Let Sleeping Corpses Lie
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Movie Reviews of Let Sleeping Corpses Lie
Movie Review: One of the most impressive zombie films ever made
Summary: 5 Stars
If zombies existed and formed their own Zombie Actors' Guild, this is the kind of film they would be fighting (in their patently clumsy way) to appear in. When I started watching Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, I didn't really know it was a zombie movie; then, by the time it was over, I had it ranked in my personal top three zombie films of all time. This film is living proof that you can't judge a zombie film by its number of zombies. It's all about atmosphere, a fact which most European filmmakers have always known, and that's why a film with less than a dozen zombies plays much better than some sweeping epic about a zombie apocalypse. And I must say this is a thoroughly European film, as it's an Italian-Spanish coproduction featuring a Spanish director (Jorge Grau) and a British cast (and filmed in Britain). It also goes by many names, including Don't Open the Window, The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue, No profanar el sueño de los muertos, and Non si deve profanare il sonno dei morti.
When you think about it, letting sleeping corpses lie isn't really the problem here; I daresay every single character is wholly in favor of doing just that. The problem consists of keeping sleeping corpses from rising all on their own. Either way, the last thing George (Ray Lovelock) expected to be dealing with on his weekend trip to the country was zombies. Unfortunately for him, a red-headed stranger named Edna (Christine Galbo) accidentally runs over his motorcycle. He insists that she take him to his destination, but they end up checking on her sister first. Along the way, Edna is attacked by a decidedly abnormal man, although no one believes her. Neither do they believe her sister when she claims this same man murdered her husband. Having arrived at the wrong place at the wrong time, George finds himself basically trapped in town as the hippie-hating police sergeant's main suspect. His attempt to extricate himself from the situation indirectly leads to him finding ample proof that Edna was telling the truth all along, though. Not only is the murderer a zombie, he's engaged in waking up some undead friends to join the fun. Not surprisingly, the gruff sergeant isn't buying such a seemingly cock and bull story of corpses coming to life and feeding on human bodies. George and Edna are pretty much on their own when it comes to trying to survive the whole, unbelievable situation.
The source of the zombie outbreak is actually rather interesting, as it's a far cry from some wacked-out virus or alien infestation. The whole storyline is well above average, for that matter, holding together quite well as it forges its own path through the zombie genre. And the ending? Well, I can't think of any way to improve it, really. It's well-nigh perfect. Additionally, lest my fellow gorehounds despair, there are some excellent scenes of blood and gore as the film proceeds - both in terms of what the zombies do to their victims as well as what their victims do to them as they frantically try to escape the horror all around them.
This 1974 film inevitably draws comparisons to George Romero's immensely influential Night of the Living Dead. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure which film is the better of the two - although, if I had to choose which of them to watch over again, it would be Let Sleeping Corpses Lie. That's how impressed I was with this film.
Movie Review: Actually an excellent movie!
Summary: 5 Stars
When a shaggy art dealer's motorcycle is put out of commission by a beautiful young woman's car, the two are forced to become traveling companions in the English countryside. At the same time, a strange and terrifying phenomenon has begun to occur. Farmers attempting to control pests with a new sonic radiation machine have revived more than just their crops. The dead have risen to feast upon the living, and that unwitting couple, George and Edna, are caught up in the middle of it when Edna's sister is accused of murdering her own husband. The thick-headed, local police won't believe her stories of a corpse doing the deed, so Edna and George begin to look into the matter. Their findings are truly ghastly!
Going by a variety of titles ("The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue" and "Don't Open the Window" among them), "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" was a film intended to be another "Night of the Living Dead" with the added attribute of color. Amazingly, its excellent writing, direction, and cast make it much more than just another copycat zombie flick! "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" deservedly holds a loyal cult following and is highly enjoyable throughout. It's a bit light on the zombie action till the last third of the film, but it doesn't fail to hold your attention with its believable characters, involving plot, eerie mood, and excellent performances, not to mention the loveliness of Cristina Galbó in the role of Edna. Ray Lovelock plays the unrelenting George, and Arthur Kennedy the assumptive inspector you'll love to hate. Helmed by Spanish director Jorge Grau, you'll be left with a desire to see more of his work in the horror genre. The single-disc, Anchor Bay DVD includes the TV spot for "Don't Open the Window", some radio spots, a still gallery in slideshow presentation, an enhanced widescreen, and an intro and informative, subtitled interview with the director. Well worth the purchase for fans of the zombie genre! Be warned, however, that a Two Disc version from Blue Underground is also available under the name: "The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue".
Movie Review: Blame the Farmers!!
Summary: 5 Stars
"Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" belongs to two sub-genres of horror which were very popular in the 1970's and 80's. The first of these is the Zombie film, also incorporating elements from cannibal films. The influence of Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" is very notable on this film, scenes such as the films heroine being attacked in her car by a vagrant zombie and the shocking finale when the hero is shot dead by the bigoted police inspector are among many moments liberally borrowed from Romero's trailblazing effort. But this is more than a mere pastiche or tribute, and this is due to it being an ecological horror film. The revolt of nature occurs here due to a revolutionary method of insect extermination utilised by the ministry of agriculture. This piece of hi-tech equipment uses radiation and sound waves to drive crop pests to insanity, and confirms director Jorge Grau's determination to challenge modernity with a paranoid and destructive depiction of technology and a vision of the city which shows it as a monstrously polluted and virtually unliveable space. So as well as an excellent zombie film, replete with a number of superior moments of gore, this is a film which highlights the dichotomy between city and countryside (a pre-occupation of much Italian horror), the bigotry of a more repressed older generation towards the young (long hair and faggot clothes!!) represented by the bitter police inspector, and a general feeling of paranoia toward technological progress and modernity. This Spanish/Italian co-production, which utilises the green and pleasant lands of England beautifully, works as a straight forward down and dirty horror flick, but also as an intelligent if bleak film, which more than holds its own with the film that inspired it.Movie Review: slow...creepy...suspenseful...A CULT.
Summary: 5 Stars
Back in 1979 as a 13 year old going to the movies you are bombarded by low buget horror fan-fair from all over, be it the U.S. or overseas. The point that most reviewers of this movie don't get is that it depends on your age and what you have been exposed to. Of course that as an adult you might find it slow and ridiculous but is is the slow pace that is suspensul and the creepy-ness that gets you; it has diologue and a premise like other movies that make it so ridiculous this embodies the point (zombie movies are totally outlandish) . A zombie movie is suppose to be crazy that is what makes it so ridiculous along with the effects and sound it retains that Italian/Spanish style of cinema that is not American that is why it is so striking. so I urge you to see it late at night around 2 a.m. on a hot summer night in agust or in the middle of feburary in the dead of winter, with a bunch of friends that are cult fanatics and who remember that 70's style that is so much talked about. enjoy.Movie Review: Wake The Dead...
Summary: 5 Stars
LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE is as good or better than any of my all-time favorite zombie movies. Yes, it's right up there w/ NIGHT, DAWN, and DAY OF THE DEAD! LSCL has a similar sense of building dread and awfulness! It's sort of like Fulci's ZOMBIE, THE BEYOND, and CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD in its darkness and malevolence. Needless to say, I love it! At first, I thought it might be goofy, until the ghouls started walkin'! The story is cool, w/ a seemingly innocent cause for the zombie plague. The rural setting adds to the utter isolation and desparate atmosphere of doom. Believe me, you won't know who will die next! No story-book endings here! Highly recommended...