Der Tote, der nicht sterben wollte

Zombie flick? Not on your life. Certainly not like the tedious maniacal, blood-thirsty zombies that Americans are so fond of. It's the understated presence of the 'living dead' (animated by the spirit of Hampshire's love) in the shape of Michael Petrovitch that makes the film unnerving.

"We're so happy" opening lasts for 35 minutes - too long, but once that's over the film becomes compelling.

Lovely theme spoilt by a lame piece of artless sixties pop (Land rover on beach scene), jarring to say the least.

Upon its release this was labelled by multiple critics as "undoubtedly one of the worst movies of the 70s", and around here quite a few reviews are extremely harsh as well. I can understand why people dislike it, though. I, too, find the film incredibly slow-paced, indecisive in terms of tone and atmosphere, and perhaps slightly overlong. And yet, overall, I found "Neither the Sea nor the Sand" strangely mystifying, deeply absorbing, and a lot more thought-provoking than any other movie I have seen lately. Bottom line, I disagree with the critics and cherish it dearly.

For starters, this is one of those really rare films where you absolutely can't guess what it's about when you avoid reading summaries or reviews. You can't derive anything from the title, and even up until halfway through the length you still don't have a clue where the story will be heading too. I sincerely hope you're reading this review AFTER you've seen the film already. The beautiful Ilse of Jersey filming locations, the hypnotizing music, and the devoted performance of Susan Hampshire all help making "Neither the Sea nor the Sand" a unique piece of poetry.

Anna is stuck in a marital crisis and fled to the Ilse of Jersey to sort things out. She falls head over heels in love with mysterious and philosophical lighthouse caretaker Hugh. She abandons everything for him, and they're happy for a while, but during a trip to Scotland Hugh suffers from a heart-attack and dies. Needless to say, Anna is heartbroken. So heartbroken that, the next night, Hugh returns to her. Is he a ghost? Is he a zombie? It doesn't matter for Anna since it's her love that keeps Hugh alive and they can be together again. But, how long and at what cost can you co-exist with a corpse?

It's the theme of many a horror movie. People cannot accept the death of a loved one and are prepared to sacrifice everything to bring them back. Whatever way they succeed, though, they always painfully find out that nobody returns as the same person. "Neither the Sea nor the Sand" is also categorized as horror for this reason, and once even appeared under the infamous video-label Redemption, but you'll be sorely disappointed if you expect decaying zombies or malignant ghosts. Gordon Honeycombe's novel and script purely focuses on the heartache of loss, the purity of true love, and the power of mind.

This strange film is based on a book by a former British television newsreader and is a combination of love story and ghost story. The settings are striking and the music score effective but it's a slow affair and one is baffled as to what market the film-makers were aiming for.

It's a shame that this film does not get much attention, and it's all but disappeared now. Which is a pity because if you allow yourself to go with the very leisurely pace, it's actually an effective little story. Susan Hampshire plays a woman who suffers such profound grief at the death of her lover that she somehow manages to bring him back from the dead. She doesn't do it intentionally though, and is shocked and bewildered by his seemingly miraculous return. Unfortunately, although he can move about he's still dead in every other respect, so things can only go downhill for poor Susan.

Filmed outdoors in lots of cold and grey coastal locations, the film is really a bleak love story and probably bored a lot of people to death. Pretty much panned by all critics on it's release it's now hanging somewhere in limbo, and other than a few TV appearances it would probably be impossible to see it now. A modest DVD release might help it recover some fans, as it's really not the failure it has been described as. Competently made and with good performances, it's a lot better than some of the other trash that passes for "cult" fan viewing.

A very idiosyncratic little movie, NEITHER THE SEAM NOR THE SAND is curiously comparative to a Harlequin Romance novel, but spiked with zombie-horror trappings. A young couple's passionate love story ends with the boy's tragic death...or does it? All is seemingly rectified when his reanimated body returns to the waiting arms of his grieving lover. She is initially overjoyed, though it latterly becomes clear that he's not quite himself anymore...plus, the decomposition of his body advances, making the couple's intimacy issues rather unappetizing .

Reaction to this film will be scattered, likely with a stronger appeal to patient solicitors of singular horror novelties than to rank-and-file fans of zombie cinema. It's a subdued and casually precipitated oddity with some beautiful scenic location filming.

5.5/10...not wholly praiseworthy, perhaps, but a surprisingly poignant and refreshing deviation from the "same-old same-old".