The Blind Dead Collection (Tombs of the Blind Dead/The Ghost Galleon/Return of the Evil Dead/Night of the Seagulls/Amando De Ossorio)

Description

The Most Terrifying Creatures In The History Of Horror Are Together For The First Time!

They are called THE BLIND DEAD, heretic horsemen whose eyes were burned out to prevent them from finding their way back from Hell. Over the course of 4 unforgettable films, writer/director AMANDO DE OSSORIO created what fright film fans worldwide consider to be one of the most startling series in horror history. This unique quartet of terrifying films deliver a relentless onslaught of creepy atmosphere, shocking violence, forbidden sexuality, and the still-chilling icons of EuroHorror: The eyeless undead who hunt by sound in their quest for human flesh. Don't move...don't breathe...don't let them hear your heart beating: THE BLIND DEAD are back!

Blue Underground is proud to present the DEFINITIVE EDITIONS of these four long-unseen classics, now fully restored from original vault materials and remastered in heart-stopping HIGH DEFINITION. This LIMITED EDITION COLLECTION also contains an exclusive BONUS DISC of interviews with the late AMANDO DE OSSORIO, a collectable booklet and more eye-popping Extras, all packaged in a killer coffin-shaped box!

Customer Reviews:

Cut Version of Ghost Galleon?.......2007-08-30

The third film of the series, "The Ghost Galleon" (El Buque Maldito), runs 90 minutes on the disc. According to IMDB the spanish version runs 106 minutes! I paid a lot of money (including german customs and taxes) and now I feel quite a bit disappointed.

Great Horror films, great boxset.......2007-05-21

I always wanted to get these films, and when I saw this set coffin shaped and all I had to get it, great set of great horror film. Really good effects and suspence in this series. Great movies, and one of those flicks I wouldn't mind seeing remade if done the right of coarse, we don't want another Fog remake.

Oh, Brother, I'm a Blind Dead Fanboy!.......2006-06-17

Creepy? Sometimes. Intense? Rarely. Amusing? Without fail. I bought this collection without having seen the films, and, while I find the description of the series as a masterpiece of creepiness incredibly misleading, I want to attest to the series' power to yank me into the realm of geeky, cult-fan fervor. Here's my quick-as-a-whip assessemnt of the four films. The first film, "Tombs ...," is classic (especially in the realm of what one might term horny horror); the second film, "Return ...," slightly improves upon it (well, not the horny part); and then, oops, the third film, "Ghost Galleon," slips (except in its sheer ridiculousness), but, oh, then the fourth film, "Seagulls," acts like a compendium of all that was good about the first three, and it's even a little bit poetic. Get it? Watch this series (rent it, if you must, you chickens), and see if you can figure out 1) why there is a seemingly mandatory (because totally arbitrary) rape scene or near-rape scene in three of the four films, 2) why the Knights Templar always slice graphically (though not realistically) through a breast during their ceremonies, 3) how it is that the Knights Templar choose the time that they will rise to avenge their deaths, 4) how on earth they end up on a ship (in guess-which-film?), and 5) how Peter Jackson got away with ripping off the look of the Knights Templar for his Wringraiths in LotR (see any moment when the Knights are slo-mo riding across vast plains with their black cloaks trailing away on the wind behind them). Perhaps the list goes on, but the list is what makes the films such fun. Some viewers might not find points #1 and #2 here very "fun," but the absurd context in which these scenes are presented mostly take the edge off of the films' potential to offend. All in all, good, dirty grist for the cult-film mill. Oh, and "Tombs" even features a little girl-on-girl action for the straight fanboy, or the lesbian fangirl. Ah, diversity!

Well, they're not very good films really..........2006-05-31

I'd always been curious about the Blind Dead films, and a friend who's a fan gave me a pirate (aptly enough) dvd of Ghost Galleon. It's a bad film (that inspired a better one, Carpenter's The Fog) and yet somehow (despite the worst model work ever) I rather liked it, so I bought this box set, curious to see a decent print of Galleon as well as the other films. On the commentary De Ossorio, an amiable hack, says they didn't have the money to do things properly, and that about sums it up. The Blind Dead are effective and there are some creepy moments here and there, but the scripts are dreadful, the acting's dire and the directing often simply inept (for instance: bad cutting together of various poorly-chosen shots creating a confusion as to who's where doing what to who, particularly in Return of the Living Dead; appalling day-for-night shots in three of the four films that are so brazenly daylit it takes you a while to realise it's meant to still be the night; re-use of the Blind Dead emerging from their tombs and riding their horses in three of the movies). Sometimes the badness is fun, as when a girl, fleeing her kidnapper/rapist in Ghost Galleon, wastes time strapping on some elaborate high-heeled sandals that she won't be able to run in prior to attempting her escape, but mostly the bad plotting, garish acting and absent characterisation are rather dull to sit through. The creepiest effect - the Blind Dead listening for the heartbeats of their victims - is about the only thing that isn't reused, which is a shame.

The presentation is excellent: the Spanish language version of Tombs is uncut; the American one is heavily cut. All are in widescreen, and the prints are colourful and clean. The interview/featurette disc is mildly interesting and - along with a good and informative 40pp leaflet - tells you about as much as you need to know about these minor curios.

What's curious, and makes these films worth preserving, is, I think, that they gesture towards being so much better than they are: in my memory I find myself imagining what if they had been everything they might have been, remade with time and money and attention and good scripts? What if one cared about the people the Blind Dead were pursuing? What if things made sense? What if the night scenes were shot at night?

I'd say two stars for the movies, 5 stars for the presentation, so I guess about 3 stars overall.

The Knights Templar Ride Again!.......2006-04-21

This is definitely not something for the mainstream film fan, but if you're into Spanish horror and more specifically writer/director Amando de Ossorio's atmospheric four movies known lovingly as "the Blind Dead", this is the item for you.

Blue Underground has put together one of the best boxsets to come along in quite some time. Yes, the price tag is a little steep but if you're a true fan of this rarely seen series it's worth every penny. The box contains -5 discs- (4 movies and a documentary), each in their own plastic case with great cover art, a 40 page booklet with photo stills and original poster art and a sturdy casket shaped box for display (or to hide away from friends and family unsympathic with your "perverse" taste in movies).

The collection is not perfect, there are several missing scenes here and there no matter what the distributor says to the contrary. Be that as it may, these films have been unavailable for so long I'll overlook this one tiny flaw.

Warning: Be sure your wife or girlfriend are safely inside the house before viewing and if you hear the sound of hoofs approaching DON'T OPEN THE DOOR!

Tombs of the Blind Dead/Return of the Blind Dead

Average customer rating:

Nice Zombie Horror
The first two appearances of Ossorio's blind dead Templar Knights
Tombs of the Stupid and Boring Dead !
See no evil?
WHAT A TREASURE!

Tombs of the Blind Dead/Return of the Blind Dead
Starring: Lone Fleming , César Burner , María Elena Arpón , Joseph Thelman , and Rufino Inglés
Director: Amando de Ossorio
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

ASIN: 6305108056
Release Date: 1998-10-21

Customer Reviews:

Nice Zombie Horror.......2006-08-28

Tombs of the Blind Dead is a two piece budget DVD from Anchor Bay, with the highlight being part 1 of the 2 films.

When a beautiful woman decides to hop train to escape her problems, she ends up out in the middle of nowhere, walks through a field, ends up in a broke down castle and awakens the Blind Dead, who have a thing for blood and pretty ladies.

Looking for a zombie film with dried out zombies? This is the one to pick up. You cut these bad boys and they're not going to bleed. The cool spin on this series is the fact they're blind, and find you by following your beating heart. Nice.

The films are slow like zombies, but a good zombie film nonetheless.

The first two appearances of Ossorio's blind dead Templar Knights.......2005-10-30

This DVD offers up "Tombs of the Blind Dead" ("La Noche del terror ciego") and "Return of the Blind Dead" ("El ataque de los muertos sin ojos"), which comprise the first half of writer-director Amando de Ossorio's four-part horror masterpiece about the undead Templar Knights that emerge from their tombs and move ever so slowly after their victims. When you watch these films you might be reminded of Richard Pryor's joke about how the mummy is coming so, "Walk away! Walk away!" But Ossorio knows how to work the atmosphere with his creations despite being handicapped by having neither the time nor the money to make better movies.

"Tombs of the Blind Dead" begins 500 years ago when the Templars were sacrificing virgins and drinking their blood. Eventually the locals attacked the Templars, burning out the eyes of the knights before burning them at the stake. Ever since then no one goes near their castle, that is until Virginia White (María Elena Arpón) hops off a train in the middle of nowhere and ends up spending the night there. That night the Templar knights, skeletal corpses dressed up in armor, rise (slowly) from their tombs and follow the sounds of Virginia's screams. The trick is to stay silent so the blind Templars cannot hear where you are, but it is difficult to stay quiet when these things are after you. When Virginia's dead body is found her friends Betty Turner (Lone Fleming) and Roger Whelan (César Burner) decide to find out what happened to her. This is where they learn the legend of the Templars and then go off to investigate the castle, thinking that maybe somebody is using the local tale as a cover for criminal activity. This explains why they drag along local smuggler Pedro Candal (Joseph Thelman) and his girlfriend Maria (María Silva), to investigate the place, which only gives the Templars more victims to pursue (slowly).

Ossorio is all about atmosphere, so what stands out here is the thought of these shuffling corpses coming after you while the young women who are about to die take terms trying not to make a sound and then screaming all the way until the end. There is usually some blood at the end, but "Tombs of the Blind Dead" is more about spooky atmosphere. You just have to remind yourself that this film was made in 1971 and not judge its slower pace by the standard of contemporary horror films. Actually, this is the 86 minute dubbed into English version of the original 101 minute Spanish film. What has been cut from "La Noche del terror ciego" is the nudity, a rather chaste lesbian love scene, the bloodier parts of the flashback, and one of the more gratuitous rape scenes of all-time. The edited flashback is actually the prologue for "Tombs of the Blind Dead."

The most interesting thing about "Return of the Evil Dead" is that while it is a sequel it stands on its own. That is because it seems the rules of the game have changed somewhat, although they are certainly still compatible. This second film begins with what happened to the Templars in 1473 when the local villagers got tired ot the knights sacrificing virgins and drinking their blood. Now it is the 500th anniversary of when the Templars were burned at the stake and the villagers are celebrating their victory, including burning Templar manikins at the stake. Barricading themselves inside a hacienda are a small group of people trying to survive, including Jack Marlowe (Tony Kendall), who showed up in town to provide fireworks for the celebration, his old girl friend Vivian (Esther Roy), and the corrupt mayor (Fernando Sancho). The mayor keeps calling the governor for help, but the governor's mistress keeps telling him that everybody in the town is drunk because of the big celebration, so they are on their own.

Consequently, this 1973 film ends up being a lot like "The Night of the Living Dead," where you have people holed up someplace surrounded by a bunch of slow moving monsters (Ossorio dismisses the comparison because it is a commonplace of horror films). In this dubbed English version the Templars simply rise from their tombs, get on their horses, ride into town, and start slaughtering the locals. However, if you see the slightly longer original version, "El ataque de los muertos sin ojos," there is a scene where Murdo (José Canalejas), the creepy looking guy in town, makes a blood offering to raise the Templars from the dead (and this time there are easily twice as many as in the first film). I found this to be the best of the four films and while none of them are great, they are pretty good when it comes to taking the relatively simple idea of the blind undead Templar knights and then creating and sustaining a spooky atmosphere on a shoestring budget.

Be aware that there is a new 5-DVD set with all four "Blind Dead" films plus a disc that has a brief documentary about Ossorio and some rare interview clips, was released this month. The advantage of the set over this one DVD is that you get both the dubbed English versions and the original Spanish versions of both "Tombs of the Blind Dead" and "Return of the Blind Dead," with the latter being preferred, even if you have to read the subtitles. These were followed by "El buque maldito" ("The Ghost Galleon") in 1974, and "La Noche de las gavitos" ("Night of the Seagulls") in 1975. Some see Jesus Franco's 1985 film "La Mansión de los muertos vivientes" as a remake of Ossorio's first film, but I think you are on safer ground if you consider it to be definitely inspired by this entire series. One of the interesting things about the series is that most of the films can stand on their own, with the second being the best of the lot.

Tombs of the Stupid and Boring Dead !.......2005-03-06

As a young teen, I would often see photo's of this cult 1971 Spanish film in books on horror cinema. Usually, the still showed two of the "Blind Dead" returned from the grave with their mouldering cloaks and skull like features, obviously pursuing their hapless victims. So, sight unseen I purchased the DVD and greeted it's arrival with some anticipation !

Now I love low budget Eurotrash, horror cinema....but "Tombs" is unbearably slow, has plot holes bigger than Texas, and virtually no thrills or chills.

The film opens with the blood thirtsty Knights Templar sacrificing some poor virgin during the Middle Ages. Tied to a cross, they whip her naked body until she bleeds profusely and then feast upon her still warm blood...although it's actually a bunch of guys licking tomato ketchup off what is obviously a shop mannequin. After the opening credits roll over shots of an abandoned castle, we see a withered hand, some dishevelled woman screams into the camera and then bang (!), we are suddenly at a hotel pool in modern day Lisbon ? ( Did I miss something ? )

Now follow this....two female school friends (Betty & Virginia) who obviously haven't seen each other in a while, become reacquainted poolside, and Betty's friend Roger hops out of the water, and instantly suggests Virginia join them tomorrow on a camping trip ! The next day our happy trio all meet at the train station ( no visible luggage for said camping trip ) and board what looks like one of those half size trains with two carraiges that you see at second class amusement parks. Five minutes into the trip on the toy train, its revealed that Betty and Virginia had a lesbian embrace as teenagers ( although it was about as passionate as a cold rice judging from the silly flasback ). Virginia gets all moody ( possibly because Betty is no longer butch ? ) and jumps off the train ( as you do ) and heads off to the nearest haunted castle for the night. After Virginia titillates the audience by disrobing in front of the fire, she beds down for the night only to be awoken by those pesky Blind Dead zombies (riding Blind Dead Horses too !), who insist on making a meal out of her !

( And if you think Romero's living dead shuffle around slowly, then De Ossorio's blind dead would have trouble outpacing a three legged turtle over a ten yard dash ! )

Naive Virginia turns up dead, Roger and Betty stumble across the ruins of the graveyard of the Knights Templar, and two Spanish cops invite Roger and Betty to view Virginia's cannibalised corpse ( aided by some grinning, weirdo morgue attendant )

Roger seeks professional advice on the Knights Templar from a university professor with Coke bottle thick glasses, until they are rudely interrupted by the police inspector who tells the professor that his missing son is the local bandit leader in the village right next to the spooky castle ( I think this is a plot twist from "Days Of Our Lives ? ) So, Roger enlists the aid of virile bandit Pedro (and his cheap date) and Betty joins them all at Castle Creepy, thus they can all sit around at midnight and await the Blind Dead. Meanwhile, back at the morgue, Virginia rises from the dead and munches on the nutty morgue attendant, before heading off to a mannequin factory, terrorising the staff before perishing herself for the second time in a very fake looking fire ! We cut back to the haunted castle and Pedro has gotten bored and restless ( just like I am watching this absurd film ), and so he wanders off with Betty and proceeds to rape her ( he'll pay for that ), whilst Roger thinks Pedro's woman is pretty hot and they too are soon lip locked.

The bells toll midnight and poor Pedro finds himself surrounded by rising dead with nothing more than a blunt switchblade. Without so much as a punch thrown, Pedro goes down and becomes the next meal ( it's strange how the close ups of the Blind Dead munching on Pedro look like hand puppets of withered monkey heads drooling ketchup ? ).

Distressed Roger and Pedro's scantily clad floozy go down screaming and fall prey to the monkey hand puppets, before Betty escapes and flags down the toy train. However, the Blind Dead quickly demonstrate they are just not limited to horse theft, murder and deflowering virgins....and they too board the train without valid tickets (!) and proceed to "knight" everyone on board with sword blows to the head.

The choo-choo train takes off, arrives at the next station full of butchered Spaniards, as Betty screams in horror, and a mummified hand is shown on a slab of marble (?). My summary....A very dis-jointed, poorly acted and unscary horror tale that barely kept me awake for its 89 minute running time. I'm giving this film two stars (instead of one) because at least the Blind Dead's decaying cloaks & features are quite haunting and gothicly atmospheric. However, for my money there are plenty of scarier and sexier Eurotrash horror movies around ( such as Jean Rollins "Lips of Blood" or Jimmy Sangsters "Lust For a Vampire" ), rather than this Spanish zombie mish mash !

See no evil?.......2004-12-23

I caught TOTBD on Elvira's Movie Macabre back in the day and have loved it ever since. That should be all you need to know to understand how cheese-y the movie is (for you younger folks, this is the kind of movie you'd see lambasted on Mystery Science Theater 3000). Of course, it's tasty cheese and it has aged rather well.

The quality of this DVD presentation is very good; however, after paying around $30 when it first came out, I have seen this DVD offered much cheaper at brick and mortar locations in recent years. If you can't find a cheaper copy locally and absolutely must have one, I guess you'll have to bite the bullet and order here.

The movies hinge on the Knights Templar, who were actual, historical figures & the original proponents of the (European) War on Terror. Though they lost many battles throughout the Crusades, the Templars became so wealthy & consequently so powerful that they began to challenge the rule & authority of European monarchs. The monarchs eventually conspired against the Templars, charging them with heresy. Templar leaders were prosecuted & subsequently executed, causing the organization's dissolution. Though the heresy charges were largely false concoctions, the sordid allegations make for a much more interesting premise on which to build a horror movie.

To his credit, de Ossorio's decision to exploit the more diabolical aspects of Templar mythology pays off. The overall concept is brilliant, though it just begs to be remade with more money and better effects. The coolest, most unique features of TOTBD are the genuine, on-location castle ruins & the eerily undead Templars riding horseback in slo-mo. Conversely, it's most annoying & inexplicable how apparently in Spain day turns to night in a matter of about fifteen seconds and yet the dead of night looks just like noon! Watch it; you'll understand what I mean.

The movie has creep factor galore (one creep in particular being a leacherous, necrophile mortician's assistant), but few genuine scares. It's also subtitled, as I recall, so be warned.

Sadly, ROTBD is much less effective. Forsaking the castle ruins, the Blind Templars instead attack a neighboring village. The less creepy environs make for a less creepy movie. Still, if you're a fan of B horror movies (and why wouldn't you be?) this double feature is a great way to spend an evening. Even if it's an inexplicably sunny evening...

WHAT A TREASURE!.......2004-11-07

IM NOT GONNA EXPLAIN MUCH ABOUT THE 2 MOVIES, OTHER REVIEWERS ALREADY DID PLENTY OF THAT. ALL IM GONNA SAY IS IF YOU CAN FIND THIS (so called out of print 1 disk 2 movie dvd set)ANYWHERE, THEN I WOULD DEFINETLY ADVISE YOU TO BUY IT RIGHT AWAY! THESE 2 MOVIES ARE SUCH ZOMBIE TREASURE'S ITS REDICULOUS! I LOVE BOTH FLICKS! ALTHOUGH I DO LIKE THE FIRST ONE A BIT BETTER!THE ENDING IS BEUTIFUL! IT MAKES THE MOVIE IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN! THE SECOND ONE IS DAMN GOOD AS WELL EXCEPT FOR THE HAPPY ENDING WICH DOESN'T RUIN IT BY ANY MEANS BUT IT IS JUST ABOUT THE ONLY THING KEEPING IT FROM BEING JUST AS GOOD AS PART 1,IF NOT BETTER. ANYWAY IF YOU ARE A TRUE ZOMBIE FAN YOU WILL LOVE Amando de Ossorio 's "TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD" & "RETURN OF THE BLIND DEAD(AKA return of the evil dead)" SO IF YOU CAN FIND THIS TREASURE ANYWHERE THEN HURRY UP & GRAB IT!!!!!!! enjoy fellow horror fanz!

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