Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Finally us Eurohorror fans get something to sink our teeth into, a complete 5 disc box set featuring all four Blind Dead films together for the first time!

The first disc is Tombs of the Blind Dead. If you owned (I said "owned" because hopefully you've sold it by the time this box set comes out) the previous double feature release by Anchor Bay Entertainment, forget all about is as this disc blows their version away. Now you don't only have to watch it in in Spanish with English subtitles as you can choose to watch English dubbed or subtitled versions. Some people prefer subtitles and some prefer dubbing, and Blue Underground Entertainment has graciously allowed both options to please fans. The special features include the alternate opening sequence entitled "REVENGE OF THE PLANET APE" as well as the English theatrical trailer and a Poster/Still gallery.

The second disc is "Return of the Evil Dead", and again it is much better than the original Anchor Bay release. That version you can only watched dubbed, but here you can watch it subtitled or dubbed. The Anchor Bay version was also not the complete version of the film. Blue Underground's new release is FULLY UNCUT for the first time on DVD! The extras include the U.S. & Spanish Theatrical trailers and a sill gallery.

The third disc is the highly antisipated third entry into the series entitled "The Ghost Galleon". The version released in those ultra crappy "Brentwood" value pack (Die Hard "Blind Dead" fans know what I'm taking about) under the title "Zombie Flesh Eater" was literally unwatchable so this it's no wonder fans have been drooling over this release. Inludes a still gallery and the U.S. Horror of the Zombies Triler, TV Spots and Radio Spots. Sadly this one is only dubbed in English. Oh well, you can't have it all.

The fourth disc is the fourth and final film in the series "Night of the Seagulls". Again there is NO COMPARISON to the original Brentwood value pack version entitled Night of the Deathcult. That was an unacceptable version. I'm glad to see it properly released domestically. Includes the theatrical trailer and a still gallery.

The fifth disc entitled AMANDO DE OSSORIO - DIRECTOR, is only avaiable in this box set. It includes to fan pleasing documentaries entitled "The Last Templar - Documentary on Writer/Director Amando de Ossorio" and "Unearthing the Blind Dead - Interview with Writer/Director Amando de Ossorio". For the DVD-Rom it includes another documetnary entitled "Farewell to Spain's Knight of Horror". Great disc to please us die hard fans.

Please sell your old Anchor Vay Double Feature of Tombs of the Blind Dead and Return of the Blind Dead while its still worth money as when this box set hits the stores, no one will want it. Believe me, this set is WELL worth getting, and it even comes in a coffin shaped box!! To top it off, a 40 page booklet is included which gives all the info Blind Dead fans ever wanted!

Other info: Color * Dolby Digital Mono * 16x9 * 537 Mins * Not Rated * Region Code: 1 * Tombs Of The Blind Dead & Return Of The Evil Dead: 1.66:1 * Ghost Galleon & Night Of The Seagulls: 1.85:1

The blind dead collection is fantastic, it contains all 4 films in the series complete and uncut and a fifth disc with a short documentary on the spanish director Amando De Ossorio and an interview. The films are probably a great example of the euro horror genre with the amount of blood, gore and nudity. The films also have a great gothic atmosphere and excelent music especialy when the templar knights rise from their tombs and start riding their horses its very creepy. I have heard alot of great things about these films from other horror websites and when I finaly got to watch them I was not dissapointed well except for the third film Ghost galleon which I admit was a peice of crap.

Tombs of the blind dead which centres on an evil cult of knights known as the Templars in the 13th century tortured and murdered innocent victims in a quest for eternal life. After a revolt by the local townspeople, the Templar knights were executed and their corpses left for the crows to peck out their eyes. Years later, terror begins again as the eyeless undead knights rise from their tombs to hunt their victims by sound. The victims include a couple on a train and an old friend, the girl gets fustrated with her friend so she decides to jump off the train in the middle of no where nice one!. The film wasn't exactly terrifying but it was creepy as hell I absolutly loved it, the film was a different take on the zombie genre which I thought was an original idea the Templar knights are basicly mummified skeletons that wear robes and usualy hack or slash their victims with swords and drink their blood.

Return of the blind dead which is the sequal, those who have complained about the continuety of the films should realise that all the films on their own have different storylines and even the background of the templar knights is different. In Return of the blind dead the templars get their eyes burnt out in the begining by the villigers for commiting human sacrifices, 500 years later the Templar knights return from the grave to terrorize a rural Portugese village during it's centennial celebration. Sooner than later a small group of people including the mayor, the mayor's wife, a wife and husband and their young child ect. take refuge in a deserted cathedral and must find a way to escape from the Templars. This film was deffinently my favorite out of the series since it was the goriest film (nice decapitation scene) and as cheesy and ridicioulos as it may seem you also get to see a living dead horse........

The ghost galleon was truly awful while not the worst film I have ever seen I thought it was pretty close, with cheap production values and an Ed Wood style of filmmaking and a terrible script I just thought it was horrendous. The ship that they use as background shots is a toy model ship used in a bathtub incase you were wondering. A pair of models staging a publicity stunt on the sea in a motor launch mysteriously disappear after reporting a mysterious ghost ship wooooow. After learning the ghost ship has been seen along the meridian the girls disappeared at for years, a search sets out and discovers that the ship is inhabited by the undead Templar knights. The film has just one gore scene and the rest of the film was bloodless and the acting oh dear which I didn't think would be possible is even worse than the previous films.

Night of the seagulls is the last in the series and is surprisingly good and a vast improvement over Ghost gallion, on this outing the Templars haunt a fishing village where they rise seven nights every seven years to claim a virgin for their sacrificial offerings in return for the safety of the townspeople. I was glad when they brought back the blood and gore while the film wasn't the best in the series it was still good. all four discs have trailers for the films themselves and a picture/poster gallery and overall I think that Blue underground did a great job releasing these obscure horror films and I highly recomend this especialy for euro horror fans while other viewers should watch something else cause you might notice that it was a waste of time and money like some other reviewers have said.

I thought it was money well spent even if it was a bit to expensive almost 90$, its better than ordering something like Strip nude for your killer (What the hell was I thinking!!?) theres another addition by anchor bay but you can only find it on E-Bay. The films were fantastic except for Ghost gallion and its prefrebly watched after midnight cause thats the best time to watch these.

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.

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.

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!

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 Ringwraiths 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!

I admit it. The "Blind Dead" movies are a guilty pleasure of mine. While there has been a DVD release of the first movie of the series by Anchor Bay a long time ago, now Blue Underground has prepared a DVD collection containing all four films of the Blind Dead series, plus some special bonus - a separate disc with bonus materials. How's that for fun, eh, kiddies?

The Blind Dead series started in 1971 with "Tombs Of The Blind Dead" as a ghost story in which the ruins of an old monastery is haunted by the ghosts of its previous inhabitants, the Knights Templars. These knights used to be marauding crusaders who were said to have found the secret to eternal life. To ascertain it they had sadistic rituals during which they made human sacrifices - pretty virgins, of course. The villagers nearby decide to take things into their own hands and hang the knights, but not before those swear to return from their graves to take revenge. And when in the modern day a tourist camps out in the ruins, they rise from their graves and indeed take revenge, hungry for even more.

In the sequel "Return Of The Evil Dead" the Templar Knights once again rise from their tombs to take revenge on the villagers that killed them. During the celebration of the anniversary of the event in modern times and with the help of a human sacrifice, the rotten marauders return on their undead horses, ready to slay everyone within earshot.

The Knights Templar take to the seas in "The Ghost Galleon" where a group of stranded swimsuit models discover the ghost ship and its gruesome contents. Little do they know that once the undead knights rise from their coffins there is no escaping them.

The knights made a final showing in "Night Of The Seagulls" in which the villagers of a small coastal town are making human sacrifices every year in order to keep the undead knights away. But during this knight they can't be satisfied any longer and begin to feast on all their human prey.

The Blind Dead movies are not very good, really, but they are definitely cult material, and they are so for a reason. There is something about them that gives you goosebumps despite their low budget and technical shortcomings. The stories do not always make real sense and the acting is also not always as good as you would hope. Further, the plots are truly hair-raisingly convenient all the time. It would be so simply to evade these shambling creatures that can't even see a thing. And still people just have this tendency to constantly scream to get noticed and run themselves into corners they can no longer escape. The creatures could also be destroyed rather easily with a torch or beaten to the floor with a few chops, and yet no character seems to really figure this out and obediently waits - stiffened by their horror supposedly - until the creatures' rotten teeth sink into their flesh. And running? What about that? Well you can run as fast as you want, but the knights are always faster than you are, somehow taking shortcuts through thin air and always having their skeletal steeds available as if pulling them out of their armors' pockets. Well, I guess you see what I'm getting at.

So, what makes these films so cultish and still enjoyable? Their production background and their atmosphere. The images of the fog-shrouded graveyard with bony fingers poking from the graves, the moving tombstones, the shadowy hooded cloaks, the slow motion photography of the undead moving and riding, all that and more create a truly ghostly atmosphere that is hard to beat.

As for the production background the DVD set contains a fifth disc, featuring two segments on director Amando De Ossorio. The first one is a featurette that discusses De Ossorio's background and career and how things led up to him making these films. Shot in miniscule budgets Ossorio made these films during his vacation time in 4 weeks each, start to finish. Because he didn't have money to hire real actors, he essentially hired small unknown amateurs to star in these films. He did the design of the knights himself and simply and quickly shot the films on location as quickly as he could. In many ways it reminded me of the way Ed Wood made his films.

Thematically he explored new territory, especially for Spanish filmmakers. Coming out of the Franco-era there was a sense of liberation throughout Spain at the time and the films reflected this nicely. The blood and violence, the sadism, the lesbianism and the sex, it was all material Spanish audiences weren't used to seeing and they responded to it well enough to make "Tombs Of The Blind Dead" a success. As a result De Ossorio was commissioned to make a sequel, but again, with a tiny budget. Therefore he reused a lot of the Templar Knights footage from the previous film and shot only what he needed. The same thing happened for the next two films as well where the director kept recycling footage over and over again ad nauseam. Despite their overall success, sadly the studio never gave De Ossorio a budget big enough to really make these films great - much to his dismay.

In an interview featurette De Ossorio discusses the films very candidly and makes no heed that he thinks they are really bad. He discusses the limitations he constantly ran into and how special effects had to be done a certain way, only because they simply couldn't afford any more. He was very pragmatic in his work but despite his best efforts the films never turned out the way he had envisioned them due to all the limitations and constraints.

In this DVD set each of the films is presented in its original widescreen aspect ratio in an anamorphic transfer. Each disc contains two versions of the respective film - the theatrical US version as well as the uncut, uncensored original Spanish version with English subtitles. I suppose I don't have to tell you which version to watch as the US versions are not only crippled in content and length, but have oftentimes also been re-edited.

The image quality is a bit of a mixed bag, though. While the transfers are clean and virtually free of any speckles, the image looks soft and a tad blurry most of the time. Given Blue Underground's stellar track record and dedication I can only assume that the source materials that were available were simply flawed by these limitations. Some of the footage is very grainy - especially the night time shots and the ones that were processed such as the day-for-night sequences. This makes compressing the material hard and sadly the transfer often loses fine definition and textures as soon as the camera is in motion. Some slight edge-enhancement is also evident a select shots but it is never distracting. Clearly, this is the best home presentation that has ever existed for these films but sadly it is not as stellar and sharply defined as one might have expected.

The audio on the release comes in the form of the original mono tracks in English and Spanish for the respective cuts. The audio is clean and clear and is free of hiss or distortion. While the frequency response is limited, the overall presentation is good and fully serves the picture. Dialogues are well integrated an always understandable.

Each of the films comes with its trailers and a photo gallery featuring poster art and still images. "Tombs Of The Blind Dead" also contains an alternate opening sequence while "Ghost Galleon" also contains radio spots.

As a special, the box set - which comes in a very cool, casket shaped package - also contains a 4-page booklet called "Knights Of Terror." Written by Nigel J. Burrell, this is a booklet containing awesome reviews of the films as well as background information and liner notes, combined with great photos from the films.

Guilty pleasure or not, "The Blind Dead Collection" is a very cool release for some 70s landmark horror films that came years before the late-70s zombie-craze. (Interestingly these films were revived during the post-Romero zombie-wave and actually made a second run in theaters at the time, further adding to their success.) Blue Underground did a great job putting these films on DVD, including some really great extras. For fans of the movies, and for anyone interested in 70s Euro-horror, "The Blind Dead Collection" is a release you should not overlook. This is classic cult horror at its peak.

...but definitely not the worst, either. Several reviewers mentioned the previous releases of some of these films which were cut beyond recognition, in particular "The Return of the Evil Dead," the second of the series. This box set gives us the uncut original versions. All are in Castilian Spanish with subtitles. Priding myself on having a command of thoroughly useless information, fans of European horror might get a kick out of seeing a couple of alumni from the movie "Pieces."
While not scary by today's standards, the zombie knights are still creepy enough. I'm rather surprised that a remake has not come about... And don't expect continuity in these movies. In the first one, the town of Berzano is a city of ruins, inhabited only by the blind dead at night. But in the second movie, Berzano is a lively town... until the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the burning of the Templar knights. Incidentally, this one is my favorite, probably for pure camp. I love that festival music!
I'll go out on a limb here and call this collection a must-have for any horror movie buffs.

I've loved these films ever since seeing them for the first time on Night Flight. After finding that I'd finally be able to get the whole set in one fell swoop I jumped right on it. Very few movies being produced today have the atmosphere of some of the old European horror classics. First off...if you didn't like the movies Elvira, Sammy Terry, Cool Goul etc. showed on late night TV back in the day....MOVE ON!!! They aren't for everyone, if your not into atmospheric horror, or enjoy a more "In your face" type horror you may want to look elsewhere.

For the reviewers who feel like they where mislead by the positive reviews, try renting a movie first. You have nobody to blame for your error but yourself.

Ah, The Blind Dead films. Every Eurohorror fan has either seen them or heard about them. All four films deal with the cloaked, skeletal zombie/vampires that move about as fast as the line at the DMV, but still manage to get their victims anyway. The films are very atmospheric, stylish and just plain fun. Like the Leprechaun series, the sequels aren't really sequels in the literal sense, but different stories and situations with the same villians. This would account for the differences in their origin and their weaknesses which seem to change film to film. The films look great despite their lack of budget and studio backing. The acting isn't always top notch, but the real stars are the blind dead, and they're always fascinating to watch. I'm not gonna go into a plot synopsis for these films, God knows the other reviewers have already tackled that, and probably more detailed than I would anyway. Once again I have to give thanks to Blue Underground for empathizing with us fans who aren't content with the crap that sits on the shelves of Lackluster Video. All four films look and sound great, and the booklet is a fun read. The fifth disc consists of an interview with Armando De Ossorio and what looks to be a half hour European tv special on Armando. It's a tad disappointing coz both these features combined are only about 36 minutes. But hey, if there were more out there, you know Blue Underground would have found it. My only disappointment would be the price of this set. It's a little steep. I can't think of any 4 movie set worth that much. Since it's a hefty price for a workin' man, I wouldn't suggest purchasing this if you haven't already seen it......unless you're loaded of course. I'd say to try and find a way to rent the films(good luck with that!) or somehow see them before taking the plunge. Plus, if you look around online, you can find this set about twenty bucks cheaper. You'll still be paying a bit, but it's the Blind Dead films, man! The guys at Blue Underground have certainly scored another hit with this one.