The Blind Dead Collection

In the eyes of Eurohorror fans, Amando de Ossorio's Blind Dead films are something of a Holy Grail. Primarily available on bootleg prints or old VHS tapes, the films themselves have a quality that thankfully shines through the less-than-satisfactory releases they've been subjected to. The idea of a remastered, uncut DVD set of the four films first appeared about three years ago, and thankfully it's finally arrived in a Region 2 edition, from Anchor Bay UK.

In many respects the films are standard Spanish horror films of the 1970s. The heroes are dumb, macho males, the women are mercilessly abused (only the fourth film lacks a rape scene), there's a handful of hoary old clichés thrown in for good measure (hunchbacks, ancient curses etc) and every one of them could have done with a bigger budget. However, in their favour the films have one of the most potent and memorable icons of the entire decade: the Blind Dead. The background differs with each film, but the story's the same: a group of blind Templar knights rise from the grave to punish the descendents of their killers, and anyone stupid enough to have disturbed them. The sight of the undead knights flying across the Spanish countryside (always in slow-motion) clad in grey and decaying robes is one of the finest sights in the entire Eurohorror canon.

The first film, Tombs of the Blind Dead, introduces us to the series regulars: the Templars themselves, Anton Garcia Abril's wonderful gothic score, and de Ossorio's careful direction. Sadly it's also poorly-paced and padded with unnecessary material. Nonetheless, it remains an enjoyable film, not least because of the way de Ossorio reworks George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968) template into something strikingly original.

Return of the Blind Dead irons out many of the wrinkles of the first film, and wisely introduces the knights themselves much quicker. De Ossorio takes the minimum of time to set the characters up before kicking off, and the film keeps going at a brisk place until the end. The characterisation is still thin and the acting average, but Return is the best in the series and the finest indicator of the director's talent (should any be necessary).

Sadly the third film, The Ghost Galleon, is the worst of the lot. With only a limited budget, de Ossorio was forced to make half a galleon stand in for the whole thing, and use some very poor miniature shots that actually worked better on the fuzzy old video tapes. The cast tries hard, but there's no escaping the lack of ideas at the heart of the film. Despite the director's best efforts, this is the Blind Dead at their least interesting.

Thankfully we're back on track with Night of the Seagulls, the fourth and last film. Once again the pacing is the main problem, but de Ossorio still handles things efficiently and brings the film to an enjoyable climax. The atmosphere is suitably dark and oppressive as our heroes battle against ancient and brutal traditions in a scenario clearly inspired by HP Lovecraft. It's not the finest film in the series, but as a finale it doesn't leave too much to be desired.

Anchor Bay has done a fantastic job on these prints. Tombs and Return both look great. As you would expect with films of this age, there's some print damage, but it doesn't detract from the experience at all. The Ghost Galleon isn't quite as good, and Night of the Seagulls shows a certain amount of grain throughout, but they're still far better than expected. It's unlikely we'll see better versions of these films. The first two films are presented in 1.66:1 fullscreen, with a Spanish audio track and English subtitles. The final two are in 1.85:1 widescreen with English audio tracks (and English subtitles for the hard of hearing).

Now, to the extras. Each of the discs includes its own poster and stills gallery, as well as a trailer for each of the four films. The Tombs disc also includes an alternate opening sequence with the title Revenge of the Planet Ape (yes, you read that right), while The Ghost Galleon also carries a trailer, TV spot and radio spot for the US release under the title Horror of the Zombies. The best of the extras appear on the fifth disc. We have a 25-minute Spanish TV documentary that provides a series overview as well as some details on the director's background and earlier career. Included are brief comments from some of the stars (Lone Fleming, Jack Taylor, and Esperanza Rey) and contemporaries like Paul Naschy. Next we have an 11-minute interview with the director himself. It's very informative, but 11 minutes really isn't enough to get to the heart of the man and his career. We also have text biographies of de Ossorio and two of his leading ladies (Maria Perschy and Sandra Mozarowsky), and there's a text tribute to the director included on the DVD-ROM section of the disc. Last but definitely not least, there's a reprint of Nigel Burrell's excellent booklet on the series, originally published in 1995.

And here's the tricky part. Is this set as good as it could have been? In a word, no. For a start, it lacks a couple of the extras included on the US version, namely the original, English-dubbed versions of Tombs and Return. They're only valuable as a comparison piece, but it would have been nice to have them anyway. However, the big complaint has to be that there are 16 seconds missing from Tombs of the Blind Dead. Hopes of a completely uncut box set were dashed with the revelations that the BBFC required sizeable cuts to remove material that came under the heading of 'eroticised sexual assault'. It doesn't ruin the film, but it would have been nice for UK fans to have access to de Ossorio's complete vision.

However, none of these flaws alter the fact that The Blind Dead Collection is a landmark Eurohorror release that's surely a required purchase for anyone with a remote interest in the development of the European horror film. With extremely attractive packaging and a set of stunning transfers, there really is no other way to see these films. This box set will certainly be my favourite possession for some time to come. If you're wary of the price tag, then all four are available separately, but you won't get the bonus material on the fifth disc.

Review by Jim Harper