mark.waltz Horrible sound effects accompany this miserable and bloody gore-fest that starts off interesting enough but resorts to extremely disgusting visuals to move the story forward. Starting off in the 15th century, the back plot has a warlock and his wife being executed for their crimes against God, and five centuries later they are back thanks to the discovery of the warlock's head that forces modern day people into zombies and to turn to dismembering others for their hearts which ultimately brings back the original warlock to life. Bizarre modern subplots including the presence of a cult of demons hanging people in the middle of the road don't seem to be related and seem present more for shock value than of any use to the plot. Excessively bloody and deeply disturbing, this is almost unbearable to watch. I say that not as someone who is against anything satanic in nature in movies, but through the way that this is presented. I had a headache half an hour into the film because of the annoyingly awful sound, and after the 4th or 5th gory murder which follows with people literally having their hearts cut out with a machete then others set on fire, I just was plainly annoyed. This is just impossible to watch. I have seen many of these late 1960s and early 1970s Eurotrash horror films that combine sex and degradation with a satanic plot, and a few of them are mildly enjoyable. Of course, the gratuitous sex scene ends up being pointless, more sadomasochistic than arousing. This one other than some interesting art direction and of course the historical setting up left me wanting it to end long before it did.

lastliberal OK, I love Paul Naschy, and I love Eurotrash from the 70s. So, if I appear biased in my review, it is unintentional and my exuberance over the genre may be affecting me.We see de Marnac, Naschy plays all three de Marnac characters, beheaded in the beginning (the 15th century), along with his female companion (Helga Liné). They vow to return for vengeance. We then jump to the modern day.The current de Marnac decides to travel to the family estate to explore some superstitious nonsense. Now, I imagine that the family estate is not well heated, but that didn't matter as all the young women in the film either wore very flimsy nightgowns or slept nude. You can imagine the treat.The Gothic music throughout added to the terror.When the evil de Marnac and his mistress awaken, we see lots of full frontal and lots of blood and gore, too. Then, we get zombies! Only one person walks away in the end.

Coventry 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.

NightOfTheLivingDon If you're anything like me, you can't get enough of bad horror movies. While others will mock such favorites as "Jack Frost", "Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2", and "The Video Dead", I rewind them and watch again! I wish the same could be said for "El espanto surge de la tumba," or as Americans might know it, "Horror Rises from the Tomb." The movie starts out promising enough. It had the same feel to it as "Anthropophagus: The Grim Reaper" but soon fell very short. Apart from a few well executed death scenes and a somewhat surprising death near the end (though the movie's so drawn out by then, you don't care) "El espanto surge de la tumba" is a stale, yawn fest. I've heard good things about Jacinto Molina, so I hope this isn't the best he has to offer. Highlights of "El espanto surge de la tumba" for those who have seen it* Wow, I didn't know they executed witches like that. * I know him! He was just the...yeah, that's him! * Do you know John Edward? Tell him to kiss my grits! * I DON'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN MY ART TO YOU!! * No one was in that car. I can tell. * What? * Who the hell is she? * Isn't that her father!! Did Woody Allen direct this? * What? * When did this become a soft core porn? * Fire! Fire!! * I honestly didn't see that coming. Too bad this movie sucks. * Little bit like Conan. * Oh wow, it's over. High five!