| Product: |
The Plague Of The Zombies (DVD) |
| Date: |
02.02.08 (93 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Some genuine scares
Disadvantages: A bit simplistic, like most Hammers
A review of the Hammer Collection DVD.
This is one of Hammer's best horror films. Released in 1966, when the company was still *the* name in horror, it's different enough to their normal fare to be engaging, while still having enough of the cosy Hammer trademarks to please the traditionalists.
A Cornish village is troubled by a mysterious illness. A big-shot London doctor arrives to try and figure out what's going on (silly man brings his pretty daughter with him, an obviously bad idea in a Hammer film. Pretty daughters invariably find themselves hunted for sport or fallen under the mesmeric influence of a tall, dark baddie - or even both!). He soon stumbles across some shocking, voodoo-related doings - given the title of the film you can probably figure out what they are.
As with most Hammer horrors, you can expect lush colours (especially red, red blood), cheap but decent sets and perfectly competent period trappings (this is set some time in the 19th century). The music is screamingly unsubtle, but anything else would be a let-down, and it amusingly throws in more drums than usual for that authentic voodoo flavour. The locals are ludicrously hostile towards outsiders in a way that *almost* goes too far and the night-time scenes are all very obviously shot during the day. But other than that there's nothing obviously risible here. Hammer by this point could put together a decent gothic horror in its sleep.
But this one's more than just 'decent'; it really stands out. For one thing, it actually has scary bits. There are some fairly shocking moments, and one sequence in particular is frightening and intense in a way that Hammer's films almost never are. This is the scariest film Hammer ever made. The director, John Gilling, wasn't one of Hammer's usual directors (he made the excellent Burke and Hare film The Flesh and the Fiends for someone else, though, so was no stranger to horror). His direction seems more dynamic than the films handled by Terence Fisher or Freddie Francis. The camera prowls around a lot more than usual. And the director clearly has a feel for the human face that most Hammer directors seem to lack.
The cast are all fine. The London doctor, Sir James, is played by Andre Morell. It could almost have been written for Peter Cushing, but Morell is slightly less familiar (but no less good), which again makes the film stand out a bit. He does all the explanation stuff reasonably well and is nicely grouchy. The villain is played by John Carson, and again, it could have been written for Christopher Lee. It's to the film's advantage that Hammer obviously wasn't willing to spend enough to get its regular stars this time round. Other cast members include the sexy as hell Jacqueline Pearce (later to turn up as the evil Servalan in Blake's Seven) and Hammer bit-part expert Michael Ripper as a flummoxed copper.
In terms of negative points, there aren't many, apart from a certain samey quality you get in most Hammers. There's not much blood (it has a 12 rating; there's one decent decapitation, but otherwise this is good wholesome scares). Likewise, although there's an element of heaving cleavage, sex is a lot less prominent than in some of Hammer's films (it's more about class - the zombies are the proletariat being exploited by the evil voodoo squire). The plot is pretty straightforward - one thing leads inevitably to another and the audience already knows what it takes the characters ages to discover, which is a bit frustrating. There are no real surprises, plot wise, but you can't have everything.
The picture quality on the DVD is very good. There are two trailers included as extras, one of which is for a fun-looking double bill of this and Dracula Prince of Darkness.
This can be picked up for about £6 on amazon, and probably cheaper if you look around. It's the last zombie movie that used voodoo and old-fashioned scares rather than an over-reliance on gore - I probably prefer the modern, bloodier zombie on the whole, but it's a shame that the quaint old-school version was allowed to die out so completely.
Summary: One of Hammer's best films on DVD
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