Woodyanders Determined Serge Chekov (a solid performance by Stelvio Rosi) goes to a remote rural Scottish village to claim his inheritance. He stumbles across a coven of devil worshipers and a horde of lethal shambling zombies. Director/co-writer Jose Luis Merino relates the compellingly perverse and warped story at a steady pace, offers a vivid and flavorsome evocation of the 19th century period setting, and does an adept job of creating and sustaining a creepy atmosphere that really gets under your skin and becomes more increasingly twisted and unnerving as the morbid plot unfolds towards its genuinely surprising conclusion. This film further benefits from sound acting from a capable cast, with especially praiseworthy contributions by Maria Pia Conte as the wicked, but enticing Nadia Mihaly, Dyanik Zurakowska as the sweet, lovely Doris Driola, and Gerard Tichy as the rationale Professor Leon Driola. Renowned Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy acquits himself well in a nifty secondary part as grimy gravedigger Igor. Moreover, there's not only a decent smattering of tasty female nudity and grisly gore (said gore includes a gruesome autopsy and a juicy decapitation), but also truly sick elements of kinky sex and necrophilia as well. Modesto Rizzolo's shadowy cinematography boasts a few crazy tilted angles. Francesco De Masi's brooding, shivery score likewise hits the shuddery spot. An enjoyable and satisfying fright flick.

udar55 Entertaining little Spanish supernatural thriller that features Paul Nashcy in a pivotal supporting role. Serge Chekov (Stelvio Rosi) rushes to the country after his Uncle's untimely death. Immediately upon arrival, Serge stumbles upon the hanging body of his cousin by the graveyard. This makes the local police doubly suspicious of his appearance because, with his cousin's death, Serge is now the sole beneficiary of his Uncle's estate. This mystery in this one won't blow your mind open, but the film has enough mood to compensate. Director José Luis Merino gets a lot of use out of the atmospheric village he shoots in and some cool underground tunnels. There is also some great make-up for the dead in this film. On the DVD, Naschy is interviewed and states how he did an uncredited rewrite on the film, making his grave digger character more interesting. Anyone spoiled by the BCI Naschy discs will be disappointed in Troma's fullscreen transfer with only an English dub track option. On the plus side, this is apparently the longest cut of the film available.

Witchfinder General 666 "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.

Milo-Jeeder Frankly, I'm still trying to figure out why I got pleasure from a horror film as effortless and unhurried as this one. If I have to be objective for a second, I would probably say that "La orgía de los muertos" actually didn't have much to offer to begin with. A nice variety of clichés and a predictable ending, are some of the magnificent qualities about this film. Let's just get this straight: the reason why I'm not praising this film, is not because I'm against clichés or predictable endings. I don't think a movie is great, only when it has a plot twist or unpredicted states of affairs. I believe that in order to be decent, a horror film needs to be either entertaining, gory or at least mildly eerie. However, I'm not sure "La orgia de los muertos", provides much of these three virtues. For the contrary, it's a very sluggish movie, with no gore and almost no eerie situations. Perhaps we could say that the story gets interesting and mildly freaky during the last minutes, but that's all. If we were talking about a different film, I would almost certainly say that it doesn't reunite enough elements to be considered a decent horror flick. Nevertheless, there's something about this film that makes enjoyable and it has to do with the fact that it is awfully stylish and nice to look at. The striking and yet ominous European landscapes, the 19th-century wardrobe and the graveyard, create a perfect Gothic background that unquestionably belongs to the horror type. The atmosphere is somehow dark, but still enchanting in a way. The highland village exposes two facades, which makes the scenery so ambiguous and mysterious. This may be a film that could be considered worn out by some people, but it's still captivating and charming in a spooky way. I could only spot one or two unintentionally funny situations and dialogs, which is a great flattering remark, in this case. Let's just keep in mind that this is a low budget film with actors who didn't even speak Spanish, or at least not all of them, and the film was supposed to be in that language. One of the scenes that really made me burst into laughter, was the one where Stelvio Rosi gets in a fist fight with Jacinto Molina…that was just plain hilarious. Without anything else to add, I can only say that despite of the flaws I mentioned, I believe "La orgia de los muertos" is a film that could be easily enjoyed by Gothic horror fans. Especially the ones who don't need a really complex plot and can appreciate a charming esthetic like the one in this film.