ScoobyWell Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Leofwine_draca Forget the naysayers - RETURN OF THE EVIL DEAD is everything you could want from a cool Spanish horror movie. An attractive cast, fun dialogue, a smattering of gore, fast pacing and exceptional photography highlight Amando de Ossorio's own follow-up to TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD, as well as the fact that the film is actually scary! Yes, the undead Knights Templar are back in another separate story and with lots of screen time to their credit they're just as terrifying as before - especially when Ossorio dubs them in with weird supernatural cries and creaking noises. Okay, so the story is familiar and the film holds few surprises for the horror fan, but everything is done so efficiently you don't mind the clichéd feel.The opening is a superb mini-movie in itself, as we witness the Knights Templar cutting open the breast of a captive girl and draining her bright red blood into a bowl, from which they then drink. They're interrupted by the classic group of torch-wielding villagers, who actually put their torches to good use this time by burning out the eyes of the Templars in an extremely graphic fashion! The evil knights are then burned alive for good measure just as the credits begin to play.What follows is familiar stuff: the Templars return from their graves (only fifteen minutes into the film, so no waiting around!), and attack an isolated house inhabited only by a man and a girl. He is throttled, she narrowly escapes by stealing one of the undead horses in an exceptionally thrilling - and frightening - scene, in which the space she has to escape keeps getting less and less until she's forced to jump out of the window onto a nearby horse. She escapes to the town square, where party revellers are enjoy plenty of booze and fireworks. Minutes later the Templars arrive and slaughter half of the townsfolk in an excellent-shot massacre in which you can almost smell the blood and steel, as it puts you right in the thick of the action.After the actions of a brave few who put up a fight, the rest of the townsfolk escape into the countryside (later on, in another solemn and horrific shot, we see a field littered with the bodies of the dead, exemplifying the hopelessness of the situations our characters are in). A group of survivors escape on their jeep only to be pursued by the Templars on horseback through the streets of the village (an excellent chase sequence which was ripped off in JURASSIC PARK, with a Tyrannosaur replacing the zombies). They escape into the refuge of a church, and the film enters familiar NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD territory as the zombies surround the place and attempt to get in.This is a pretty mean spirited film. For instance, one sub plot shows two characters painfully unblocking a tunnel for what seems like an age, and finally escaping into a remote graveyard only to be instantly killed by the waiting Templars for all their hard work. Loads of cast members are brutally murdered in graphically gory scenes which have been excised from the UK print (not sure why, as they're gory for the time but not THAT gory these days) for maximum impact. The interesting, twist ending (with more than a nod to THE BIRDS) has the Templars being caught in the rays of sunlight and literally disintegrating before the eyes of our heroes.The group of survivors holed up in the church are an interesting bunch. Firstly, we have the hero as played by Italian star Tony Kendall, more at home in European spy and adventure flicks, who supplies the film with much-needed masculine energy and heroism. He's supported by a trio of Spanish beauties who inevitably end up being menaced by the zombies. Other folks include the village idiot, Muerto, an exceptionally creepy guy with one dead arm who spies on people making love; an ill-fated family; the selfish and cowardly mayor, who causes others to die in his own attempts to escape; and the mayor's right-hand, who has a change of heart and helps our heroes, before his sexual desires get the better of him and he attempts to rape the heroine.The gory effects are cheap but hit home, thanks to a good use of shocking music at the right time. There's an excruciating hand-lopping sequence, a surprise decapitation, an impaling, and lots of dripping blood and other splattery stuff to enjoy. The effects of the Knights Templars, on the other hand, are excellent (with the exception of the two "guards" who are blown up by fireworks, and just look like scarecrows), and once again Ossorio uses slow-motion to capture and highlight the eeriness of his zombies as they rise from their graves with their skeletal hands and ride through the countryside on horseback. RETURN OF THE EVIL DEAD is a fine Spanish horror yarn, a good example of the genre and matching the best that Britain and America had to offer at the same time. Lots of action, lots of fun, and a jolly good viewing experience.

jadavix In this superior sequel to "Tombs of the Blind Dead", the templars attack an entire village celebrating a festival commemorating their disposal hundreds of years ago. The body count is thus much greater than the first movie, which featured only a small band of heroes and anti-heroes against the skeletons on horses.The violence is also much increased. This version features an impaling, a limb being hacked off, and in one particularly memorable scene, a beheading. The festival-attack scene is nowhere near as violent as it could be. I guess it is harder to use those kinds of special effects the more people are on screen? Either way, it is not until the end that the movie turns really violent.It is also not until the end that the movie turns scary. If you watch a lot of horror movies, you know genuine fear is actually a rare emotion to feel during one's runtime. Like the original, Return of the Evil Dead manages genuine tension thanks to the impressive set up the movie ends with, and the minimalist, heart-pounding soundtrack. It is scarier than the original, and in my opinion, superior.It also features a moronic, monobrow-having halfwit who reminded me of Gotho from Paul Naschy's Hunchback of the Morgue. The scene where he sticks his head out, only to be beheaded, unbeknownst to the lady he is trying to save - until blood starts flowing down his arm - is a work of art.One thing that makes this movie more effective is its refusal to bow to the same old morality lessons Hollywood movies always feature (it is Spanish). Everyone knows that in mainstream American films, if a character acts brave, or puts themselves on the line for another, that character will survive the situation. In Return of the Evil Dead, they don't. This ups the tension, because you can see they're not playing by the same rules we're all familiar with, and you really don't know what's going to happen next.

amesmonde Evil Knights Templar are put to death, eyes burnt out and burned on bonfires only to return 500 years later on the anniversary of their deaths to have their revenge. With moments reminiscent of Night of the Living Dead the rest of director Amando De Ossorio's  (follow up, remake or stand alone story of Tombs of the Blind Dead) is a slow burning, effective little Spanish horror.The characters and story of El ataque de los muertos sin ojos are developed arguably further than it's predecessor and while the pace is faster it's still very slow. Your patience is rewarded with creepy visuals, killer blade welding zombie knights, fitting music, all with the backdrop of an eerie small town. Although dated the idea of knights coming back from the dead is still appealing, there's plenty of hammer horror-esque bright blood on display and it has a seventies charm about it, flares, huge collars etc. The cast are more than adequate, notably unrecognisable José Canalejas  as Murdo the hunchback-like village outcast. The final act is satisfying enough and as the dawn arrives prior to the credits you'll feel relieved in a good or bad way dependant on your feelings of this atmospheric gem.

lost-in-limbo Writer / director Amando de Ossorio's garnished Gothic follow up to the original Spanish feature "Tombs of the Blind Dead" is to some extent an improvement with a much better pace, tautly constructed suspense (where those ominous chants throughout the score draw fear) and plenty of viciously hysterical bloodletting (stomach stabbing and blood dribbling) from the Templar knights. Still with that in mind, I wasn't terribly blown away by "Return of the Blind Dead" and the ending was a real letdown too.The formula (survivors held up in a church with the zombie templar knights waiting outside) had been bled dry and its repetitive nature to get a little tiresome. Only so much could happen and it shows, but it remained effectively atmospheric in its moody imagery (you can't tire of the haunting slow motion scenes of the templar knights on their horses) and surrounding decors. This time the focus is on the cursed townsfolk who are celebrating the 500th anniversary burning of the Eastern knights that practiced black magic, but soon the nightmare is relived when the knights return from beyond their graves for brutal revenge. There they knock on doors waiting to be invited in, until they realised they are unlocked so they make themselves welcomed to carry on the slaughter behind closed doors. Make-up FX still stands up rather well. The performances are respectable with the likes of Tony Kendall, Lone Fleming, Frank Brana and Fernando Sancho.