Horror Rises from the Tomb (1972)

Scotland Yard begins an investigation that is so terrifying in its outcome, it nearly brings the venerable organization to its knees. It begins with the inquiry into the murder of a young girl and soon evolves into a case surrounding a long forgotten crime, a madman, and zombies.

Heart Ripping Action Abounds In This Spanish Tale Of Gothic Horror

In 1972, horror legend Paul Naschy wrote and starred in "Horror Rises From the Tomb." Though it was very low budget (written in less than two days and shot at the home of Naschy's parents), this Spanish film became an international success.

Naschy stars in a dual role; he is the Medieval warlock Alaric De Marnac who is beheaded and his ancestor Hugo De Marnac. Hugo and his three friends travel to his ancestral home where they encounter superstitious peasants and vigilante justice. Possessed by the spirits of Alaric, the friends unwittingly help the warlock and his priestess lover Mabille De Lancré to become flesh and blood. Soon, throughout the sleepy mountain countryside and nearby village, throats are slashed and hearts are ripped from their chests as the two fiends satiate their hunger. Hugo's one surviving friend, Maurice Roland, attempts to send Alaric and Mabille back to their graves before their power becomes unstoppable.

There are lots of gory killings. Unfortunately, the special effects could've been better. It was obvious that latex rubber was being torn rather than flesh when the hearts were being ripped from their bodies. The transformation of the skeleton into Mabille was extremely poor, and silly.

"Horror Rises from the Tomb" is definitely a creature feature of gothic horror. There is a warlock, his vampire lover, and a slew of zombies. There are also coffins, an underground burial crypt, and chains. The body count is rather high . . and I love a high body count. (You probably already know this from reading my other horror movie reviews.) "Horror Rises from the Tomb" is a must see for fans of gothic horror and Paul Naschy.
August 29, 2008

Should have stayed dead.

Horror Rises from the Tomb (Carlos Aured, 1973)

Carlos Aured and Paul Naschy's fourth and final collaboration is roughly what one expects from a seventies horror film from Spain-- a jumbled mess that exists solely as a vehicle for basement-budget unrealistic gore effects and, at times, copious female nudity. None of which makes up for the meandering plot, the bad acting, the even worse dubbing (if there's a subtitled version of this, I've not managed to find it; the DVD, rented from Blockbuster Online, gave no options for changing audio language or providing subtitles), and all the myriad other problems with this film.

The main plot concerns a fifteenth-century warlock, Alaric de Marnac (Naschy), who, along with his assistant/lover Elvira (Emma Cohen), is killed by the inquisition. Fast-forward to present day, when de Marnac's descendant Hugo (also played by Naschy) and some friends head up to the old family estate-- only to be haunted by the ghost of Alaric, who will not rest easy until his head is reunited with his body. Or so he says. You know better, right? There are a rather astounding number of subplots as well, but that's the main story.

This was played up to me as a zombie film, and to be fair, there are about five minutes' worth of really bad zombie-acting, so if you're a zombie movie completist, you've got to get your hands on this one. Also, the script does manage for each leading lady to appear sans clothing at least once, and they're all quite attractive; if that's enough to carry a movie for you, this might work. But if you're looking for a solid plot, well-written characters, decent special effects, or anything else that constitutes a good movie, you should give this one a pass. It's stupidly (and unintentionally) funny in places, and might make for a good drinking game, but as a piece of horror cinema, it fails miserably. * ½

August 19, 2008

Naschy Rises in my Brain.

I'll go on record and say that out of all the Naschy films I've seen this one I like. It is a king schlock fest- satanic-zombie dead hoot. True..it borders on ludicrous. But so do most of his films. But every once in a while,like many of the 60's-70's Spanish horror maestros',you get one that's great for whatever your personal tastes require. I thought this film was a gas. Too bad to say excellent, but bad enough to say It's good. It has satanists risen from the tomb,flying heads,Spanish squeezable cuties,cryptic castles,possession,murder,torture and old organ dirges. Praise to Paul Naschy for this one. Love it. May 22, 2008

crisp transfer of a Spanish classic

First of all, this is clearly not a film for anyone looking for an intelligent and well accomplished work of art. Not even for funs looking for a good horror film among other types of movies. This is a good representative of Spanish B horror, with lots of nudity and very RED blood all over the place. So, forget about acting, a logical script, or good connection between scenes. All that said, the film is still entertaining and a "must" for horror hobbists. Technically, the transfer is simply excellent, with English and Spanish audio options, in a widescreen format. May 19, 2008

A review from a Naschy fan

HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB (HRFTT, from here on out) is one of Paul Naschy's superb entries in European horror. It is a totally, 100% unique brew that was created in a feverish night of speed and no sleep...and it does indeed show! Naschy, known more for his Waldemar Daninsky werewolf pictures, creates another iconic character that has more in common with the classic Universal horror film of the 30s and 40s than with other Euro-horror films of the era (the 70s). No, there are no black-gloved mysterious killers stalking women through Italian (or, in this case, Spanish) streets. Here in HRFTT is a Alaric du Marnac, a warlock who dabbles in a bit of this and that (vampirism, black magic, necromancy, cannibalism, etc) who was influenced by the real Frenchman, Gilles de Rais -- a purported child murderer and who knows what else for sure. Truly, du Marnac is about as evil of a character you will ever find in any horror film of the last 50 years; no sense of conscience, he exists purely for the seeking of pleasure for himself and his mistress, Mabille du Lancre (played by the beautiful Helga Line). Naschy plays du Marnac with such sincerity and charisma, he seems to have channelled the magic of Karloff, Lugosi and Chaney while still making this character his own. The other actors should be commended as well, including Line, Emma Cohen and Vic Winner; all give superb performances for what many might just write off as another cheesy Euro-exploitation movie.

I don't want to give away too much about the film itself, since it really is unique. But, I will say this film involves just about every evil, dark thing imaginable -- thanks to Naschy's fevered mind during the creation of the script. You'll see everything from plain old carjackings all the way up to the living dead to odd colors to mist floating around so many scenes, not to mention the evil-doings du Marnac was known for.

The print used by BCI/Deimos is incredible. It blows away all other versions ever seen, probably even theatrically speaking. The colors blaze out of the screen, the details are so crisp it truly is amazing. The sound is lovely too; the score is very unique, almost like an organ score from an older silent film (though, more experimental). It features two language tracks (Eng & Span) plus a wonderful commentary track from Paul Naschy and Carlos Aured. The extras are various as well -- trailers, alternate scenes, stills, and insightful linernotes written by Mirek Lipinski.

This entire line of BCI/Deimos' Naschy & Spanish releases really raise the bar for Euro-horror releases. BCI/Deimos should be awarded honors for taking these films seriously and giving them the royal treatment. January 18, 2008

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