Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974)
"Non si deve profanare il sonno dei morti" (original title)

A cop chases two hippies suspected of a series of Manson family-like murders; unbeknownst to him, the real culprits are the living dead, brought to life with a thirst for human flesh by chemical pesticides being used by area farmers.

Director:

Jorge Grau

Writers:

Sandro Continenza, Marcello Coscia,

Stars:

Cristina Galbó, Ray Lovelock, Arthur Kennedy

4 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cristina Galbó	...	Edna (as Christine Galbo)
Ray Lovelock	...	George
Arthur Kennedy	...	The Inspector
Aldo Massasso	...	Kinsey
Giorgio Trestini	...	Craig
Roberto Posse	...	Benson
José Lifante	...	Martin (as Jose Ruiz Lifante)
Jeannine Mestre	...	Katie
Gengher Gatti	...	Keith
Fernando Hilbeck	...	Guthrie
Vera Drudi	...	Mary
Vicente Vega	...	Dr. Duffield
Francisco Sanz	...	Perkins
Paul Benson	...	Wood
Anita Colby	...	Nurse

Storyline

A cop chases two young people visiting the English countryside, suspecting them of a local murder; unbeknownst to him, the real culprits are the living dead, brought to life with a thirst for human flesh by radiation being used by area farmers as a pesticide alternative.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | radiation | human flesh | farmer | living dead | 

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Taglines:

One of the best zombie films ever made.

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Spain Italy

Language:

Italian Spanish

Release Date:

1 June 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Don't Open the Window

Filming Locations:

Barnes Hospital, Cheadle, Cheshire, England, UK

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 16,894,971 (Spain) (3 March 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Star Films S.A., Flaminia Produzioni Cinematografiche

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 85 min (R-rated) 93 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The films bizarre alternate title "Don't Open the Window" inspired Edgar Wright to make his mock-trailer "Don't" for the film Grindhouse (2007).

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Goofs

If you look at the lettering on the door while the police and George are at the Old Owl, you can see that owl is mistakenly spelled "Olw".

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Quotes

George: The dead don't walk around, except in very bad paperback novels!

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Connections

Featured in Horror Europa with Mark Gatiss (2012)

User Reviews

A Living Dead masterpiece

The opening ten minutes of this film present a skewed, cynical perspective of society. As our "hero" rides through London on his way to the countryside, Spanish director George Grau feeds us endless images of choked traffic, smoke spewing from grates, commuters filing onto buses like zombies and, finally, a quick shot of a naked woman dashing across a busy street. We notice her, but nobody else does, they're too damn occupied with their own busy lives.

It's a theme revisited in 2004's SHAUN OF THE DEAD, another zombie film with intelligence behind it, but in LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE, it's purely subtext, but it's subtext that works on us like a spreading virus.

As George Romero suggested -- in "Night of The Living Dead" -- that radiation from a downed satellite may have been responsible for the revival of the long gone and recently deceased, Grau is more overt as he links what looks like a piece of farming machinery to the resurrection of the dead.

This film's effectiveness is due to its deliberate pacing and detail-oriented direction. A principle that horror is unexpected in the sunshine is applied to the film's first half as the stumbling dead begin to multiply.

The final showdown in a hospital (The Manchester Morgue) has a graphic, savage nature to it that restates the subtle subtext.

Like great Spanish horror directors before him, George Grau brings a respect for the genre to this moderate masterpiece and his sincerity overcomes the occasional plot snag.

Horror is about fear, and not just fear of the unknown, it's also about the fear of knowing too much.

Perhaps it is best to glide through life like a zombie, oblivious to the changes around you.

LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE was a milestone for horror movies.