Director: Jess Franco (as A.M. Frank)
Year: 1982
Country: France/Spain
Alternate Titles: La tumba de los muertos vivientes, L'abîme des morts vivants, Bloodsucking Nazi Zombies, The Treasure of the Living Dead, Grave of the Living Dead
Genre: Zombie
Plot:
After hearing of his father's death, a group of friends leave for Africa to the location of a long lost secret Nazi gold convoy, yet when a horde of zombies arise from the sand and launch an assault on the group it ends up forcing them to defend themselves against the voracious creatures.
Review:
This isn't as bad as many make it out to be. One of the better elements of the film is the rather nice amount of action scenes here, even if they're not all zombie battles. The fire-fight sequence back in the war is a fun action sequence that is far better than what's been said as it's main strength is the fact that it lasts as long as it does. This one wisely features a close-quarters battle rather than just being a singular round of gunfire and then it's over, going back and forth and featuring some really nice moments. Given the simplistic and incredibly straightforward storyline where it involves the group of explorers seeking Nazi gold and stumbling upon something far more dangerous in that kind of situation where it has some nice action involved in getting this story going. Naturally, though, the zombies are the main part of the film's action, and come off rather nicely.
The fact that they have several creepy moments throughout is rather enjoyable, with the opening attack being the most creepy with off-screen noises and the general sense of the unknown really hammering it home. Their resurrection at the end through the slowly-shifting sand dunes with the hands slowly crawling out is incredibly atmospheric and goes a long way to giving them a menacing appearance. The assault on the campsite that follows is full-on action and burning bodies, and as the zombies score as well the overall scene is a general highlight. The other really nice part here is that the zombies do look suitably creepy, featuring suitably rotting faces and sand-encrusted features complete with charred Nazi uniforms. Several of them have a really rotted out eye-hole with one eye missing, and there's another which has the skin rotted away and giving the impression that it's eyes are bugging out. It's a memorable look, especially with the sandy features not a bad thing since some of them are pretty decent looking in their execution.
There is surprisingly very little wrong about this one. The main issue is that the zombies don't have a whole lot of screen-time in here which is a big disappointment seeing as that limits the fact that there's no real gore on display other than some really bloody wounds on bodies that would really be more enjoyable if it was shown how they were made. The fact that Franco is also toned down a lot in the exploitation angle with the violence and sleaze is also noticeable as this really could've had more of both, and only features a fraction of what is usually in his films. The slow pace is the last major problem, and really hampers the film a lot more than it should. It takes a long time to get rolling, and the zombies being in it so little and without the usual Franco exploits this meanders around for a while until it gets going. This is filled with lots of scenes of people talking and other such activities, featuring flashbacks to the father's life back in the day or just ambling around the desert that this one never really seems to drive forward with any sense of urgency all that much. That hurts the film the most.
Overview:
While nowhere near the best of the genre, this is a rather decent entry in the sub-genre and does have some really nice and impressive moments spread throughout to keep it from being a complete failure. This is really only recommended to the most hardcore European zombie and Jess Franco fans, as most others are advised to seek caution.
Trivia/Notes:
-The film exists in two versions. The more common French version, which is the one released in the USA by Wizard Video on VHS, Image Entertainment on DVD, and Redemption on Blu-ray, and a rarer Spanish version. In total, there's about 20 minutes of exclusive footage in the Spanish version of the film, which features a partially different cast from the French version. For example, Lina Romay appears in the Spanish cut of the film, but she doesn't appear in the French/English version. The gore scenes are also much more effective in the Spanish version of the film.
-A list of differences follows: General notes about "French version" vs. original "Spanish version" (this movie was made in two completely different versions simultaneously, featuring a French and Spanish cast, respectively):
-The "Spanish version" is approximately 2:32 minutes longer. The soundtrack on the Spanish version, credited to Pablo Villa, is completely different and much more effective. It is louder, and uses eerie organ music and "moans" instead of the bland electronic score on the "French version".
-There are 4 sequences which have been "re-filmed" for the "Spanish version", basically using the same story outline, but different actors (Lina Romay, Eduardo Fajardo, etc.). They are all longer (and better) than their English/French counterparts - totaling 21 minutes, 50 seconds compared to 16 minutes 08 seconds (an additional 5 minutes 42 seconds overall).
-A list of differences follows: General notes about "French version" vs. original "Spanish version" (this movie was made in two completely different versions simultaneously, featuring a French and Spanish cast, respectively):
-The "Spanish version" is approximately 2:32 minutes longer. The soundtrack on the Spanish version, credited to Pablo Villa, is completely different and much more effective. It is louder, and uses eerie organ music and "moans" instead of the bland electronic score on the "French version".
-There are 4 sequences which have been "re-filmed" for the "Spanish version", basically using the same story outline, but different actors (Lina Romay, Eduardo Fajardo, etc.). They are all longer (and better) than their English/French counterparts - totaling 21 minutes, 50 seconds compared to 16 minutes 08 seconds (an additional 5 minutes 42 seconds overall).
- The first is immediately after the opening credits and shows Lina Romay waiting outside the house in a jeep whilst Eduardo Fajardo tries to extract information about the location of the oasis from Robert's father before killing him. (Spanish version running-time = 06:38 seconds, English version running-time = 04:04 seconds).
- The second is after about 30 minutes and shows the arrival of the search party at the oasis. They set up camp and attacked at night by the zombies. Lina Romay is graphically killed and her intestines removed. Eduardo Fajardo escapes although he is bitten. The English/French version is nowhere near as graphic (a few brief shots of the zombies are the same in bother versions). (Spanish version running time = 12:07 seconds, English version running time = 09:28 seconds).
- The third is after about 45 minutes and is just a brief sequence in which Eduardo Fajardo wakes up in the jeep and walks off. In the English/French version the man wakes up in bed before getting up. (Spanish version running time = 00:23 seconds, English version running time = 00:16 seconds).
- The fourth is shortly after that sequence and shows Eduardo Fajardo laughing maniacally as he starts to turn into a zombie from the bite on his neck. He eventually falls conveniently onto a bed of straw before being burnt. There are several cut-away shots of the students watching this from the English/French version. (Spanish version running time = 02:42 seconds, English version running time = 02:20 seconds).
-After just over 60 minutes there is a 03:17 second sequence of a couple of the students making love in their tent in the oasis (Inga and friend). This has been edited out of the Spanish print entirely. There are 2 further brief sequences not in the Spanish version: a 00:10 second scene after 75 minutes - the girl student (Inga) carrying a petrol can being grabbed by the ankles by a zombie emerging from the sand, and 00:07 seconds after 76 minutes in which the zombies surround her and bite her leg.
-One sequence lasting 00:46 seconds of a series of shots of the zombies approaching, close-ups of worms on their faces, and shots of the oasis, is in a different place in the Spanish version (after 79 minutes in the running time instead of 74 minutes).
-Finally after 81 minutes, there is one extra shot lasting 00:12 seconds in the Spanish version showing the zombies disappearing into thin air in front of the oasis.
-Of course the opening credits are completely different on both versions, although they last the same time - 01:10 seconds. The Spanish ones are in red lettering and play over a close-up of a zombie's face, whilst the English/French ones are in white lettering over a shot of the town. The Spanish print ends with 15 seconds of additional credits after "Fin" which credit Jesus Franco as "montage" and Lina Romay as "ayte. de montage".
-There is also more narrative voice-over during the war flashback sequence in the Spanish version. -To summarize then, the Spanish version has 22:02 seconds of footage not in the English/French version, but is missing 03:34 seconds of original footage and 16:08 seconds of alternate footage, giving a total difference of 02:20 seconds + 00:15 seconds at end - 00:03 seconds minor jumps = 02:32 seconds.
-One sequence lasting 00:46 seconds of a series of shots of the zombies approaching, close-ups of worms on their faces, and shots of the oasis, is in a different place in the Spanish version (after 79 minutes in the running time instead of 74 minutes).
-Finally after 81 minutes, there is one extra shot lasting 00:12 seconds in the Spanish version showing the zombies disappearing into thin air in front of the oasis.
-Of course the opening credits are completely different on both versions, although they last the same time - 01:10 seconds. The Spanish ones are in red lettering and play over a close-up of a zombie's face, whilst the English/French ones are in white lettering over a shot of the town. The Spanish print ends with 15 seconds of additional credits after "Fin" which credit Jesus Franco as "montage" and Lina Romay as "ayte. de montage".
-There is also more narrative voice-over during the war flashback sequence in the Spanish version. -To summarize then, the Spanish version has 22:02 seconds of footage not in the English/French version, but is missing 03:34 seconds of original footage and 16:08 seconds of alternate footage, giving a total difference of 02:20 seconds + 00:15 seconds at end - 00:03 seconds minor jumps = 02:32 seconds.
-Jess Franco's film utilizes stock footage from I giardini del diavolo (Heroes Without Glory (1971)) for the battle scenes.
Comments
Post a Comment