Tombs of the Blind Dead – La noche del terror ciego (1971)

Directed by: Amando de Ossorio | 86 minutes | horror | Actors: Lone Fleming, César Burner, María Elena Arpón, Joseph Thelman, Rufino Inglés, Verónica Llimera, Simón Arriaga, Francisco Sanz, Juan Cortés, Andrés Isbert, Antonio Orengo, José Camoiras, María Silva

This European horror film from the 1970s is distinguished by its rather original premise and the atmospheric way of filming. A horror film stands or falls with a convincing “villain”, who can show up as a monster/insane killer/vampire or zombie, for example. As long as it’s a creep. In this respect ‘Tombs of the Blind Dead’ is certainly a success. The undead rising from their graves here look somewhat like zombies (they are notoriously slow walking) but they are actually lynched Templars from the Middle Ages, who practiced black magic and whose eyes have been pecked out.

That background story immediately makes them a lot more interesting. Despite their visual impairment and slow movement, the Templars are a formidable opponent. Moreover, the make-up effects are such that you would rather not meet these gentlemen in the dark. If writer and director De Ossorio is the one who thought it would be a good idea to put these blind undead on horseback and have them hunt victims, he deserves kudos. In any case, because he knows very well how to shoot powerful images, full of special shots. The second thing that brightens up this film is the oppressive and gloomy atmosphere. Threat is omnipresent and Antón García Abril’s music manages to evoke the right ominous feeling.

Even within the horror genre and with the premise of dead and blind Templars taken for granted, however, the plot is a teaser. Content has certainly been subordinated to form, which makes the whole lose some of its power. Apart from the really stupid decisions that the protagonists in such films make (for example, going camping alone at night in the ruins of an old monastery in the middle-of-nowhere), there is a lot to criticize about the logic of the narration. Not to mention the lesbian sex scene at the beginning of the movie, which seems to have no other purpose than to put a lesbian sex scene in the movie. The incredulity culminates when the undead, after a very powerful scene in which they crawl out of their graves, suddenly pull horses out of nowhere.

There is also no mention of acting. The actors are not given any material to do anything with. Due to the great emphasis on the atmosphere and the way everything is portrayed, the actors act as if they have been robbed of all their brain functions and you start hoping that the undead will get them. Which usually happens. Only the very creepy coroner knows what to do with his role.

The viewer is in the wrong place for a well-crafted story, but with a few good and effective horror scenes, reasonable special effects, a handful of bare breasts and scary undead ‘Tombs of the Blind Dead’ is still worth it.