Here They Come Again!
The '72 release `Return of the Blind Dead' is writer/director Amando de Ossorio's second installment in the "Blind Dead" series. While many consider this to be an improvement on the first film, I personally think the first was the superior of the two. While the overall scope of the second is larger I find the mood and atmosphere of the first to be more compelling and evocative. Maybe it's just a case of what's done the first time is done the best. Anyway, for those of you who like the unnerving moaning and slow-motion specters here they come again!

A More Traditional Zombie Film
The Return of the Evil Dead is the second installment of Amando de Ossario's Blind Dead series. This film is more formulaic than the original Tombs of the Blind Dead. Ossario owes a tip of the hat to George Romero on this on in that it follows the plot of Night of the Dead almost to the point of being the same film moved to a Spanish locale.

None of this makes it any less a classic of the EuroHorror genre. The blind knights are back on the 500th anniversary of their execution to wreak havoc on the village of Bouzano. The casting is a little better, the plotting a little tighter and the story a little more predictable. But the reason that you've gotten this far is that you are a fan of Ossario or his creation. The best part of the film is that the horsemen get more screentime in this outing (truth be told perhaps too much screentime). The makeup and costume effects for the early 1970's are not to be missed.

Blue Underground has done the best they could with the flawed source material. There was a distinct hum on the mono audio of the Spanish version of the film. The Spanish version is presented in its full 91 minute running time. If you are more inclined also included is the slightly shorter 87 minute American version. It is my understanding that some of the more gratuitous violence was removed from the opening sequences and some of the tame by today's standards nudity was also excised.

The disc contains the original trailers in both English and Spanish and a stills gallery.

Bottom line: this is one for the fans. While it may be the strongest film in the series it lacks a little of the originality of the original. Well worth a rental but purchase only if you are a true fan.

The Blind Dead are coming back to life!
In this second startling film in the BLIND DEAD series, writer/director Amando de Ossorio returns to the horrific origin of the depraved Templar: heretic knights whose eyes were burned out by medieval vigilantes to prevent them from finding their way back from Hell. Now on the 500th anniversary of their execution, the blind horsemen rise from their tombs to wreak bloody revenge on the town that condemned them. Tony Kendall (When The Screaming Stops), Frank Brana (Pieces) and Lone Fleming (Tombs of the Blind Dead) star in this chilling sequel that rocked the EuroHorror genre.

OLD HORROR VS. NEW HORROR
The first of the sequel-Tomb of the Blind Dead:
Well I am one of the "dinosaurs" who saw the ORIGINAL movie in the actual MOVIE THEATER. IT was one of my favorite horror movies as far as the atmosphere and creepiness of the film-and it always stuck in my mind. So we're talking over 30 years!
To the bashers of this film, whom I am sure are young enough to be my sons and daughters--welll---please remember when you view movies like this what independent filmakers and even big named ones had to work with "back in the day." There were no hundred thousand dollar computers,100 dollar an hour special effects guys or 100 names on crew like you see when you look at the end of every movie with high end special effects. Back then -yeah in the seventies, many did have to go by pure imagination, visualization and talent. No thousands of special effects like we have today to entice and titillate. C'mon guys give the man a break for creating a good horror movie FOR it's time and no I was not smoking pot when I saw it I am also a big fan of Alfred Hitchcock, Rod Serling, One Step Beyond and The Outer Limits. And I'm sorry no one has quite brought back the originality and feel of any of these shows. So think about this is 30 something years later, and think about the fact that all our greats now like Speilberg, Lucas, creators of Pixar and such all had to start somewhere and get fuel for their imaginations from guys very similar to these '70's guys. SO give us "dinos" a break--hahahahahhahaha.

This sequel stands on its own and is the best Evil Dead film
"Return of the Blind Dead" ("El ataque de los muertos sin ojos") is also known as "Return of the Evil Dead" (which just confuses it with a totally different series of horror films). Actually, the Spanish title literally translates as "Attack of the Blind Dead," which makes more sense since this 1973 film is the sequel to writer-director Amando de Ossorio's 1971 film "Tombs of the Blind Dead" ("La Noche del terror ciego"). These films were followed by "El buque maldito" ("The Ghost Galleon") in 1974, and "La Noche de las gavitos" ("Night of the Seagulls") in 1975, and comprise what is considered 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.

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. The Templars were burned at the stake, but not before their eyes were burned out so that they would not be able to see when they rose from the dead like they insisted they would do. In "Tombs of the Blind Dead" anybody who dared to visit their castle would find that the Templars had risen from their graves. The idea was not to make any sounds so that they would not find you, but it is pretty hard not to scream with rotting corpses coming after you.

In "Return of the Evil Dead" 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. Now, in the 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. 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 second film ends up being a lot like "The Night of the Living Dead," where you have people holed up someplace surrounded by monsters who may be moving really slow but there are a whole lot more of them than there are of you (in fact, there are two or three times more Templars in this one than in the original). I found this to be the best of the four films, although not enough to end up rounding up in terms of stars. But with Ossorio's four films what stands out is that 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. In the realm of horror films, Continental or otherwise, coming up with a series of films that are solid enough to avoid being bad is a pretty good achievement, even if none of them rise to the status of being a true classic.