HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB

1973
Spain
aka El Espanto Surge De La Tumba (Es)
Profilmes S.A
Director: Carlos Aured
Story & screenplay: Jacinto Molina
Photography: Manuel Merino
Music: Carmelo A. Bernaola
Cast: Paul Naschy [Jacinto Molina] (Ulric du Marnac/Hugo du Marnac/Armand du Marnac), Vic Winner [Víctor Alcázar] (Maurice / Andre), Emma Cohen (Elvira), Helga Line (Mabille DeLancré), Luis Ciges, Julio Pena, Christina Suriani, Betsabe Sharon

A better title, maybe, would be "Belly Rises From The Tomb" considering the ample size of the lead actor's stomach. This is another outing from Carlos Aured, the director responsible for the gloriously demented Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll (Los Ojos azules de la muñeca rota, 73). Here again we are treated to a no holds barred outbreak of lunacy with absolutely no regard given to such trifles as plot-construction, logic and comprehensibility. It is also uncommonly good fun.

Mixing elements from the filmic lores of vampirism, demonic possession and witchcraft, this cinematic omelette begins with the execution of a satanic cannibal in the middle ages. Said unsavoury character is played by Paul Naschy. As his executioner is also played by Paul Naschy we know that something strange is going on (probably the unreasonable inflation of an already oversized ego). After a bit of comedic head lopping we are introduced to a quartet of modern day characters: Hugh (well, well, well - it's that Paul Naschy chap again), Maurice (not Paul Naschy) and two babes who's names I have already forgotten, but thankfully are also not played by Paul Naschy. Soon this fearless foursome are conducting a séance (when will people learn) which ends when the disembodied bonce of, err, Paul Naschy appears laughing demonically. They decide to return to Hugh's (don't forget now, that's Paul Naschy) ancestral home where, conveniently enough, the aforementioned necromancer (yup, Paul Naschy) is buried... in two coffins! Heh, heh, heh.

After a brief excursion into the backwoods-massacre genre (lynchings, yokels, multitudinous demonstrations of the maxim that inbreeding is inadvisable) assorted individuals become possessed before being killed in enjoyably sleazy ways. Meanwhile, Paul's animal magnetism (come to think of it, he looks rather like an animal magnet) is mysteriously causing the disappearance of any female clothing that comes into his vicinity. Whew, and there's even more to come...

The spirit of Jorge Grau drops by to contribute a brief zombie sequence, coffins are thrown open dramatically from the inside and - best of all - Mr. Naschy's head keeps on falling off like a precariously balanced tomato in a supermarket display (probably under the weight of his huge self-regard).

The best thing about ESPANTO SURGE DE LA TUMBA is it's very vivacity. It is so overblown, so determined to engage the audiences' attention on any level that it is - if not coherent - at least wildly enjoyable. Thankfully, then, it is sufficiently different to the generally boring Waldemar Daninsky epics that our favourite tacky Spaniard more commonly churned out. Whereas they tend to be stagy and over-mannered, this is frankly outrageous.

Matt Blake