BLOOD WORK: HALLOWEEN HORROR DAYS ~ DAY 19: THE GHOST GALLEON (1974)

The Blind Dead series, rather obscure horror films unknown to me until a few years ago, remain some of the best horror movie discoveries I've made over the last few years. Four movies from director Amando de Ossorio and a few other loosely connected films by various directors (one by veteran Hammer director John Gilling), the titular recurring villains are a host of cursed Knights Templars whose eyes were burned out. Every so often they rise from their tombs to wreak havoc on the living and drink the blood of their victims.

The Blind Dead are such evocative and enduring characters thanks to their frightening designs and the unnerving orchestral score that accompanies them. The first two films in the series, TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD and RETURN OF THE EVIL DEAD are very good and are films I regularly go back to and enjoy. Both films borrow a bit from George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead but are very much their own entities. THE GHOST GALLEON is the third film in the series and is once again directed by the Spanish horror maestro Amando de Ossorio.

This third entry into the series places the narrative in a drastically different location with mixed results. While this entry may showcase more originality than the previous two, sadly I feel it is the weakest of Ossorio's Blind Dead films.

But we're gonna review it anyway! Besides, the Blind Dead are still so very cool in it.

THE PLOT

Two models on a photo shoot in a boat are swept out to sea and disappear within an eerie fog. A friend of one of the models grows concerned and joins a group on a rescue mission. The group too becomes lost in a strange unearthly fog. They encounter an ancient galleon floating listlessly through the water. The group boards the galleon and discovers a host of coffins in the ship's hold. The Blind Dead knights templars rise from the coffins seeking to kill those aboard. With nowhere to run, the group desperately tries to survive the horrors of the Ghost Galleon!

WHAT I LIKED

The Blind Dead. These characters are so potent, in both presence and design, that even in a bad movie they still shine brightly. All the hallmarks of their previous films are present, most notably composer Anton Garcia Abril. Abril was the premiere film composer for the golden age of Spanish horror films, scoring many of Amando de Ossorio's horror films and many of Paul Naschy's HOMBRE LOBO films (Daninsky Werewolf films). Abril's score for the Blind Dead is perhaps his finest work for the horror genre and one of the elements that elevates these films to a higher level. The music plays a significant role in creating the film's wonderfully chilling atmosphere.

The Concept. Trapped on an old haunted Spanish galleon with a bunch or murderous undead knights templars just sounds cool. John Carpenter's THE FOG contains elements similar to this (even Blake and his men look strikingly similar to the Blind Dead. Perhaps Carpenter and Rob Bottin were paying homage to the Blind Dead?) and it worked great. The scenes with the protagonists on the ship for the most part work well and look good. This setting helps differentiate this entry in the Blind Dead series from comparisons to Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (the film for which the first two Blind Dead films have been heavily compared to). It places the Blind Dead in a new and unique locale and confines the protagonists thereby elevating the danger. Plus, how many "Ghost Ship" movies are there? This film is all the more novel for it.

The Ending. One of the coolest scenes of the Blind Dead in the entire series comes at the end of this film. The Blind Dead slowly rise from the ocean depths, water pouring out of their empty eye sockets and mouths. It's something different and creepy and oh so cool. And it's one of the big payoffs of this film.

NITPICKS

Boring First Act. I said that this film was the weakest of Ossorio's Blind Dead quadrilogy and one of the big reasons why is the slow and disengaging first 45 minutes. To make matters worse most of the characters are dislikable or otherwise unsympathetic. It makes that first act, bordering on first two acts, of the film all the more difficult to endure. Once they arrive on the galleon the movie gets going and is quite entertaining. But getting there is a chore.

Alternate title for The Ghost Galleon

Budgetary Limitations. The Ghost Galleon, more than any of the other Blind Dead films, requires some heavy effects work, in particular the shots of the galleon sailing through the open ocean. The close-ups are fine but the wide shots sadly display the film's budget or lack there of. It's a shame because the film isn't half bad but those few scenes send the opposite message. Getting a real authentic 800 year old Spanish galleon must be expensive, even for only the few shots they'd need it for.

Despite these nitpicks of mine I still enjoy the movie although I must admit I don't go back to it as often as I do the other films in the series.

THE VERDICT

The Ghost Galleon is the third film in the Blind Dead series. It provides a new locale and a fresh premise for the cursed Knights Templars and an even more confined space for the protagonists to try and survive through. The designs for the Blind Dead haven't changed and are still as scary as ever. And Anton Garcia Abril's atmospheric score remains intact and just as potent. You just have to muscle through the first half of the film and suspend your disbelief for a few shots and you'll be in for a treat.

Overall Ranking: 5 out of 10

Nude-O-Meter: 1 out of 10