Horror Of The Zombies
- Css Darth-Sheol
- Apr 13, 2015
- 3 min read
When Horror of the Zombies (AKA “The Ghost Galleon”) began I had really low expectations. The first several minutes of the film suggested it was wise to not expect much. Maybe that affected my enjoyment when the horror elements kicked in, but I found myself enjoying most of it.
I'd say the first quarter or maybe even a third of the movie sucks. The setup just isn't all that good and we get some scenes that have no bearing on the overall plot. The movie revolves around a ghost ship full of undead Templar knights that want to kill any living beings on board. First plot issue: getting living beings on board.
Some rich tycoon type guy desperate for media attention has hired some models to become stranded in a boat out at sea. The idea is for him to save them and garner the loving public attention as the hero. The girls discover an old ship in a fog and then vanish.
So a team sets out to find out what happened to them. The tycoon, the head of the modeling agency, and the roommate of one of the missing girls along with an assortment of others ride out to the boat's location. Once on board the ghost ship the group is stranded and then set upon by the undead knights. With nowhere to run it becomes a desperate struggle for survival.
The start of the movie is flimsy, but once everyone is on board the ship the movie picks up a lot. There is one major plot question I have. Let's say you arrive on a ghost ship and find out the people you're looking for are on it but missing. Do you, instead of looking for them, immediately decide to take a nap? OK so there is at least a supernatural explanation given for why these people getting so drowsy in such a terrifying situation, but still.
There are some other negative elements as well such as some stiff acting that is not helped by the weak English overdubbing (it was filmed in Spanish). The tension as we get introduced to the ghost ship is weak though it does improve further into the movie.
This could have easily become an annoying scream-fest with a bunch of shrieking models running around the ship, but it doesn't. The ship itself is a really cool set. They do a nice job with the creaking sound effects that add a nice creepy ambiance.
The monsters are campy but effective. They are slow-moving skeletons in long robes. The meandering killer idea works better here than in something like a Friday the 13th movie because where are you going to run in the bowels of a ship at sea? Those zombies might take a while to catch up, but unless you want to jump overboard in a fog you're pretty much cornered.
MORALITY:
This is a pretty tame movie for the most part. One guy seems to have rape on his mind but we don't get much in the way of anything sexual. There is no nudity.
The zombies are skeletal and the ship creepy, but it's nothing terribly frightening especially if you watch a lot of horror movies. We get one rather graphic beheading, but other than that there really isn't much violence or blood shown.
There is some mild profanity.
SPIRITUALITY:
The zombie skeletons are Templar knights so there is a certain implied religious connection. They are reanimated through a supernatural force, but we don't spend a great deal of time exploring those specific inferences.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
There's a fair amount wrong with Horror of the Zombies, but I found myself enjoying it as it pushed more into the horror territory. It's not one I highly recommend, but if you happen across it you might want to give it a shot.
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