Customer Reviews

Let Sleeping Corpses Lie [VHS]

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Anchor Bay delivers the best and most anticipated horror DVD of the year. Never released on home video in the US (except in an atrocious edited low-budget EP VHS version called "The Living Dead"), Grau's super-fun 1974 zombie flick finally receives the definitive presentation it has aways deserved! Originally released theatrically in the States in an edited version called "Don't Open the Window", this DVD is the original UNCUT version and instantly makes the old (and once Very Valuable) Japanese laserdisc completely obsolete since that version pixelated the brief nudity. Anchor Bay's DVD is absolutely exceptional.

If you're a zombie film fan or european horror buff, you probably already love this film. If you've never seen it, just go ahead and buy it --- you will NOT be disappointed! It's kind of a rip-off of NOTLD, but it has it's own unique twists, it's in glorious color and delivers some very shocking gore moments. Plus, the zombies are quite unique -- my favorite is the post-autopsy one who's got his chest stitched closed all the way down his torso. All in all, a very entertaining zombie film...not as ridiculous as the later Fulci films, but also not as grim as Romero's seminal classic. The film is presented here in a practically flawless print at 1.85:1.

Also on the DVD are a short (and amusing) introduction by Grau (who hopes we have a "bad time" watching the film) plus a separate 20-minute interview with him. He goes into detail about how the film came to be, how he picked the cast, and what he thinks of horror film audiences. He comes off as a very cool, intelligent and nice guy. Too bad he left the business after only a few films. Besides that, the DVD features one TV spot (for "Window") which isn't very thrilling, some "Window" radio spots (much better!), plus a photo and poster gallery of the different artwork and posters from the various release versions of the film around the world. Very cool! Buy it Now!!!

I'm pretty much in agreement with most of the reviews posted here, so I'd just like to add a comment or two of my own.

First, to those who've wanted to own this movie for years, this Anchor Bay release is definitely the one to buy. Not only is this the original, uncut version of "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" but it has also been digitally remastered so the picture and sound are GREAT (on both VHS and DVD). You won't be getting a faded, cheap looking film to video transfer -- trust me on this. In case you're wondering, the VHS version is in 1.85 to 1 widescreen ratio and includes all the same extras (director interview, original trailer, etc.) as the DVD version. The only difference, of course, is that with DVD you can access these extras instantly. With the VHS version, you have to fast forward to the end of the movie before you can sample the extras.

That being said, let me make caution all those zombie movie fans out there who've never heard of this film before but are intrigued by the other reviews. No doubt scores of you are salivating right now at the prospect of a zombie movie that's almost good as "Dawn of the Dead" (as some have suggested).

Please note the following: this is NOT a wall-to-wall zombie/action flick like "Dawn of the Dead" or or even the parody "Return of the Living Dead". In fact, (SPOILER ALERT) I counted maybe only seven or eight zombies in the *whole* movie, and there are never more than three zombies on screen at one time! You *won't* find scenes depicting hundreds (or even dozens) of zombies taking over a city, surrounding a shopping mall, or even invading a farm house. This is a more subtle horror film that's far more interested in evoking a spooky atmosphere and creating a sense of dread than piling on the body count. (If you saw the 70s vampire film "Let's Scare Jessica to Death", then maybe you have an idea what I'm talking about.)

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" isn't a good horror film. It is. I just don't want anyone who's never seen this movie to buy this thinking they're getting "Dawn of the Dead Part II". You're not. If survival horror action and gore is what you're looking for, you're better off waiting for the "Resident Evil" movie.

If you've watched your Romero and Fulci Zombie films to death and you're wanting something just as good, but different, check this little nasty out. A Spanish film inspired by Night of the Living Dead that came out before Dawn of the Dead started the carnivorous Zombie craze. This is one of the few genuinely creepy Zombie films. Night of the Living Dead and Zombie were the only other two that I found creepy. Dawn and Day of the dead were superior films, but I would never say they were creepy. The story is ambiguous in a true European way, and the cinematography is gorgeous and nightmarish at the same time. Also the Zombies are truly chilling. The gore sequences are well done and the acting is top notch.

I had the fortune of seeing it via bootleg video tape years ago and now Anchor Bay has released it in a GORGEOUS, pristine transfer - it sounds and looks just incredible!

The film itself is a gem - one of the very best zombie films ever made. Eerie, atmospheric and well-acted. The zombies, though not as plentiful as in a Romero or Fulci film, are cool-they lumber around with a very creepy, distinct freshness about them. The suspense builds well and the attacks become icnreasingly gruesome so if you're a gorehound there should be enough to keep you seated and if you're not... well, you can just cover your eyes for a few hair-raising scenes of gut munching.

This is an excellent disc, and along with the Argento releases and Fulci's "The Beyond", stands as the top horror title of the year!

I try to do a lot of research before I purchase a DVD.
I encountered this title on the web on a horror movie buff's top 10 list. I did some reading and found the general consensus is this movie is quite good. So I purchased it from Amazon.
I was not disappointed.
It was very well-done. Tight, cool, good plot, etc. I totally enjoyed it.
Some reviews say the gore is excessive, but it is not really that bad. Night of the Living Dead is a lot more grisly, in my opinion.
Definately a good film.

LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE is easily one of the all time top 5 zombie movies ever made. Along with DAWN OF THE DEAD, ZOMBIE FLESHEATERS, ZOMBIE CREEPING FLESH, and THE BEYOND, JORGE GRAU A.K.A GEORGE ROMERO brings us a film of utter terror and ......The zombies are not your run of the mill shambling pathetic looking corpses, but very intimidating individuals. GUTHRIE, played by MICHAELLE JAQUE BACKEUR has to be the most relentless zombie ever.Unfortunately the film suffers from atrocious dubbing, resulting in every character speaking in a different accent.

I gotta tell ya, the negative reviews for this movie kinda piss me off. If you've seen this movie at all you've almost gotta be a zombie/euro/indie/whatever horror buff. And if you don't like this at all, but you love, say, 'Zombie' than it looks to me like you've got no interest in genuine horror or atmosphere or anything other than gore and maybe camp. Now, I like gore a lot, and unintentionally campy films, but there's a helluva lot more to the genre than that. And, I don't like it when people take all this stuff as camp, cause I think some of these films are pretty damn good. Though, they make a significant point clear, which is that your pure gore/camp viewer probably isn't going to like this much, even though he likes zombie movies in general. It's got a fair bit of zombie carnage at the end, but it's got an overly long build up, and even once the zombies show up in mass the film is mainly interested in scaring you, rather than grossing you out. And though it isn't actively scary, I think it's sufficiently creepy and creates a certain desolate mood that I really like. Frankly, as far as using zombies for actually horror, rather than gore, purposes, I think 'Let Sleeping Corpses Lie' is the best one I've seen other than NotLD. In fact, it's pretty severely derivative of that film, even beyond more of less lifting the antagonists from it, but I don't much mind. Hell, I'd like to see more zombie movies be influenced by that film. (Which is still the greatest horror movie ever, I think. `Dawn of the Dead' might be better in general, but it isn't nearly as effective as a horror movie, even if it makes up for it in other ways. But, anyway...)

I won't go into the plot too much. Edna and George are unexpectedly thrust together on the British country side... and eventually there are zombies. Zombies to kill, eat etc. The film does take like 50 minutes to get going, and although I was never terribly bored, it definitely goes on longer than necessary. There are some subplots about Edna's sister whose a drug-addict, and is suspected of some of the earlier zombie killings, and how the cops don't like these people cause George has got long hair etc. All of this is just setup for the inevitable zombie sieges, and reiteration of themes from NotLD of how the government isn't reliable in a crisis etc.

Technically speaking, the film is competently done, if not really very flashy. It's got some nice country scenery, and Grau occasionally generates some rather claustrophobic scenes. Some have complained about the acting and dialogue, and while it certainly isn't good from a mainstream perspective, it's more than acceptable as far as low-budget horror goes, so don't let that dissuade you if you're a fan of the genre.

The core of the film are just the really nicely done horror scenes. The final third of the film is fairly tense, with a great invasion of a church they hole up in briefly and the final gory outbreak at the hospital. It's also got a nicely done, long, zombie stalking sequence. Also, the initial encounter with the zombies is quite nice, harking back to NotLD again, as a lone zombie terrorizes a woman near her car out in the country.

Still, the film does have a fair bit of gore, done by Gianetto de Rossi, who would, of course, become very famous in Italian gore films. It's generally fairly run of the mill stuff, lotsa zombies munching guts, but it's quite well done for the time. It's actually some of his more realistic stuff, if primarily because the camera simply doesn't linger on it the way it would in later films he worked on. The famed scene of the nurse getting quite mangled is pretty gruesome, if fairly short.

Yeah, that's it. This is a very good, atmospheric zombie film, and one of the more fitting heirs to the 'Night of the Living Dead' throne.

Grade: B+

To begin, this is one of the most interesting Zombie movies that I have ever seen. Of all the Zombie movies I have seen and own, this is really the only one that gives any explaination as to the existance of the Zombie, i.e, the farmer and his machine. I thought this was an excellent way to start the idea of the Zombie, instead of some Voodoo curse or like in the Romero films the Zombie just appears. Now in Night of the Living Dead, radiation was supposed to have caused the Zombie uprising however, in Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, there is a tangible element into the awakening of the undead. Not to mention that the picture quality is excellent and that it is bright. By that I mean that it isn't always shot in the shadows and at night with a bad camera. There are some night scenes that are shot very very well. So basically I thought that this film was excellent for a European Zombie flick. I enjoyed it and I believe that any Zombie fan will agree with me, and if you haven't yet seen this, I highly recommend viewing and purchasing this one!!

Or whatever title they like to use for this film is an excellent zombie film, it might be slow in the begining but it does get along during the second half of the film.
Jorge Grau who has an introduction during the start of the dvd who tells us to suffur profoundly while watching the film is Spanish used both british and american actors, he also used some other foriegn actors and whatever so it has an international cast and made the film in England. You can tell that he used the locations to great effect because the film is very atmospheric especialy that creepy scene when the male lead and the female protagonist escape from the zombies in the underground cemetery.
There seems to be an explanation to why the dead have been rising and eating the living and it seems that its coming from some farming equipment that spreads some pesticide, very weird and atmospheric film with nice gory scenes in it ,I highly recomend this to horror or zombie fans.

This gem of a horror film had may titles during it's release (DON'T OPEN THE WINDOW, THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE, among others). Jorge Grau created a zombie fim=lm in what could be seen as a NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD rip-off, but it has some memorable & equally horrific moments that the Romero film never had. While NOTLD was filmed in black & white, this film was made in color. The Romero film wasn't as graphic as LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE was. And the Grau film offers an explanation as to why the living dead was coming to life, while THE LIVING DEAD never truly explained why referring nebulously that a radio active satellite from outer space was responsible but never confirmed.

LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE was unique in a lot of ways. There were some unexplained sequences in the movie (the nude woman running across the street was one, the living dead dabbing other corpses with blood to bring them back to life was naother), but all in all the bloodletting, the violence, the gory scenes were amazingly filmed. The sound effects of the zombies were relly creepy & atmospheric. Ray Lovelock played a tragic hero as his leading lady, the very sexy Christine Galbo. Arthur Kennedy was a good antagonist to Lovelock's hero & got what he deserved in the end.

The VHS version also offers a short documentary by the director himself explaining how he made the movie. It also featured some theatrical trailers, radio spots, & various artwork regarding this film. Anchor Bay really did a great job restoring this movie including a lot of treats at the end of the film.

I strongly recommend LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE to all horror film fans.