Kelly WandReturn of the Evil Dead
November 18th 2006 00:53
“Return of the Evil Dead” has nothing to do with Sam Raimi’s log cabin classics. It is the second instalment in the “Blind Dead” series. Never heard of it? Well, I’m not surprised. The list of legendary Spanish Horror films is not a long one and most libraries leave it locked up in the back room somewhere. Director Amando de Ossorio may be a legend but only to a select few.
His monsters may be rubbery, his amputations absurdly staged, his plots hackneyed and his heroes slow on the uptake (The zombies are blind – maybe they should try being really quiet) but de Ossorio knows a thing or two about atmosphere. When a film is this cheap, it is quite a surprise to find you have worked yourself up to the edge of your seat. It is good to be reminded of that feeling of why you liked horror films in the first place. It has nothing to do with believable effects. It is just plain fun to be scared.
Fans of the Da Vinci Code will be amazed to discover that the Knights Templar were not looking after the bloodline of Christ. Instead, they had discovered the secret of eternal life and all they really needed was to crucify the odd virgin, drink her blood and eat her heart. The villagers do not take kindly to this practice and they blind and burn the knights alive. Five centuries later, they’re back to hack down the descendants of their executioners.
Genre freaks will not be disappointed if they trip over a copy and aficionados will be delighted. The casual viewer will probably be mildly entertained but vaguely baffled at the fuss ladled out by horror fans. If you flat out hate horror movies, there is nothing here to sway your opinion.
The box boasts the following quote from SciFilm: “Some of the most Effective Monsters ever put on Film!”. Even the most rabid gore hound would probably tell you this claim is ridiculous. I can only assume that it is not the dead who are blind, it was the reviewer from SciFilm.
His monsters may be rubbery, his amputations absurdly staged, his plots hackneyed and his heroes slow on the uptake (The zombies are blind – maybe they should try being really quiet) but de Ossorio knows a thing or two about atmosphere. When a film is this cheap, it is quite a surprise to find you have worked yourself up to the edge of your seat. It is good to be reminded of that feeling of why you liked horror films in the first place. It has nothing to do with believable effects. It is just plain fun to be scared.
Fans of the Da Vinci Code will be amazed to discover that the Knights Templar were not looking after the bloodline of Christ. Instead, they had discovered the secret of eternal life and all they really needed was to crucify the odd virgin, drink her blood and eat her heart. The villagers do not take kindly to this practice and they blind and burn the knights alive. Five centuries later, they’re back to hack down the descendants of their executioners.
Genre freaks will not be disappointed if they trip over a copy and aficionados will be delighted. The casual viewer will probably be mildly entertained but vaguely baffled at the fuss ladled out by horror fans. If you flat out hate horror movies, there is nothing here to sway your opinion.
The box boasts the following quote from SciFilm: “Some of the most Effective Monsters ever put on Film!”. Even the most rabid gore hound would probably tell you this claim is ridiculous. I can only assume that it is not the dead who are blind, it was the reviewer from SciFilm.
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Comment by DonnaM
Interesting info you've got on the Da Vinci Code.
Comment by Bob Short
This one came out in Spain in the 1980's. No Australian DVD release is planned to my knowledge. I just happened to find a second hand import copy for fifteen bucks. Some ghouls have all the luck!