 |
| aka: LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE |
George is an antiques dealer who discovers a new
axiom: those who unearth the past are doomed to be devoured by it.
Writer/Director Jorge Grau evokes the spirit of both George Romero and
Michelangelo Antonioni in this classic horror film, creating drama from the
sludge piles and belching factories of RED DESERT, sporting an ultra-cool and
suave protagonist whose motorcycle rockets through the arteries of London, a
reincarnation of David Hemmings in BLOW-UP, and the mystery of the rising dead
and cultural clash that was so well defined by NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.
A chance encounter propels George and Edna upon a
diabolical journey into the unknown, where they become trapped in a vault of
horror. Grau devises a scientific premise for the reanimation of the recently
dead as a local farmer is using ultrasonic radiation to destroy the simple
nervous systems of insects: it seems to be less toxic than pesticide. But this
has an effect on both newborns and the newly deceased causing psychotic
violence and cannibalism. A unique and interesting major plot point is in the
deduction that these zombies can use their own irradiated blood to create a
brotherhood of corpses.
The use of heart-thumping sound precedes an attack
and creates a crescendo of fear which is utilized to great effect. One chilling
scene in particular has our protagonists and a police officer trapped in a
basement while the dead begin to push aside their caskets: Tobe Hooper’s homage
is evident in the Marsten House basement scenario from SALEM’S LOT. The police
investigate these series of murders blaming the deaths on Edna’s drug addled
sister and corrupting youth culture represented by George in his leather jacket
and shaggy good looks. As in classic science fiction films, the young hero
discovers the source of the apocalypse but his pleas fall upon the deaf ears of
his elders, so he must take matters into his own hands.
These zombies think and move quickly, the core of
some basic reasoning still existent in their gray matter, and the disease can
be passed by blood: again we see another influence that haunts Danny Boyle’s 28
DAYS LATER. George fights his way through a demented hell to save Edna, who was
a stranger only hours before, and the nihilistic vengeful finale is reflective
of the culture and social temperament of its time: the dead shall indeed inherit
the Earth.
Final Grade: (B)
