Mar '14 *
Welcome to another... Reviews with Ballz!
Today, I'll be covering: Tombs of the Blind Dead (1971) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067500/ , Return of the Evil Dead (1973) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068232/ , The Ghost Galleon (1975) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071256/ , and Night of the Seagulls (1976) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073461/. And yes, I know those years conflict with what IMDb lists. But the years Wiki lists conflict a little too, so I'm going by what it says on the back on my DVDs.
I recently decided to buy Amando de Ossorio's Blind Dead series via the The Blind Dead Collection box set. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the set itself. As you can see below, it's shaped like a coffin, which is really cool I think, and I can't complain about the quality of the transfers or anything.
The first two movies, Tombs of the Blind Dead and Return of the Evil Dead, offer both the English language versions, which are a bit cut, and the original, uncut Spanish language versions. The last two movies, The Ghost Galleon and Night of the Seagulls, also have both the original Spanish audio and the English dub, but the cuts of the films are the same for both languages.
The set also came with a bonus DVD containing what are some extras with the director and also a 39 page booklet about the series, so for you people that care more about extras than I do, there you go.
But enough about the set. Let's get into the movies themselves. Trying a little different of a format here too, so without further ado...
The basics: The blind dead were the Knights Templar, who were blinded and executed for doing shit like tying women up and drinking their blood. In death, apparently they still seek the blood of the living. For that, I hesitate to call them zombies. In fact, the Wiki page refers to them as revenants, which I'd say is more accurate.
What I dug: de Ossorio definitely had an eye for locations. In all four movies, the locations are really nice to look at. From the abandoned town in Tombs of the Blind Dead to the old, wooden ship in The Ghost Galleon, at least the close-up and interior shots of the ship. He used a model ship for some shots and it was a very obvious model, though I don't fault de Ossorio for that. All four movies were low budget. I'd call it impressive more than anything, even if it's a little humorous too.
And that brings me to the look of the blind dead themselves. For a low budget series, the blind dead look really good. They're supposed to be rotting corpses and that fact is portrayed well. When the blind dead do appear, especially on their horses, it feels like the film itself actually slows down. I'm not sure if that was to show just how slow they're supposed to be moving or if it was meant to be some other kind of effect, but either way, I think it gives those scenes a very surreal and nightmarish feel.
The low budget is apparent in some of the blood and gore effects too, particularly during one scene in Tombs of the Blind Dead involving a chick's chest. Again though, I'm more impressed than anything, especially as someone who will always prefer practical effects over CGI.
I'd say my favorite movie of the series is easily Return of the Evil Dead. I feel like is has the best story, the best pacing, and the best effects. Night of the Seagulls is my second favorite, though by then, the whole concept of the series was running thin I feel. More on that in a moment though.
One last thing I want to mention here is the music in the movies. While it's not used much throughout the movies, at least not that I noticed, it fits really well where it is used.
What sucked: I mentioned Return of the Evil Dead having the best pacing, which leads me to something I see said often, and I'm saying it too, about the first movie, Tombs of the Blind Dead. The movie itself is very slow in its pacing. Slow enough to the point where I find myself zoning out. It's a shame too because the movie does have its positives, but when you're zoned out, those go overlooked. And for this, it's my second least favorite movie of the series.
So what's my least favorite movie of the series? The Ghost Galleon. The movie doesn't really suffer from the slow pacing of Tombs of the Blind Dead, but it suffers from several other issues. One is, as I said previously, the series started to wear itself thin. To de Ossorio's credit, he tried to change up the locations and the reasons for the blind dead attacking in each movie, but in the end, it's still the same concept. The Ghost Galleon is also a pretty gore-free movie. If there was any blood, it wasn't enough to remember. That wouldn't be such a big deal if the movie had a little more going for it.
Other shit: When Tombs of the Blind Dead was originally released here in the US, they tried to pass it off as a sequel to Planet of the Apes called Revenge from Planet Ape.
My ratings:
Tombs of the Blind Dead (1971): 2/5
Return of the Evil Dead (1973): 4/5
The Ghost Galleon (1975): 2/5
Night of the Seagulls (1976): 3/5
So there you have it. Two of the four movies are pretty solid overall. If you do decide to check the series out, I'd say give the first a shot anyway, even if it's after you see one of the better sequels, just because it's definitely got a few interesting things going for it. I can't suggest buying the box set unless maybe you see it for like $20 or you really want the bonus disc and booklet. You can buy the movies separately though, if you want just the better ones.
Today, I'll be covering: Tombs of the Blind Dead (1971) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067500/ , Return of the Evil Dead (1973) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068232/ , The Ghost Galleon (1975) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071256/ , and Night of the Seagulls (1976) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073461/. And yes, I know those years conflict with what IMDb lists. But the years Wiki lists conflict a little too, so I'm going by what it says on the back on my DVDs.I recently decided to buy Amando de Ossorio's Blind Dead series via the The Blind Dead Collection box set. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the set itself. As you can see below, it's shaped like a coffin, which is really cool I think, and I can't complain about the quality of the transfers or anything.
The first two movies, Tombs of the Blind Dead and Return of the Evil Dead, offer both the English language versions, which are a bit cut, and the original, uncut Spanish language versions. The last two movies, The Ghost Galleon and Night of the Seagulls, also have both the original Spanish audio and the English dub, but the cuts of the films are the same for both languages.
The set also came with a bonus DVD containing what are some extras with the director and also a 39 page booklet about the series, so for you people that care more about extras than I do, there you go.
But enough about the set. Let's get into the movies themselves. Trying a little different of a format here too, so without further ado...
The basics: The blind dead were the Knights Templar, who were blinded and executed for doing shit like tying women up and drinking their blood. In death, apparently they still seek the blood of the living. For that, I hesitate to call them zombies. In fact, the Wiki page refers to them as revenants, which I'd say is more accurate.What I dug: de Ossorio definitely had an eye for locations. In all four movies, the locations are really nice to look at. From the abandoned town in Tombs of the Blind Dead to the old, wooden ship in The Ghost Galleon, at least the close-up and interior shots of the ship. He used a model ship for some shots and it was a very obvious model, though I don't fault de Ossorio for that. All four movies were low budget. I'd call it impressive more than anything, even if it's a little humorous too.
And that brings me to the look of the blind dead themselves. For a low budget series, the blind dead look really good. They're supposed to be rotting corpses and that fact is portrayed well. When the blind dead do appear, especially on their horses, it feels like the film itself actually slows down. I'm not sure if that was to show just how slow they're supposed to be moving or if it was meant to be some other kind of effect, but either way, I think it gives those scenes a very surreal and nightmarish feel.
The low budget is apparent in some of the blood and gore effects too, particularly during one scene in Tombs of the Blind Dead involving a chick's chest. Again though, I'm more impressed than anything, especially as someone who will always prefer practical effects over CGI.
I'd say my favorite movie of the series is easily Return of the Evil Dead. I feel like is has the best story, the best pacing, and the best effects. Night of the Seagulls is my second favorite, though by then, the whole concept of the series was running thin I feel. More on that in a moment though.
One last thing I want to mention here is the music in the movies. While it's not used much throughout the movies, at least not that I noticed, it fits really well where it is used.
What sucked: I mentioned Return of the Evil Dead having the best pacing, which leads me to something I see said often, and I'm saying it too, about the first movie, Tombs of the Blind Dead. The movie itself is very slow in its pacing. Slow enough to the point where I find myself zoning out. It's a shame too because the movie does have its positives, but when you're zoned out, those go overlooked. And for this, it's my second least favorite movie of the series.
So what's my least favorite movie of the series? The Ghost Galleon. The movie doesn't really suffer from the slow pacing of Tombs of the Blind Dead, but it suffers from several other issues. One is, as I said previously, the series started to wear itself thin. To de Ossorio's credit, he tried to change up the locations and the reasons for the blind dead attacking in each movie, but in the end, it's still the same concept. The Ghost Galleon is also a pretty gore-free movie. If there was any blood, it wasn't enough to remember. That wouldn't be such a big deal if the movie had a little more going for it.
Other shit: When Tombs of the Blind Dead was originally released here in the US, they tried to pass it off as a sequel to Planet of the Apes called Revenge from Planet Ape.My ratings:
Tombs of the Blind Dead (1971): 2/5
Return of the Evil Dead (1973): 4/5
The Ghost Galleon (1975): 2/5
Night of the Seagulls (1976): 3/5
So there you have it. Two of the four movies are pretty solid overall. If you do decide to check the series out, I'd say give the first a shot anyway, even if it's after you see one of the better sequels, just because it's definitely got a few interesting things going for it. I can't suggest buying the box set unless maybe you see it for like $20 or you really want the bonus disc and booklet. You can buy the movies separately though, if you want just the better ones.
