Jess Franco bashers would have you believe that this is one of the worst films ever made. Well, it isn't. Not by a long shot...
In fact, this minor zombie gem is very much a blood relative to the likes of D'Amato's EROTIC NIGHTS OF THE LIVING DEAD and Fulci's ZOMBIE. They all share the same unsettling atmosphere/hypnotic dread and they all have settings in truly creepy locales.
As for the gore, it is kept to a minimum. However, the organic effects are quite excellent. These zombies truly look like grotesque dead/rotting corpses.
And as for the storyline, this is one of the few times Franco employs a traditional narrative structure. It works perfectly fine, keeping the plot simple, yet engaging. And for the naysayers, he even keeps his trademark "zooms" to a bare minimum.
Bottom line: Jess Franco may be an acquired taste, but this genre film is not.
In fact, this minor zombie gem is very much a blood relative to the likes of D'Amato's EROTIC NIGHTS OF THE LIVING DEAD and Fulci's ZOMBIE. They all share the same unsettling atmosphere/hypnotic dread and they all have settings in truly creepy locales.
As for the gore, it is kept to a minimum. However, the organic effects are quite excellent. These zombies truly look like grotesque dead/rotting corpses.
And as for the storyline, this is one of the few times Franco employs a traditional narrative structure. It works perfectly fine, keeping the plot simple, yet engaging. And for the naysayers, he even keeps his trademark "zooms" to a bare minimum.
Bottom line: Jess Franco may be an acquired taste, but this genre film is not.