Tombs of the Blind Dead is one of only a few movies to ever make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up (others being The Exorcist, The Omen, The Changeling, just to name a few).  For the uninitiated Tombs of the Blind Dead is the first in four films about Satan-worshipping Templars of old who rise from their tombs at night to feast upon anyone that disturbs their resting place.  If this sounds like your run-of-the-mill zombie flick, you’d be wrong.  Dead wrong.

Rating:

The flick starts with a quick introduction to the main three characters.  Some sloppy acting is almost off-putting; except there’s a vibe that something is horribly wrong in every shot which is one of the best things about Tombs of the Blind Dead (besides the Blind Dead themselves).  Most of the story seems to take place during the daylight hours.  The problem that most horror films face is that there are not really a lot of creepy situations that should be able to happen in broad daylight.  There are not many shadowy places for a victim to be stalked in the middle of an open field, and Tombs of the Blind Dead makes even the brightly lit daytime hours seem as terrifying as the midnight stretch.  Even shots of a crowded pool seem to be hiding an ominous secret. 

The vibe of impending doom shoots through the roof as the scenes cut between the first victim looking through the ruins and shots of the desolate graveyard.  This all leads to the first appearance of the Blind Dead, and what a show it is.  Night has fallen, as bells begin to toll, and a gentle mist brushes through the ancient gravestones.  Each stone begins to quiver as the Blind Dead awaken from their slumber, rising from the ground.  The shot cuts to a wide angle and the audience is treated to the Blind Dead mounted on their steeds.  This may sound ridiculous, and in every sense of the word it’s beyond that, but the way that director, Amando de Ossorio filmed the sequences was masterfully done.  The shots of the Blind Dead themselves are creepy as all hell, but the shots of the Blind Dead on their horses is a thing of beauty.

Now, there’s still a debate about whether the Blind Dead are zombies/mummies/vampires, but I’m more inclined to go with a blood-sucking mummy (the faces should make it apparent why I think that).  In most zombie films, the chase usually isn’t that interesting as the characters usually get themselves into the horrible situations that they end up in, and some characters in Tombs of the Blind Dead do that too, but the first victim isn’t one of those.  There’s a few moments where the audience wants to ring her neck for failing to perform a seemingly simple task to get away, but overall, she does everything she can to stay one step ahead of the Blind Dead as she races through the desolate ruins. Even though they move slowly, no matter where the victim runs to, there they are.  It just hammers home the fact that “you cannot escape.”

Atmosphere runs thick throughout the film, becoming even more overwhelming as the victims of the Blind Dead rise up themselves to feast upon the blood of others.  The sequences involving the victims returning from the grave are very Bava-esque and contain some of the most chilling moments of the film.  One in particular, involves Betty’s assistant facing off against an undead victim in the mannequin shop where she works.  The life-size dolls, the flashing red light, the silence and knowledge we have as an audience that something is just outside the unlocked door, is truly nightmare-inducing.

Another fascinating thing Ossorio did was not use Romero’s idea of the undead, but rather to play with it and twist it to his liking.  In Tombs of the Blind Dead, the Blind Dead, clearly, are blind.  This means that they cannot see their victims and have to find another way to hunt their prey.  The answer?  Sound.  The Blind Dead can hear every step you take, every breath sliding out from your lips, every scream escaping from your throat…even the beating of your heart.  This leads to an intense scene where Betty is trying to avoid the Blind Dead that are all around her.  She covers her mouth and doesn’t move, but the sound of her heartbeat becomes louder and louder until the Blind Dead turn and move in her direction. 

The main problem many viewers will have with Tombs of the Blind Dead is the pacing.  It is definitely a slow burning film.  There are not a lot of scenes with the Blind Dead and the gore and nudity is kept to a minimum.  Some horrendous acting and over-the-top dialogue don’t help this very much either.  As many of you know, pacing is a huge issue for me when I watch films.  Even if the film is solid, I’ll probably like it less if it doesn’t move along.  That’s far from the truth on this film.  The slow, methodical pace is perfect for the feel and tone of the film.  The Blind Dead move at a sluggish pace, and the deliberate pacing of the film allows the true dread to pull through and invade the audience’s minds.

Overall, if you’re looking for a non-stop gore fest, tons of senseless nudity, or a Dawn of the Dead ’04 pace, you’d best be advised to look elsewhere.  This is a horror film in the truest sense of the word.  It’s a terrifying decent into madness and one of the most beautiful horror films I’ve ever seen.  A quick note, if you haven’t seen it yet, and you grab the DVD, watch the Spanish version as the English cut is missing a lot of good stuff, the dubbing is horrible, and it makes no sense since a lot of the plot was cut out as well.