Blutmesse für den Teufel

Jacinto Molina, more commonly known as Paul Nasty (err… I mean, Naschy) strikes again with this ultra-bizarre and ultra-deranged Spanish exploitation effort. The script of "Horror Rises from the Tomb" is incoherent as hell, there isn't a single interesting or well-written dialog to be heard, acting & directing are both extremely shabby and the supposedly malevolent witches, zombies and other unidentifiable types of monsters evoke more laughs than scares. And yet, despite all these abnormalities (and more…), "Horror Rises from the Tomb" is a vintage and purely entertaining gem of 70's horror cinema! Naschy wrote the oddball script himself and stars as no less than THREE different descendants of the noble French de Marnac family. During the fairly atmospheric opening set in the 15th Century, we witness how a malicious Alaric (Naschy) and his mistress are brutally executed for practicing witchcraft. Several years later, Hugo (Naschy again) invites three of his friends to join him for a vacation at his ancient family estate somewhere in rural France. Quite a lot of awkward and totally irrelevant things occur, but the bottom line is: Alaric de Marnac's decapitated head is still alive in a chest, buried in the large cemeteries surrounding the estate, and its hypnotizing powers turns people into docile yet bloodthirsty zombies. The film is quite bad and pointless, but at least there's always something going on to entertain you. Whether it's the poor make-up effects on the zombies, the implausible sub plots, the sleaze footage brought on by a couple of fine looking Euro-babes or the ingenious little gimmicks, "Horror Rises from the Tomb" is never boring and never makes you regret the purchase. And who can possibly resist the sequences featuring Naschy's separated head commanding his slaves to bring him human sacrifices and to obey his every word? Take my word on it: the head-in-the-chest scenes are priceless! Some of the interior & exterior filming locations are even very enchanting and beautifully captured on camera. Most neutral viewers will probably claim this is the worst film they've ever encountered in their lives, but it's an absolute must for fans of Paul Naschy and essential 70's Euro-horror.

In the Middle Ages, a man is hanged for performing an incredible long list of Satanic acts. He is hanged and his body is buried away from his head. In the future (the 1970s), the new owner of the land is a skeptic and does not believe in psychics. So he attends a séance, and then to disprove that she spoke to the dead sorcerer, they seek out the head where she claims it was buried. This, of course, is a bad idea.

This is the first of many collaborations between Naschy and director Carlos Aured; it was also the first time Aured took over full directing duties after being assistant to León Klimovsky. Paul Naschy wrote the story and had the script rushed out in about two days while he was pumped full of amphetamines. According to Naschy, this hurry was requested by producer José Antonio Pérez Giner, who needed a script immediately in order to create a production company.

Some say the film seems to have been inspired by Will Cowan's "The Thing That Couldn't Die" (1958). Naschy never confirmed or denied this, but rather pointed to Luis Bunuel's "Exterminating Angel" (1962) as an influence. He also took inspiration from the historical serial killer Gilles de Rais, a figure who would return in Naschy's "Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll" (1974) the following year.

Naschy stars in three roles. You probably best know Naschy as the wolfman, Waldemar Daninsky. But he equally loved this role, which he would reprise years later. His companion is Helga Line, who appeared opposite Barbara Steele in "Nightmare Castle" (1965), and then starred as the spy Natasha in the Gothic feature "Horror Express" (1972). Rounding out the cast is activist-actress Emma Cohen, who appears as Elvira (a name Naschy used frequently in his scripts). Cohen had just finished Eloy de la Iglesia's "The Cannibal Man" (1972), which found itself on the notorious video nasty list. She also had a bit part as a vampire bride in Jess Franco's "Count Dracula" (1970).

For many years, the easiest way to see the film was on DVD in what was considered a public domain release. The quality was rather poor, the aspects were off, and perhaps worst of all, it turns out that the film was never supposed to be public domain. But if you could look past the film quality, the plot is interesting enough and you have to really like the effort the villagers go to keeping them from the burial grounds. They are saved from muggers by a group of vigilantes who really aren't any more safe to be around. And then, once one of them becomes possessed by the sorcerer's spirit, it is just a world of pain.

The 2017 Blu-ray release from Scream Factory is something of a godsend. The film looks as good or better than it ever did. Audiences have the option to watch the clothed or unclothed versions. Roughly eight minutes of footage not seen in the public domain release is properly back in the footage. This is all-around a top-notch film and one that should see a growing appreciation now that fans will see it in its full glory rather than as a third- or fourth-generation duplicate that was poorly "remastered".

I purchased Horror Rises from the Tomb as part of a four DVD zombie pack. This is defiantly a little gem and I recommend it to any who by chance come across a copy. The special effects are extremely good for a 1973 movie. The blood isn't pink like in many of the old Hammer films and every single woman in the movie takes her cloths off!!! How can you beat something like that? At least they're realistic about it. I mean, if your going to cut someone's heart out you might as least remove her shirt first. Makes sense to me. Overall it was a strong story, with great acting and effects. A review of the IMDb database shows that many of the lead actors and actresses are still alive and acting today and I am interested in seeing some more of Carlos Aured's films. His last film was the Charles Band film 'Eliminators' (1986).

Strongly recommended but only for lovers of old school horror. All in all I'd say this film was about five or six years ahead of it's time. I'll also go as far to say that Tom Savini was probably inspired for one of his effects from Dawn of the Dead by a gruesome effect from this movie but I won't give anything away

I was so excited to come across this little gem (well, to me at least). I bought a $9.99 4 movie DVD set offered by Brentwood Home Video. Since then I have

seen this DVD sold for $14.99 just for the single movie, so I got a good deal. If you are reading a review about such an obscure film then most likely you are a fan of 1970s "Euro-trash". In that case, you will have fun with this movie. If your idea of an obscure horror movie is Freddie Vs. Jason, then you are looking at the wrong reviews. This has everything you would want in a 1970s Euro trash

flick- cheap gore, boobies, and badly dubbed in english; I love this stuff!

So if you are a collector of such fine cinema, then check this one out, I think you will enjoy...

The living head of a minion of Satan put to death centuries ago is unearthed. A nightmare ensues for a group of people as the head sets forth to reunite with it's body.

Sadly, most people in this world will never know the immense joy that this film can bring...but for the luckier few of us, this zany little Gothic horror picture delivers the goods with the very best of them. How can one go wrong with cackling disembodied heads, graphic scythe murders, zombie mayhem, and luscious babes roaming the night in their sheerest Frederick's of Hollywood naughties? Grand entertainment, as only the Europeans of the 1970s could create, and an absolute must-see for fans of crazed drive-in culture...there's not a single frame of the film which doesn't look like it was ripped straight from the pages of a Golden-Age horror comic book, and hooray for that.

Rates a solid 7 out of 10 as I see it.