in the 19th Century. Not only that but I thought his performance was slightly below that of the rest of the cast as well. On the other hand, some bright spots involved two gorgeous actresses, Maria Pia Conte ("Nadia Mihaly") and Dyanik Zurakowska ("Doris Droila") along with excellent makeup for the zombies. In short, other than the slight miscasting of the lead actor, this was a competent zombie film which fans of this genre might find interesting.

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.

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.

I saw this dubbed Spanish film as The Hanging Woman, on Gorgon Video. The box promised scenes of brutality, rape, and humiliation beyond Last House on the Left. Just to clear the record, this is not true. There is no rape, and the closest thing to humiliation is when an innocent virgin bares her breasts. There is violence and graphic gore, but it really doesn't kick in until the climax. And what a climax! Bloody zombies rampaging in the best Night of the Living Dead fashion, with the luridness increased in typical European style. The final shot is chilling and almost Bergman-esque. However, the rest of the movie is pretty uneventful. Despite a strong beginning and creepy atmosphere--with the dirtiness of the period perfectly captured by grainy, washed-out color photography--most of the film is like an overlong episode of Dark Shadows. Sexy Dyanik Zurakowska has some powerful nude scenes, and her sex scene with Stelvio Rosi helps spice things up...but not much else happens. Paul Naschy, the reason many people seek this out, has a small role as a red-herring necrophile. On the whole, I think The Hanging Woman is worth seeing--but you should know what you're getting into. If you want your Naschy fix, see one of his werewolf movies.

Trivia: La Orgia de los muertos originally hit the States in 1974 as The Hanging Woman. International Artists promoted the film with a Last House-inspired campaign: "For the squeamish, keep repeating: It can't be true, can't be true, can't be true, can't be true, can't be true." Stelvio Rosi was billed as Stanley Cooper.