O Galeão Fantasma

The Knights Templar, the hooded blind dead brought to life so vividly in Tombs of the Blind Dead and The Return of the Blind Dead by Amando d'Ossorio, are back to reek their vengeance upon the living. This time the setting is a galleon from the 16th century that only appears to small watercraft. The plot is pretty typical as a pair of models on a boat hook up with the galleon as it comes out of a consuming fog and mist. They disappear and others go after them. We eventually learn that the ship is centuries old traveling in its own time field. The prey, as with most Ossorio films, is filled with beautiful, bikini-clad women warbling out their death-screams, thus alerting their predators of their whereabouts. Atmosphere over plot to be sure here, and the film does pretty good as a suspense vehicle. The special effects...well they are not too special. The ship is quite effective in close-ups and mid-shots, but long shots reveal that it is nothing more than a model. The acting is pretty typical of such films, but certainly not detracting in any way. All in all this is a fine edition to the Blind Dead series....not the best...but entertaining nonetheless.

Horror of the Zombies otherwise known as The Ghost Galleon is the third movie in the Blind Dead franchise and presently the lowest rated on IMDB.

I loved the first film, I found the second rather disappointing and this deserves its place as the lowest rated.

It tells the story of two women out on the ocean who run into a huge galleon. Upon investigating they fall afoul of the Blind Dead and their employers come looking for them.

The ship setting was a great idea and had limitless potential but sadly the whole thing is a real sorry swing and a miss.

For a start everything looks shoddy, the sfx have taken a step backwards and look terrible. The ominous charm of the franchise is all but gone and truth be told very little actually happens and our ocularly challenged undead friends are barely on screen at all.

I can't believe such a great franchise is nose diving so badly, I can only hope the finale ends it on a high but it's not looking good.

The Ghost Galleon is a weak entry and an all round pretty lame film.

The Good:

Some great ideas

The Bad:

Timeline is still confusing

Very dull

Lacks everything that made the first movie so effective

Some beyond bad sfx

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

A petrol fueled motor boat cannot move out the way of slow moving incoming traffic

Religious scientists, still the most baffling oxymoron

I read that this is the weakest of the 4 Blind Dead movies, but it isnt that bad. I found it on the cheapo Brentwood 4 film DVD set called Horror Rises From The Grave - in this set the film is titled Zombie Flesh Eaters. Found in the cheapo bin at a huge chain video store inhabiting 99% of all shopping malls. The print is passable, but not great. The title sequence is partially missing (probably to accommodate the name change), the lack of gore and nudity make me think that this version is a TV edit, but until they release a Criterion version, this one is OK.

Typical ghost ship story, with a couple of twists. Namely the ghost ship is full of Templars. Creepy scenes with the bearded Templars running around in their grubby oilskin robes are so well done that they excuse surreally wooden dialog, huge plot holes and the all time goofiest burning toy ship in a bathtub scene you will ever see. Classic!!

I was so surprised to find this in a video store, seeing as that I hadn't seen it around anywhere else. I jumped to the chance of renting it, not wanting to wait for whenever Anchor Bay decided to release it. (Seeing as they had already released "Tombs of the Blind Dead" and it's first sequel).

Two models, Cathy and Lorraina, are (for some not quite clear reason) sent out to sea on a boat for a publicity campaign of some stunt. They soon come along an old-time galleon in the midst of darkness and fog. Lorraina boards and is heard screaming, and soon, Cathy follows, and the Templars come for her, too. Meanwhile, Cathy's best friend Noami (not, Naomi, as I figured, but Noami) is searching for her, and soon gets herself into trouble with Sergio, who was behind the publicity stunt. She demands they go off and find the girls, so with the help of a professor, Noami, Sergio, photographer Lillian, and Howard (whom I forgot the involvement of with the subplot) head out to sea to find the girls. They soon find the galleon, and board, only to soon be greeted by the Templar knights from the dead, and they discover they are trapped in another dimension (!) and must defeat the curse of the knights and escape.

It's a miracle I remembered all those characters' names!

A pretty good movie, suspenseful Templar attacks. The galleon is creepy-looking, but so obviously fake, it's funny. It looks like it belongs in one of those old claymation shows from the sixties and seventies. The acting is what you would expect from a movie like this, and the music is the classic chanting that always sets a good atmosphere. The only problem with this is that it wasn't milked for all it was worth. The story seemed short, and a bit weak at times. And understandably so. How much story could there be! Still, though, an alright movie, with a creepy ending. One odd note, the sound suddenly disappeared the last ten seconds of the film. Was that intentional? It could have been, but it seemed a little odd. I don't know, could have been the copy of the movie I got.

Overall, I recommend this for Blind Dead fans, if you can find it. Not as drawn-out at "Tombs" and not as exciting as "Return" (except "Return"'s horrendously flat ending!) but still a good film.

This is one of the entries in Ossorios' Templar zombie series. The Templars were witches burned alive at the stake thousands of years ago. They are back as skeletal zombies. This one is the best of the series. Atmospheric and spooky it's worth a look. Don't expect digital effects like your modern so called horror film, but expect an actual HORROR FILM!! If you like this one check out the other Templar films, Tombs Of the Blind Dead, Return Of the Evil Dead or Fangs Of the Living Dead(not easy to find). Digital effects are destroying horror films, if your not a fan of the older stuff, go to your local video store, look in the old horror section, and rent some REAL STUFF!!