lemon_magic As other commentators have noted, this movie has a lot of "sketchy" character decisions. The most egregious is this one: Virginia, if you thought your boyfriend was paying too much of the wrong kind of attention to your female friend, the thing to do was to cause a scene right there on the train...not bail out in the middle of nowhere and start walking! Jeez, passive-aggressive drama queen....Aside from that, and aside from some other logical plot holes, character decisions that make no sense, and a revived victim scene that seems to be there for padding, this can be enjoyed as a wonderful visual treat. It's way better than "Horror Of The Zombies", a later "Blind Dead" film that I actually saw first. (That movie was sabotaged by unlikable characters and some intermittently terrible special effects).Also contributing to the atmosphere are the historical and mythic resonances. These weren't really "zombies" in the classic sense, more like mummies with a taste for human blood. Mummies are way scarier than zombies, because mummies have an implacable intelligence that wants you, you personally, dead. And this comes across in the film. These particular mummies also have a basis in an actual (if controversial) historic cult, which is nice. And the way they advanced on their victims was mysterious and creepy instead of repulsive and gory. In fact, actual gore is kept to a bare minimum here. My other quibble with the plot: After the disastrous botched rescue attempt and the messy dispatching of the train crew and passengers, wouldn't the authorities roll a bunch of tanks through that castle and destroy everything with fire? But that's probably just my American desire for happy endings and closure...apparently not a priority in Euro-Horror. I don't really feel the need to see another "Blind Dead" movie after this, but this was worth my time.

Michael_Elliott Tombs of the Blind Dead (1971) *** (out of 4)Virginia (Elena Arpon) and Roger (Cesar Burner) are on a trip when they run into Bet (Lone Fleming), an old friend of Virginia. The new girl ends up inviting herself on a trip to the country and soon Roger gets attracted to her. Virginia, feeling slighted, decides to jump off the train where she heads to a ghost town. The next day her body is found with all sorts of bite marks so Roger and Bet start investigating and discover the Templar Knights have rises from their graves.TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD has some of the greatest moments in the history of horror movies but sadly there are many, many bad moments scattered throughout, which prevents this from being more highly praised. The film was released in America dubbed and cut down to 82 minutes and this version should be avoided. While the shorter running time would be a positive thing, this version is missing quite a bit of great exploitation footage including a rape sequence as well as a flashback where a woman (Britt Nichols) is tied up and sacrificed.Again, there are some excellent things to be found here with the Templar Knights being one of them. The look of these living dead creatures is quite wonderful and once you see them there's no question that their image will be in your brain whenever you think of the zombie genre. It also doesn't hurt that the locations are so wonderful and really help build up a quite eerie atmosphere. The opening thirty minutes are certainly the highlight of the film as we see Virginia going through the old building, getting comfortable and ready for bed but then she is stalked by the Knights. This sequence is highly effective.The Knights are really a supporting player here as they only show up towards the start and then again at the very end. The ending of the picture is quite nice and contains a good mix of violence and atmosphere. Sadly, there are some major flaws in the picture including how the human characters are all rather boring and you really don't care too much about them. Another problem is that the film moves at an incredibly slow pace. This pace helps the opening sequence but sadly it just really drags the film down in the middle and especially when the Knights aren't on the screen.Director Amando de Ossorio deserves a lot of credit for all the great things in TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD but it's too bad the flaws keep it from being greater.

callanvass (Credit, IMDb) In the 13th century there existed a legion of evil knights known as the Templars, who quested for eternal life by drinking human blood and committing sacrifices. Executed for their unholy deeds, the Templars bodies were left out for the crows to peck out their eyes. Now, in modern day Portugal, a group of people stumble on the Templars abandoned monastery, reviving their rotting corpses to terrorize the land.I try to abstain from using worn out clichés, but this movie really warrants it. Tombs of the Blind Dead moves as slow as molasses, failing to revitalize my interest in any way throughout. The zombies themselves are pretty cool looking. They are knights that ride horses, except they do it in a contemporary setting. I loved the creepy village with the castles, the photography is fantastic, it's just that they could have done so much with this movie, but they bored me to tears instead. I watched the uncut version of this film. Strangely enough, it didn't seem uncut to me. There isn't much gore to be found. Zombie bites and a woman being burned alive are a couple of the seldom found highlights. There are some plot holes as well. As a couple of reviewers have rightfully mentioned. Why does a female inexplicably jump off a train into trouble? That's like throwing gasoline on a fire. The acting isn't worth mentioning. Everyone is pretty awful, even if they were subtitled. Any more praise? We get some awkward lesbianism, so if you're into soft-core things, that might please you. Overall, I vehemently despised this film. It has all the potential in the world, but they crap all over it. It's an overrated snooze fest if you ask me. I have three more sequels to watch. I hope they are at least marginally better than this film, and add a modicum of energy3/10

deadringer22000 I have heard by several people that this is the best horror flick that was made in Spain. I wouldn't go that far, but it definitely has its high points. While vacationing one girl gets separated from her friends on a train and winds up in a remote little church/cemetery in the countryside. What she doesn't know is that a local legend involving immortal templar knights that rise from their graves are at the same location she is. You can pretty much guess what happens next. The movie definitely has quite a few things going for it: Scenery, sound use, atmosphere, but I think it has some of the coolest looking "Zombies" ever in the Templar Knights. Decked out in tattered knight clothing and looking like they actually have been dead for hundreds of years(love the full grown beards) they surely are a sight to behold and every single Zombie movie/comic/TV shows fan should see them just once. Unlike Fulci's zombies which are covered with maggots and still have some rotting flesh on them or Romeros zombies which still look like they just have been turned the templer knights have a totally different look about them that almost makes them look alien. They are more like walking skeletons but even have their own horses that they can ride it they need to cover ground fast. Yes, they are blind but their sense of hearing is top notch and they even show signs of being slightly the most intelligent of all the different classes of zombies in other films. For their scenes alone make this a film to recommend to horror fans. If you have the chance see the Spainish version. I think it is a little bit more gory than the US version.