I'm a big fan of the original 'Tombs of the Blinddead', but even so; I'm not sure that it warranted a sequel. Director Amando de Ossorio obviously disagreed with me, and I'm glad he did - because this film, the first of three follow-ups to Ossorio's original is a really nice little zombie film; even if it is a little superfluous. Anyone who has seen the first film will know exactly what to expect, as this film follows the same basic storyline, which centres on the mysterious blind (and dead) Templars who rise from the grave to wreak havoc upon the living. This time, we kick off with a sequence that shows how the Templars were killed, which gives a good backdrop to a film where we already know who the main villains are going to be. From there, the film starts properly and the early stages are populated by some of the characters that will go on to star in the movie. Unlike he did with the first film, Ossorio seems keen to focus on the paranoia of the people who are trapped by his creepy force of Templars, and the main bulk of the film takes place in an old building where a bunch of people have holed up.
For what it is, Ossorio's series of 'Blinddead' films is actually quite original. Much of the action takes place in the daylight, which bodes excellently with the creepy, decrepit image of the Templars. Also, the zombies here aren't the victims of a virus or radiation from space; but rather the result of a curse. Ossorio's Templars also aren't flesh-eating, and seem to prefer lopping off heads and limbs to satisfying their hunger. All these culminates in the image of the Templars themselves, which gave the first film it's main talking point and does the same for this sequel. The image of the decayed ex-knights and their horses is first class horror, and the director clearly realises this as the film features them for a lot of the running time. The dialogue and the characters are very simple, and is often quite ridiculous. This sort of thing is one of the trademarks of Italian horror from the seventies; and it's such a shame because it does bring the piece down. Overall; it's a bit silly, it's inconsistent, it doesn't always make sense and it's pretty much a re-run of the original; but this is first class zombie nonsense, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loved the first film!
For what it is, Ossorio's series of 'Blinddead' films is actually quite original. Much of the action takes place in the daylight, which bodes excellently with the creepy, decrepit image of the Templars. Also, the zombies here aren't the victims of a virus or radiation from space; but rather the result of a curse. Ossorio's Templars also aren't flesh-eating, and seem to prefer lopping off heads and limbs to satisfying their hunger. All these culminates in the image of the Templars themselves, which gave the first film it's main talking point and does the same for this sequel. The image of the decayed ex-knights and their horses is first class horror, and the director clearly realises this as the film features them for a lot of the running time. The dialogue and the characters are very simple, and is often quite ridiculous. This sort of thing is one of the trademarks of Italian horror from the seventies; and it's such a shame because it does bring the piece down. Overall; it's a bit silly, it's inconsistent, it doesn't always make sense and it's pretty much a re-run of the original; but this is first class zombie nonsense, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loved the first film!