A Orgia dos Mortos

"La Orgía de los Muertos" aka. "The Hanging Woman" of 1973 is an underrated and greatly atmospheric Spanish/Italian co-production that should be appreciated by my fellow fans of Gothic Horror. Originally, my main reason to watch "The Hanging Woman" was Spanish Horror/Exploitation icon Paul Naschy, who plays a another really, REALLY demented role here, and the film turned out to be one of the best I've ever seen him in. I've been a great Naschy fan for years, and while most of his films are not necessarily 'good' movies, they are all highly entertaining. Many of the films this prolific Spanish Horror virtuoso (Actor/Writer/Director) was involved in in the 70s successfully merged the Gothic- and the Zombie-sub-genre (most prominently in Carlos Aured's "Horror Rises From The Tomb"). And this moody and delightfully creepy film does so in a great manner (the Gothic part is predominant). Spanish director José Luis Merino, who is also known in the Eurohorror fan community for directing "Altar of Blood" obviously didn't dispose of a huge budget for this film, but he nevertheless managed to create a wonderful Gothic atmosphere and give the film an elegantly eerie look.

Set in a remote 19th century Scottish village, "The Hanging Woman" begins eerily with a funeral. Shortly thereafter, Serge Chekov (Stelvio Rossi), the nephew of the deceased, comes to the village in order to accept his inheritance. Before even reaching his uncle's house, however, he finds the man's daughter, his cousin, hanged in the graveyard... The film was obviously inspired by other European Gothic Horror films, most distinctively by Mario Bava's masterpiece "Operazione Paura" ("Kill Baby Kill", 1966). "The Hanging Woman" is, of course, nowhere near en par with "Kill Baby Kill" (in my humble opinion one of the greatest Gothic Horror film ever made; by Mario Bava, who is arguably THE greatest Horror director of all-time). However, it is an amazingly atmospheric, creepy and intelligent piece of low-budget European Gothic Horror that no true genre lover should miss. The village is elegantly uncanny, with graveyards, tombs, eerie old houses, and tombstones like one would see them in films by Bava or the Hammer Studios. The storyline is clever and quite original and combines great elements such as Black Magic, Mad Science and Resurrection. There are several great gory moments, as well as some sleaze. Paul Naschy, who plays a truly deranged undertaker, is great as always, and I've never seen a role that suits him better than this one. Naschy is, of course, the highlight here, but the cast members all fit well in their roles and deliver good performances. Stelvio Rossi is good in the lead and so is Gérard Tichy ("Hatchet for the Honeymoon"). I liked sexy Maria Pia Conte, who plays the seductive widow, especially. For early 70s Spanish Horror, the film isn't particularly sleazy, but it features a bunch of deranged perversions and both Miss Conte and Dyanik Zurakowska, who plays the part of the innocent Doris, show off some goods. The film mainly profits from a great Gothic atmosphere, genuine creepiness, some really deranged weirdness and, not least, Paul Naschy. Naschy only has a supporting role here, but he is nonetheless the most memorable character in this film which ranks among the best he has ever been in. Highly recommended to Eurohorror fans.

I saw this dubbed Spanish film as The Hanging Woman, on Gorgon Video. The box promised scenes of brutality, rape, and humiliation beyond Last House on the Left. Just to clear the record, this is not true. There is no rape, and the closest thing to humiliation is when an innocent virgin bares her breasts. There is violence and graphic gore, but it really doesn't kick in until the climax. And what a climax! Bloody zombies rampaging in the best Night of the Living Dead fashion, with the luridness increased in typical European style. The final shot is chilling and almost Bergman-esque. However, the rest of the movie is pretty uneventful. Despite a strong beginning and creepy atmosphere--with the dirtiness of the period perfectly captured by grainy, washed-out color photography--most of the film is like an overlong episode of Dark Shadows. Sexy Dyanik Zurakowska has some powerful nude scenes, and her sex scene with Stelvio Rosi helps spice things up...but not much else happens. Paul Naschy, the reason many people seek this out, has a small role as a red-herring necrophile. On the whole, I think The Hanging Woman is worth seeing--but you should know what you're getting into. If you want your Naschy fix, see one of his werewolf movies.

Trivia: La Orgia de los muertos originally hit the States in 1974 as The Hanging Woman. International Artists promoted the film with a Last House-inspired campaign: "For the squeamish, keep repeating: It can't be true, can't be true, can't be true, can't be true, can't be true." Stelvio Rosi was billed as Stanley Cooper.

This one combines the old Gothic Horror with a bit of giallo, throws in necrophilia, black magic and weird science and tops it off with zombies. That's called knocking it right out the park, right there. We start off with a mysterious lady rooting around a cemetary, trying to find a certain tomb which contains an old man. Once she finds him, she pulls out a document from his corpse and is immediately set upon by a strange, unseen figure. Wha'gawan?

Shortly afterwards, our hero Serge turns up. He's a big jerk and it's his uncle that's just been buried. Serge can't understand why the locals won't get him a taxi up to the creepy village just because it happens to be on the 'cemetary road'. Serge gives it the old 'pish posh' routine and gets his gun out, stiffens his upper lip and promptly shits himself when he stumbles upon the hanging corpse of a young woman with a look of terror on his face.

Turns out that this woman was his cousin and now that she's dead he's the sole inheritor of the entire estate, which includes of course a huge creepy mansion full of secret passageways. This doesn't make him look too good in the eyes of the police however, who quickly establish that the girl was probably murdered, but then they also suspect that insane graveskeeper that everyone hates (Paul Naschy, doing a lovely loopy turn as Igor). They discover that Naschy is some sort of necrophile who loves taking pictures of dead women, but that's not tasteless enough for this film so hold your horses, because we haven't met the residents of the creepy mansion yet.

There's seemingly innocent maid Doris and her father Prof. Leon and his experiments with electricity. Then there Nadia, highly suspicious stepmother who dresses up as a corpse and tries to get Naschy to get it on with her, leading him to run off and apologise to his corpse collection. That's better. Nadia is an opportunist so it doesn't take long for her to run up Serge's trouser leg like a ferret in order to prevent him selling the mansion. Oh, and she also practices black magic into the bargain.

Long story short - someone's up to something regarding the house and is willing to kill for that undisclosed reason. If it were a straightforward gothic horror it would still work fine, what with the secret passageways and vanishing corpses, and as a giallo it would still work fine, but to throw some zombie action in the last half an hour, that's putting in overtime.

Yes, zombies rise up and we find out all that's going down. Paul Naschy may not be the star here but he still stands out as the (literally) drooling madman who is the key to everything that's happening. This one has been sitting on Youtube for years so it's easily obtainable, and recommended by me, if that means anything at all. Wait - this is meant to be set in Scotland? in toil we krimber

I recently watched the Spanish film 🇪🇸 The Hanging Woman, aka Beyond the Living Dead (1973) on Tubi. The storyline follows a man who arrives at an estate to claim his inheritance after his long-lost relative was found dead hanging in a tree. He encounters cults, curses, and zombies while attempting to gain his riches. The question arises: Can the inheritance be worth the mayhem he'll have to overcome?

Directed by José Luis Merino (Crime Story), the film stars Stelvio Rosi (Anaconda), Maria Pia Conte (The Arena), Dyanik Zurakowska (The Destructors), Gérard Tichy (Doctor Zhivago), and Carla Mancini (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage).

This is a somewhat uneven addition to the zombie genre that takes a while to build momentum, but the payoff at the end makes it worthwhile. The main character's resemblance to Chuck Norris adds a layer of unintentional humor to the action scenes. An infamous skeleton shooting scene had me laughing off my chair. The film's settings, backdrops, and props create a perfect atmosphere. While kills are scarce initially, the well-crafted corpses and eerie atmosphere compensate. The zombies feature solid makeup and an authentic feel. The storyline, though somewhat cliche, remains enjoyable, and the action-packed, worthwhile ending makes the journey fulfilling.

In conclusion, The Hanging Woman is a somewhat uneven addition to the zombie genre, but its worthwhile elements make it a must-see. I'd score it a 6/10 and strongly recommend it.

This film is an example of a zombie movie which has zombies that are created rather than transformed by a virus as generally depicted today. The usual differences between the two are that those created (by voodoo, black magic or science) generally follow instructions from their creator, don't eat flesh and don't infect others. Produced in 1973 in Europe it had a good Gothic feel to it. Likewise, although it was originally filmed in Spanish and dubbed in English the overall effect wasn't too bad either. However, one clear fault was that the lead actor, Stelvio Rosi (as "Serge Chekov") sported a haircut from the early 1970's even though the film was supposed to have taken place sometime in the 19th Century. Not only that but I thought his performance was slightly below that of the rest of the cast as well. On the other hand, some bright spots involved two gorgeous actresses, Maria Pia Conte ("Nadia Mihaly") and Dyanik Zurakowska ("Doris Droila") along with excellent makeup for the zombies. In short, other than the slight miscasting of the lead actor, this was a competent zombie film which fans of this genre might find interesting.