Plague of the Zombies

The Plague of the Zombies

First off, I have to be clear about something. Zombies, as we know them, did not exist until 1968 when George Romero directed Night of the Living Dead. The flesh-eating, lumbering killers who stalk the streets moaning, "brainnnnssss" just weren't on the scene yet. Instead, zombies were undead, brainless slaves, usually brought to life by voodoo black magic. These are the zombies you see in Hammer's Plague of the Zombies. I just wanted to mention that upfront, so that you won't expect one type of zombie and end up with something entirely different.

But what you do get is one of the better Hammer horror flicks! All the standard Hammer elements are here - both good and bad - but it all comes together beautifully. Even the lead actress Diane Clare's wooden performance doesn't detract but actually enhances the fun (as does young Brook Williams' terrific over-acting). But don't think I am implying that Plague of the Zombies is so bad, it's good. That's not the case. This is a solid film, atmospheric and intriguing, and its flaws are endearing as opposed to annoying.

People are mysteriously dying in a small town in Cornwall. Dr. Peter Thompson (Brook Williams) doesn't know what to do, so he calls his old professor Sir James Forbes (Andre Morell) to help. Traveling with his daughter Sylvia (Diane Clare), Sir James comes to town and finds himself facing off against the voodoo-practicing Squire Clive Hamilton (John Carson), his gang of ruffians, and some zombie slaves.

Some people might complain about the pace of the film. If fast cuts, interwoven with slashing and screaming every five seconds is your type of horror film, then don't watch this movie. You will be bored to tears because most of the movie Sir James is investigating, wandering around the town, asking questions. The chills build slowly, gradually gathering steam until its time for the exciting climax. But there are moments that are genuinely creepy in this film. The first time you see a zombie is quite shocking. (SPOILER ALERT) Sylvia is exploring an old tin mill when she sees the creature standing on the roof, holding the bloody body of one of his victims. He screams and tosses the body at Sylvia like a ragdoll before disappearing. (SPOILER OVER).

The acting is mostly pretty good - with Andre Morell at the top of the heap as Sir James. Going about his investigations with a wry sense of humor, he is just a joy to watch. John Carson as the villainous squire and Hammer regular Michael Ripper as the police sergeant are also quite good. And as I mentioned above, even when the actors aren't good, it actually really is good!

Squire Hamilton is also an interesting villain. He's not all evil, and his motives aren't world domination or anything silly like that. His ultimate goal may seem cheesy to some, but I submit that the idea is sound - the budget just didn't permit the filmmakers to do it right!

Director John Gilling (The Reptile) pushes the filmmaking envelope in some ways, as well. His direction is assured, and he experiments with dream sequences and hand held camera work. The handheld work is especially surprising to see. The shots only half work - cameras were so cumbersome in the 1960s and the shots are really shaky. But the fact that Gilling was experimenting with this in a low budget British horror film is super cool and impressive.

All in all, Plague of the Zombies is a nice Halloween treat. I definitely think you should check it out!

MVP: One element that Hammer Films always handled extremely well was the "mentor" figure. Unlike American films, where the mentor is always killed off (so the young hero can get revenge), you are never quite sure what will happen to Hammer's mentors. Sometimes they die, sometimes they live, sometimes the young lead is killed and its up to the mentor to save the day. And sometimes they even take the lead in the film themselves - which is what Plague of the Zombies does. Continuing in the long line of awesome Hammer mentors, Andre Morell is easily the best thing about this movie. He is incredibly smart, but keeps a wry sense of humor about him the whole time. He isn't winking at the audience, but he is certainly winking at all the bad guys as if he's onto them from the beginning. The scene that seals his MVP award is when he visits Squire Hamilton's house. (MINOR SPOILER) He barges into the house, in an upper class fit, and places his coat, hat and cane on top of a giant stuffed bear; the way he does this without blinking an eye, while he is still ranting, is very funny stuff, but also smart because while he is distracting the Squire's men with his behavior, he himself is carefully observing everything around him. It's nice, subtle work. Morell's performance is a huge reason why Plague is so good. A weaker actor in the role and we would've had a big problem!

BEST LINE: Dr. Franklin, upon learning the identity of one of the victims, in all his overacting glory: "...no...no...NOOOOOO!!!!!"

TRIVIA: Filmed back to back with The Reptile, with all the same sets. And yes, this is very obvious!