Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972)

In the 13th century there existed a legion of evil knights known as the Templars, who quested for eternal life by drinking human blood and committing sacrifices. Executed for their unholy ... See full summary »

Director:

Amando de Ossorio

Writers:

Jesús Navarro Carrión (additional dialogue), Amando de Ossorio

Stars:

Lone Fleming, César Burner, María Elena Arpón

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lone Fleming	...	Betty Turner
César Burner	...	Roger Whelan
María Elena Arpón	...	Virginia White (as Helen Harp)
José Thelman	...	Pedro Candal (as Joseph Thelman)
Rufino Inglés	...	Inspector Oliveira
Verónica Llimerá	...	Nina
Simón Arriaga	...	Morgue Keeper
Francisco Sanz	...	Professor Candal
Juan Cortés	...	Coroner
Andrés Isbert	...	Train Engineer's Son
Antonio Orengo	...	Train Engineer
José Camoiras
María Silva	...	Maria

Storyline

In the 13th century there existed a legion of evil knights known as the Templars, who quested for eternal life by drinking human blood and committing sacrifices. Executed for their unholy deeds, the Templars bodies were left out for the crows to peck out their eyes. Now, in modern day Portugal, a group of people stumble on the Templars abandoned monastery, reviving their rotting corpses to terrorize the land.

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Plot Keywords:

bitten by evil dead | zombification | knights templar | knight templar | tomb | 

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Taglines:

Makes "Night of the Living Dead" Look Like a Kids Pajama Party!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Spain Portugal

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

February 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mark of the Devil, Part 4: Tombs of the Blind Dead

Filming Locations:

Porto, Portugal

Company Credits

Production Co:

Interfilme, Plata Films S.A.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min 83 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some distributors in the U.S. re-cut and released "La Noche del terror ciego" with the title "Revenge from Planet Ape" in an effort to capitalize on the success of the Planet of the Apes (1968). A prologue was added in this cut version to make a dubious connection between the two films. The prologue explains that 3000 years ago a simian civilization of super intelligent apes struggled with man to gain control of the planet. In the end man conquered ape after a brutal battle which saw him destroy the ape, his culture and society. After this battle man tortured and killed all the ape prisoners by piercing their eyes with a red hot pokers. One of the prisoners, who was also the leader of the apes, vowed they would return from the dead to avenge man's brutality at a point in time before man destroyed Earth himself. This alternate prologue is available for viewing on the Blue-Underground DVD release.

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Goofs

One of the Blind Dead seen riding in the climax has a normal human left hand.

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Alternate Versions

A dubbed English language version was made for US drive in theaters during the 70's entitled "The Blind Dead". This version was quite heavily edited for an R rating, which heavily toned down the bloodier scenes and removed the rape sequence in the graveyard in its entirety. It also moved a flashback sequence which had originally occurred about 50mins into the film, showing the templars sacrificing a young maiden, to the beginning of the film. This version is included on the US DVD from Blue Underground along with the uncut Spanish language version.

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Connections

Referenced in Birth of the Living Dead (2013)

User Reviews

La noche del terror ciego: Fantastic vintage zombie title

Tombs Of The Blind Dead is the first in the Blind Dead franchise, a Spanish series of zombie movies that have evaded me for a fair while.

I'm glad to say that it really impressed me and is highly similiar to Italian movies of the same ilk also from the same period.

It tells the story of a girl who is murdered in an abandoned ruined village once occupied by Templars. Her friends set about investigating and discover the villages horrifying secret.

What makes this stand out is that not only do our zombies have origins but that they have personality. Robed, skeletal, blind and horse riding! This is original stuff and it works wonders.

Ontop of that the movie is well scored, looks fantastic and really delivers on every front. Because of this I can't wait to get stuck into the remaining films.

The Good:

Looks great

Quite original for it's genre

Well made

Brilliant finale

The Bad:

Couple of ropey looking moments

Could have been longer

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Porcupines are sweet and suave