The People Who Own the Dark (1976)

I love this movie so much

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Great title for a film, but just not this one. Over ambitious project inevitably leading to it becoming pretentious, silly and unforgivably, dull. It starts promisingly enough with a disparate group of dignitaries all masked at sat about a banqueting table as pretty girls in diaphanous gowns prepare to submit to their every whim in the name of the Marquis de Sade. Some of us will wish the film continued in this vein instead of lurching into post apocalyptic Twilight Zone territory, with blindness, zombieness and the threat of radiation and the end of the world. Paul Naschy is fine but looks a little more awkward than usual. I find he is usually better when working for himself.

Argentinian-born filmmaker León Klimovsky made eight films with Paul Naschy for which he is probably best known. "The Werewolf's Shadow" (1971),pretty good giallo with Erika Blanc "A Dragonfly for Each Corpse" (1974) and the surreal "The People Who Own the Dark"(1979) are just a few of the highlights of these two's collaboration.In "Ultimo Deseo" a group of nuclear explosion survivors are trying to survive attacks of the zombified blind villagers.The survivors board up in the villa and prepare for an attack at night.It all leads to surprisingly downbeat and tragic ending in the vein of Romero's "Night of the Living Dead".The cast shall be pretty familiar to fans of Spanish cult cinema as it includes Paul Naschy,Nadiuska,Alberto DeMendoza,Teresa Gimpera,Tony Kendall and Maria Perschy.8 out of 10.Very enjoyable and pretty dark horror movie!

The People Who Own the Dark is effectively a reworking of the classic horror film Night of the Living Dead; also taking influence from British horror flick The Day of the Triffids. The film has a really great premise and I was looking forward to it for that reason; in spite of all the critical reviews I've read, but unfortunately the film really doesn't make the best of what it has to offer. It's partly down to the fact that it features a very low budget; but the uneven script, which means the film is good in places and very boring in others, doesn't exactly help either. The plot focuses on a party in an old castle. All the partygoers are rich businessmen, and their fun is spoiled by a nuclear war which, aside from shaking the building, also leaves most of the population blind. The inhabitants of the castle venture outside eventually but get into trouble upon meeting with the newly blinded citizens as they appear to have become mad from the trauma and set out to maim and kill those who still have their sight.The film is directed by León Klimovsky and stars his long time collaborator Paul Naschy. The pair worked together on a couple of Naschy's rubbishy "Homo-Lobo" films as well as the decent Giallo A Dragonfly for Every Corpse. Naschy is one of the major stars of seventies horror; but his role here is very limited and really he's little more than a co-star, which is a shame because the best thing about Paul Naschy films tends to be Paul Naschy. The film does feature a fairly good atmosphere and the director helps the film by putting forward a truly hopeless feeling. The first half of the film really is very boring; the director merely shows us the central characters, none of which are very interesting, and the build up to the party is boring also. Things do get a bit better in the second half as the action starts to take centre stage; and while it's not as good as the films it takes influence from, it is at least fairly entertaining. It all boils down to a dark and depressing ending which is often hated; although I kind of liked it. Overall, The People Who Own the Dark is a disappointing horror movie and not worth going out of your way for.

Forget the reference books (including the IMDb) - PLANETA CIEGO was directed by Argentinian filmmaker Leon Klimovsky, also responsible for WEREWOLF VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMAN, VENGEANCE OF THE ZOMBIES (both with Paul Naschy, who co-stars here, too) and THE VAMPIRE'S NIGHT ORGY. A group of prominent business and military men enjoying a weekend debauch in the cellar of a rural bordello are spared when a nuclear attack devastates Europe. Finding the locals blinded, and drawing hatred upon themselves for looting the village stores, the survivors board up the villa and prepare for an attack by night. PLANETA CIEGO, which is also known as THE PEOPLE WHO OWN THE DARK (a shortened version that played in America) and ULTIMO DESEO is an exciting and disturbing (if non-graphic) reworking of themes found in George Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. The cast includes Alberto deMendoza (HORROR EXPRESS) and Maria Perschy (also in Klimovsky's VENGEANCE OF THE ZOMBIES). This film has for too long been attributed to Amando de Ossorio, probably because he directed the well-known "Blind Dead" films. Well worth seeking out.