The Living Dead At Manchester Morgue

lftwng4 · February 22, 2013, 02:25:35 PM

(1974 Jorge Grau)
This slow moving effort from the guy that brought you "The Legend of Blood Castle" concerns George, an angry but ecologically minded guy who is journeying through the English countryside to view a house he inherited. He ends up riding with Edna, who has backed her car into his motorcycle. They get sidetracked and forced to stay in a small village, accused of murder by an angry cop who seems to see them as hippies and the cause of all of society's ills. They also get attacked by zombies, and spend the rest of the movie trying to evade the cops and zombies while trying to prove their innocence.
Slightly sub standard Spanish fare that looks nice and has a certain amount of gore. Make-up is kept to a minimum, although the gore is passable. The zombies amount to less than a dozen, and their actions don't follow a logical pattern. Either they're laughably stiff and slow moving or they're capable of lifting a huge stone cross to batter a door. They don't seem to have any motive beyond killing, taking a few bites while staring off blissfully into space, then killing again. Other times, they are clearly motivated by a need for personal revenge. They move stiffly and mindlessly, and then suddenly work together cooperatively. And that's kind of the whole movie in a nutshell; there's very little consistency for anyone doing anything in the movie. George is also kind of a dick to Edna for most of the movie, but she sticks with him. There is a half-hearted explanation as to the resurrection of the dead. And the ending is predictable, as the movie posters even give it away. Who in the promotion department made that decision? Everyone seems to be angry: The head cop hates the hippies, the hippies hate the cops, George hates everyone other than Mother Earth.
But it's got some great looking sets, as you'd expect. It looks good and tries to create a creepy atmosphere, but there's only a bit of tension. There's also a little uninspired nudity but a decent amount of gore, with the requisite flesh ripping and organ munching you would also expect. The acting is OK, although the top cop is a bit overblown. And it's got that famous rant from him that Electric Wizard loves.
I suppose it has some cache with the purists though, possibly because it was a Video Nasty back in the 80s, but nothing makes it stand out from it's contemporaries, and many did it better a few years later. Worth a view, but not essential. 2.75/5

mortlock · February 22, 2013, 11:52:01 PM

after reading that i feel as if ive just seen the movie..thanks for that.

boltthrow · February 23, 2013, 10:11:02 AM

He made it easy.

The Shocker · February 23, 2013, 04:39:26 PM

I found the movie boring.

mortlock · February 23, 2013, 11:21:15 PM

you would most def find the movie boring if you read this first..

lftwng4 · February 23, 2013, 11:47:51 PM

Quote from: mortlock on February 23, 2013, 11:21:15 PM
you would most def find the movie boring if you read this first..

Why the hate? I tried to give an accurate summary without giving any of plot away. Please give your review.
Seriously. Do you think this movie rates up there with the likes of Fulci or Romero, as far as zombie movies are concerned? Or how about it's place amongst other Spanish horror films by Franco or de Ossorio? Considering it came out in the mid-70s, I don't see it as standing above many of it's peers, but it has a notoriety about it that maybe I'm missing. Please elucidate.

boltthrow · February 24, 2013, 12:27:41 PM

I liked it but I watched it mainly to see the E-Wiz quotes. I liked the buildup. Once the zombies arrived it was a bit standard gut-munching fare. But nice atmosphere and I wish I had been a little bit older to actually see zombie films roll in and get how shocking they were. I do remember reading a Rolling Stone which had a "making of" article for Dawn Of The Dead and just the article scared me.

mortlock · February 24, 2013, 10:38:36 PM

Quote from: lftwng4 on February 23, 2013, 11:47:51 PM
Quote from: mortlock on February 23, 2013, 11:21:15 PM
you would most def find the movie boring if you read this first..

Why the hate? I tried to give an accurate summary without giving any of plot away. Please give your review.
Seriously. Do you think this movie rates up there with the likes of Fulci or Romero, as far as zombie movies are concerned? Or how about it's place amongst other Spanish horror films by Franco or de Ossorio? Considering it came out in the mid-70s, I don't see it as standing above many of it's peers, but it has a notoriety about it that maybe I'm missing. Please elucidate.

seems like you gave it away to me..

ez · February 25, 2013, 03:57:54 AM

One of my favourite of the classics, right up there with Dellamore Dellamorte.

peoplething · March 08, 2013, 07:57:37 AM

I've seen it once or twice and it's been a while. The first time I watched it I remember perking up when the E-Wiz dialogue was spoken. Outside of that, I don't remember much from the flick standing out.

Although, I haven't been into the old B-Movie horror flicks as rigorously as I was about a year ago. So it might be better than I remember.

Poster's awesome though!