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| MOVIE
REVIEWS |
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Let Sleeping
Corpses Lie (1974)
Reviewed By Zombie-A-GoGo
1974 was a good year. You got your Chinatown, you
got your Godfather 2, you got your Blazing Saddles,
and you also got your Let Sleeping Corpses Lie. This
was also the year of my birth, just to demonstrate how great
a year it really was. George (Ray Lovelock) hops upon his
motorbike, leaving the big city behind in favor of the peaceful
countryside for the weekend. The opening montage, cross-cutting
between urban pollution and rolling green hills is only
interupted by a random streaker. A woman drops her coat,
revealing herself to be completely naked, and then runs,
flippity-flop across the street. If you're not hooked then,
you never will be.
Once in the country, George stops for gas and while enjoying
a tasty beverage, his bike is backed over by Edna (Cristina
Galbó). She is very apologetic and he is a...well...a
jerk. His bike can't be repaired for days, so George hitches
a ride (more like takes over and drives). Edna is on her
way to see her smack-addicted sister, Katie (Jeannine Mestre)
and her photographer husband Marin (Ruiz Lifante), to see
about committing her sister, as any good sibling would.
The pair get lost and soon, zombie action occurs. Our opening
zombie, Guthrie (Fernando Hilbeck) is unsettling, thanks
to the atmosphere built, through sound and photography,
by Grau. You can pretty much tell when there is a zombie
at hand for the rasping breath and eerie music. Next thing
you know, there's murder and the fuzz is called in, and
with that we are introduced to "The Inspector" (Arthur Kennedy),
who gets all the best lines.
As our tale continues, we are treated to more memorable
undead, who rasp and rattle, shambling around. They look
weak, but are actually capable of pulling large tombstones
out of the ground and tossing them at police officers. And
you'd better watch out when they get together.
Granted, the first half is a little slow, but Grau's direction
keeps your attention on the characters and story, even if
the acting is anywhere from kinda-bad to not-really-so-bad,
and the story, at times, lacks basic logic (zombies can't
be photographed?). All that aside, it picks up on the second
half, when the zombie-action heats up and our gore factor
intensifies both in appearances and frequency. Hats off
to Italian make-up artist Giannetto De Rossi (Sergio Leone's
Once Upon a Time in the West [1969], Lucio Fulci's
Zombie [1979] and Antonio Margheriti's Cannibal
Apocalypse [1980]).
Let Sleeping Corpses Lie is one of the earliest gore-fest
zombie flicks, and has a pleasant distinction of being one
with some professional quality. In some 40 years of filmmaking,
Jorge Grau has only two horror films under his belt (the
other being Ceremonia sangrienta in 1973), and he
thankfully did it justice with this undead entry.
| FILM
RATING |
 
(Out of 5) |
| RELEASE
DATES |
November 28, 1974 (Italy)
October 20, 1975 (Spain) |
| GOGO's
ADVICE |
| Don't bother renting, just go out and buy it. You'll
want this one for your collection. |
ZOMBIE LESSONS
LEARNED |
1. Don’t let Night of the Living Dead
zombies fool you, they can get in if they really wanted.
2. Chances are, if attacked by a zombie, a bra won't provide one ounce of protection.
3. Throwing a well-placed towel to the face of your captor can aid in escape. |
| FAVORITE
QUOTES |
-"You're all the same, the lot of you with your
long hair and faggot clothes."
-"The dead don't walk around. Except in very
bad paperback novels. They're dead, and that's that!"
-"Sergeant, this is Craig reporting, at the cemetery.
There are dead people...trying to kill me!"
-"I'm mad about apples." |
| INTERESTING
TIDBITS |
| • Ray Lovelock seems to be enjoying a reoccurring role
on an Italian television series called Incantesimo
as Hans Rudolph. |
| • Cristina Galbó is a Flamenco dancing instructor
in California. |
| • Arthur Kennedy, as horror fans might appreciate,
went on to play Monsignor Franchino in The Sentinal
(1977). Film fans in general might be interested in
the fact that he was Ocsar nominated for the films
Champion (1949, supporting Kirk Douglas), Bright
Victory (1951), Trial (1955), Peyton
Place (1957) and Some Came Running (1958, supporting
Frank Sinatra) |
| • AKA : No profanar el sueño de los
muertos (1975) [Spain]; Non si deve profanare
il sonno dei morti; Breakfast at the Manchester
Morgue; Don't Open the Window [USA]; Fin
de semana para los muertos (1974) [Spain, working
title]; The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue
[UK]; Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974); Zombi
3 (1974) [Italy] |
| MEDIA |
| Official Trailer - Video Detective |
| AROUND
THE WEB |
| Meet
Jorge Grau, the Man Who Made Manchester Mysterious
- Shivers Magazine #79 |
| DIRECTOR |
| Jorge Grau (Legend of Blood Castle) |
| WRITERS |
| Juan Cobos |
| Sandro Continenza |
| Marcello Coscia |
| Miguel Rubio |
| CAST |
CHARACTER |
| Cristina Galbó |
Edna |
| Ray Lovelock |
George |
| Arthur Kennedy |
The Inspector |
| Fernando Hilbeck |
Guthrie |
| Jeannine Mestre |
Katie |
| José Lifante |
Martin |
| Aldo Massasso |
Kinsey |
| Giorgio Trestini |
Craig |
| Roberto Posse |
Benson |
| Gengher Gatti |
Keith |
| PRODUCTION COMPANY |
| Flaminia Produzioni Cinematografiche;
Star Films S.A. |
| STUDIO |
| Hallmark Releasing Corp. |
| COUNTRY OF ORIGIN |
| Spain & Italy |
| RUNNING TIME |
MPAA RATING |
| 93 mins |
Unrated |
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| MORE
DATES |
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