Night of the Seagulls

A doctor and his wife open his practice in a traditional coastal town, where they are met with distrust and hatred from the locals. The couple soon find out that town harbours an ancient evil - offering resident women for sacrifice to the zombie dead Knights Templar then to be eaten by crabs.

Although only connected by the Knights returning to life Night of the Seagulls (La Noche de las gaviotas) is the fourth and final zombie Templar film from Director /Writer Amando De Ossorio.

Although it takes about 20 minutes for the Knights to rise from their graves in the seaside town, Night of the Seagulls is the faster paced of the bunch. This borrows from H. P Lovecraft, possibly The Shadow Over Innsmouth.

There's more fog, more eerie music and the dreamlike visuals come thick and fast, odd townsfolk, zombie knights on horseback and screaming seagulls. There are fewer leads, the couple and the village girl are adequate enough and there are plenty of worn and old faces on display, Amando De Ossorio throws in the obligatory slow 'village idiot' that is hounded by the community.

Debatably I maybe being to critical here but as a standalone film it works better if you haven't seen the other Blind Dead films, but for those familiar with them it's old trodden ground, a remake of a remake, that's it hard to enjoy fully without fresh eyes.

The dubbing and seventies jumpers aside this last Blind Dead retains it's creepy atmospheric factor and trades the better sets for some character development. Technically it's put together well but the closing act with a siege on the a house has been done and despite some good makeup effects is somewhat anti-climatic. That said, it redeems itself with the church showdown and conclusion.

All in all a mix bag of enjoyable bones.

You certainly can't reproach Amando De Ossorio of being lazy or repetitive, as this fourth & final installment in his terrific "Blind Dead" series is again very different in tone and content than any of the previous three. "Night of the Seagulls" is more mysterious and atmospheric than the other films and De Ossorio also throws in an compelling, albeit unoriginal, outsiders-in-a-closed-community sub plot. Young doctor Henry and his wife Joan arrive in a remote seaside village where they're given a VERY unfriendly reception by the oddly behaving locals. Only the town's nut Teddy and maiden beauty Lucy make acquaintance with the new arrivals and also inform them about the village's inescapable "pact" with the undead Templar Knights. For seven nights every seven years, the villagers have to sacrifice their virgin daughters to these eyeless zombies during a nocturnal ceremony on the beach. Okay granted, the sacrifice element in the story is definitely not new and the Templars are given less screen time than usual, but still this is a genuinely creepy exploitation highlight! You can either begin to sum up all the shortcomings and stupidities in the script (and yes, there are quite a lot of them), or enjoy the tense atmosphere and unique filming locations instead! The very weakest moments of the film – like that horribly lame ending – are somewhat more difficult to forgive, but there's graphic gore and sleaze to make up for that. By the way, did you know that skeletons that are dead for more than six centuries still bleed when you destroy them? Oh yeah, massively even! Throughout filming four similar movies, Amando De Ossorio's directing always remained solid, the choreography was always stylish, the music was always petrifying and the acting performances were always above average! That's definitely praiseworthy, too. Every single entry in the "Blind Dead" saga is highly recommended to every true horror fan.

The fourth and unfortunately last instalment in the Blind Dead saga marks a return to form after the slack "Ghost Galleon". In this exploitation zombie/vampire movie a young doctor and his wife move to a god forsaken coastal village with very uncooperative townsfolk. The house that the doctor inherits is a real dive and definitely not Blind Dead proof. Soon it becomes apparent that every seven years seven local girls are led to a cliff top to be taken by the evil Templars. The fact that the girls are led up to the cliff by a pack of the ugliest crones imaginable does not help. The new doctor steps in to lend a hand and the usual Blind Dead schenanagans ensue. This is a much better film than "Ghost Galleon" and has some nice tense and gory moments. A good ending marks the end of the series of films, entertaining even when the quality dropped slightly. What is the chance of a remake or even better allow the Templars to ride again in a new instalment? Here's hoping.

Deny all logic you living ones but enjoy the many shades of horror! Night of the Seagulls is the last one of the "quadrohorrorphonia" of the Blind Dead series. If you liked the first entries of this horror franchise you will like this one too. Of course, as the 4th movie in the franchise, it lacks a little of originality but it is still pleasure to watch. Nostalgic horror trip.

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.