Vengeance of the Zombies (1973)

Simply A Masterpiece

just watch it!

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

A fairly typical Paul Naschy vehicle, with a muddled plot. In my opinion this is an average genre film for Naschy, although those who aren't fans of the Spanish horror stalwart's work may want to knock a star off the rating here because I'm inclined to enjoy his films however silly they may be. VENGEANCE OF THE ZOMBIES is a mixed bag, dragged down by Leon Klimovsky's unusually bland "point the camera and shoot" style of direction, enlivened by a few arty touches like having the zombies move in slow-motion and the like. As with THE MUMMY'S REVENGE, this is a film which sees Naschy merely going through the motions rather than setting a trend with SHADOW OF THE WEREWOLF.Naschy plays cult leader Harry Krishna, a long-haired muscular dude who sits around meditating in a spooky old mansion while his Indian house servant looks on sinisterly. The film is set in London and England incidentally, although it doesn't look like it for a second, which gives ample opportunity for Klimovsky to throw in some stock footage of red London buses and the like. Amusingly, there's also a bad soundtrack which mixes jazz with bizarre singing which is good for a laugh. Meanwhile, the female lead (the actress going only by the singular name of "Romy"), looking for a quiet retreat, goes to live in Naschy's house and ends up falling in love with the weird one. She also has a macabre dream sequence of a black mass taking place in the basement of the house, which gives the ever-gleeful Naschy the opportunity to dress up as a horned demon.Meanwhile, to keep the plot spicy, a series of giallo-like gore murders are being committed in London by a mysterious figure who goes through a succession of joke-shop fright masks. Could it be Naschy? I won't say, but the plot is about the use of the power of voodoo to bring the dead back to life and hypnosis into helping people carry out diabolical plans. Which leads me to the zombies - they certainly manage to make the film atmospheric, but as screen scaries they're a bit of a disappointment, being just women in white makeup with no other sign that they're dead.Klimovsky inserts liberal scenes of sex and violence (axes go into heads, numerous throats are slit graphically) to try and keep the viewer's interest going but all in all it's a bit of a muddled film which didn't exactly fill me with joy, although like most Spanish Gothic films it's more than watchable. My favourite moment comes when the heroine (not exactly memorable, as heroines go) goes to see an old woman whose head then proceeds to slowly fall off to one side, blood spurting out. Unfortunately, the genuinely creepy moments - like a shot of a dead body hanging amid the carcasses of slaughtered livestock in a freezer - are abandoned in favour of more predictable in-your-face shocks and fright scenes.

Psychotronic-film buffs who watch the Paul Naschy films "Crimson" (1973) and "The Hanging Woman" (also 1973) may come away feeling a bit shortchanged regarding the amount of screen time allotted to the so-called "Boris Karloff of Spain." In the first, Naschy plays a jewel thief who has been shot in the head following a botched robbery, and thus lays in a near coma for the film's first hour, while awaiting a brain transplant; in the second, he plays a necrophilic grave digger whose screen time is brief in the extreme. No such drawbacks for the eager Naschyphile crop up in Leon Klimovsky's "Vengeance of the Zombies" (1973 again...quite a year for Paul!), fortunately; in fact, in this one, Spain's leading horror icon plays no less than three (3!) roles, and is marvelous in all of them. In the film, a rash of killings has begun in modern-day London, perpetrated, it is soon discovered, by a quartet of recently resurrected women whose interred bodies had recently gone missing. When Elvire Irving (played by an actress only listed as Rommy) is almost slain by the zombie of her recently departed cousin, she hightails it to the country estate of her Indian guru Krisna (Naschy #1), soon to be joined by her psychologist boyfriend Lawrence Redgrave (Vic Winner, who had also costarred that same year with Naschy in the excellent film "Hunchback of the Morgue"). But, as it turns out, even this escape to the pastoral village of Llangwell is not sufficient to separate Elvire from the ghastly zombie predations, or the schemes of Krisna's burnt-faced brother, Kantaka (Naschy #2)....Basically a giallo film with large doses of the supernatural stirred in, "VOTZ" gives us a masked killer utilizing a small band of the female undead to do his bidding, as well as numerous other homicidal tricks. It features a nicely complex story line (courtesy of screenwriter Naschy) to keep the viewer guessing and a few genuine surprises toward its conclusion. The picture contains any number of startling moments (most notably a dream sequence, in which Elvire meets the Devil himself, played by--you guessed it--Naschy #3), and the quartet of pasty-faced, slow-moving zombie gals really is quite eerie to behold. For the dedicated gorehounds out there, "VOTZ" should also prove quite pleasing, boasting as it does a battered bloody face, a hatchet in the head, a hanging, a throat impalement, several garrotings, assorted knifings, death by beer can (!), a throat slitting, a decapitation, a crucifix stabbing and--perhaps worst of all--the beheading of an actual chicken during a voodoo ceremony (as in "Hunchback of the Morgue," with its live rats on fire, an animal WAS apparently harmed during the making of this picture!). The film makes excellent use of its London locales (it was also shot in Navacerrada and Torrelodones, Spain, both sites being northwest of Madrid) and spotlights the most striking-looking gold-painted woman since a certain 007 movie from 1964. That's the good news. The bad news is the film's unfortunate soundtrack from Juan Carlos Calderon, a funk/fusion blend seemingly more apropos for a blaxploitation action flick starring Fred Williamson or Pam Grier. The juxtaposition of zombie risings with this funky junk seemed highly inappropriate to me-- almost non sequitur--as it did, apparently, for many other viewers, as well. Still, Calderon's music IS occasionally effective here, most especially the discordant, outre jazz that accompanies that above-mentioned dream sequence. For the most part, however, it almost torpedoes what is otherwise a well-put-together horror outing; hardly essential viewing, but surely a must-see for all of Paul Naschy's many fans.As for this DVD itself, from the always dependable folks at Deimos, it sports a great-looking print of this obscure film; the so-called "export" version, with all the nudity (deemed too risqué by the bluenosed Franco censors of the time) left intact...although whether we need to see a zombie in a see-through nightie is another question! The DVD is introduced by Naschy himself, a few years before his death from pancreatic cancer in 2009 (oh, if only HE could be resurrected!), in which he tells us, with lovable immodesty, "It is a strange movie, a really shocking movie...one of the most horrifying movies in the Spanish horror cinema!" Who am I to argue with the Boris Karloff of Spain?

Deranged voodoo zombie film with a serial killer on the loose in London, stabbing bourgeoisie types, performing rituals using a wax effigy, pouring blood over it, setting it on fire, causing those dead to become unwitting undead slaves. Those attacked knew each other, their relationship dating back to an infamous incident in India, and the one mutilating them dresses like Jack the Ripper, wearing strange Halloween masks, carrying a medical bag containing his materials used for resurrecting those he kills. The film also follows red-head Elvire(Romy), who is infatuated with a charismatic Hindu spiritualist, Krisna(Paul Naschy), soon joining him at his retreat in a notorious castle in a village called Llangwell, the estate known for housing a group of Satanists who communed there. Kala(Mirta Miller), maid Elsie(María Kosty)and a local train depot guard all attempt to ward Elvire away from the castle, with no such luck because she's head-over-heels for Krisna. Soon the psycho shows up in Llangwell, and his identity is closely associated with Krisna. Meanwhile, Elvire's London friend, Lawrence(Víctor Alcázar), a journalist and occult scholar is called in by Scotland Yard regarding his expertise in voodoo among other strange rituals, their hoping he can be of assistance in catching the fiend.Delirious script penned by Paul Naschy and directed by he long-time collaborator León Klimovsky, this film is certain to please gorehounds and it's evident of the influence in regards to Hammer studios for it features bright, textured film blood and plenty of sharp metallic objects penetrating flesh, including one memorable scene where a head nearly comes off, hanging barely as the crimson bubbles forth. Regarding the use of voodoo, you can tell Naschy did some homework and his script heavily elaborates in details the methods involved in utilizing such powers to harm. When the zombie girls attack, Klimovsky's camera shoots them in slow motion, with them often approaching screen. There was a direct emphasis on trying to spook us with these zombies, but the make-up rarely works and may instead cause unintentional laughter.The zombie girls, slaves ordered around by Kantaka, the evil twin brother of Krisna, are more akin to the ghouls you see in Carnival of Souls, except their heavy discolored make-up doesn't quite work(..the key to the success of Carnival of Souls is that the ghouls, under heavy make-up, is shot in glorious B&W photography). Kantaka(..and his underling, Ti Zachary, portrayed by a creepy looking Pierre Besari)was badly burned in a fire purposely set, which ties into the main story as to why the voodoo is being used on certain selected victims, and Naschy's make-up provides him with a hideous pasty face(..reminiscent of an Italian zombie in an 80's Fulci flick).Seeing Naschy dressed in Indian attire(tunic and head scarf), takes some getting use to, but at least he tries something new, in a change-of-pace role. The filmmakers go to great lengths to put as much of London in the film as possible, footage probably shot illegally. Not sure why it's titled so since there's no vengeance of the zombies, they are tools for another's revenge. A nice try, but ultimately unsatisfying voodoo chiller.

"Vengeance of the Zombies" is one of the more enjoyable European horror films of the time.**SPOILERS**Speaking in London, cult leader Krisna, (Paul Naschy) performs with his companion, Kala, (Mirta Miller) their usual Middle Eastern philosophy. When Lawrence, (Victor Alcazar) and his girlfriend Elvira Irving, (Romy) attend one ceremony, she suddenly succumbs to weird visions of deceased relatives, and opts to take a trip away to clear herself at their house out in the countryside. While back in London, he stumbles upon a murder mystery while trying to study about cults where the victims are drained of blood and offered up as a sacrifice, allowing the deceased to come back as voodoo-driven zombies to do the bidding of their master. Racing to find the master, he tries to put a stop to it before an evil voodoo sorcerer uses them for his own nefarious plans.The Good News: This here isn't all that bad, and certainly has some good points. The mix-mash of genres present in this one a strong point, which gets some points for it. The fact that it manages to do so offers up some creativity that might not be apparent to some. The supernatural elements brought on from the black mass rituals are really creepy and genuinely unnerving, helped in no small part by their attention to detail and authentic feel. The first one, where witnessing a participant dressed head-to-toe in gold paint with stoic figures around the back watching a Devil-figure drink blood from a horn shaped like a human leg, all set to a jazz score, is something to remember. The later scenes carry just as much impact, and a sequence in the morgue that features a wax voodoo doll filled with blood and set on fire where the dead sit up under the sheets behind them offers a great visual and the later mass ritual is something to behold in it's impressiveness. The slasher aspects here get the majority of the blood and gore in their kills, as a victim is forced to slit their throat, a hatchet is buried in the face, a bottle opens a big, bloody wound on the neck, a knife stabbed in the back and the film's big highlight, where an approached figure is revealed to have been decapitated upon touching. It's a nice shock and looks really impressive. Even the killer looks great, as the use of voodoo to do some of them is really original and adds a nice touch. The zombie plot allows for some nice make-up effects, as the zombies look suitably dead without the just-killed look. The fact that they're draped in gowns and come completely with demonic grins is even more appreciated, and a spectacular scene as they massacre a group in a cemetery at night is all Gothic brilliance. The several dreams are creepy as well, adding in another flavor to the film, and altogether, makes this one really interesting and watchable.The Bad News: This one here does have a couple of mild flaws. The fact that it mixes everything together and uses so many different ideas and themes is something that can cause confusion and annoyance in some. The slasher story set inside the Devil-Worshiping cult story is one that stands out, mainly for being as confusing as it is hard to explain the need for it. It adds to the body count and provides some blood and gore to the film, but it really feels like it belongs in another film and really taken the time to be explored and thought out more. The zombie plot is the most puzzling, since they follow up on the more traditional version rather than the raging, flesh-eating kind more commonly known, and their appearance as that kind will no doubt be something that will be hard pressed to get over for some. The fight sequence is incredibly bad, looking too staged for it's own good and comes across as foolish. A couple of incidental scenes with no purpose being there, as the bicycle meet and the London walk-through, disrupt the fine pacing and serve no real purpose. Otherwise, this one here is pretty good.The Final Verdict: One of the more interesting features abound, merely for it's creativity and passion, won't be something for all. Really only useful for those heavily interested in the occult, die-hard Naschy or European horror fanatics, while those with no interest in these won't find much here to enjoy.Rated UN/R: Graphic Violence, Language, Nudity and mild animal violence