Horror Rises from the Tomb (1973)

- El espanto surge de la tumba
Head-in-a-Box, 11 December 2005

Centuries ago, Aleric du Marnac (Paul Naschy) and his female companion were put to death for a variety of crimes including consorting with Satan. The pair vowed to get their revenge on the descendants of those responsible for their deaths. du Marnac was beheaded and his body and head were buried separately. Switch to the present day (1973) where Hugo du Marnac (also Paul Nashcy) and his friends discover a buried chest containing the head of Aleric du Marnac – a head that wants to be reunited with the rest of its body. Through possession and blood sacrifice, du Marnac is determined to make his body whole.

What Works:

- The Last Act. I have yet to see a Paul Naschy film that I can wholeheartedly endorse, but Horror Rises from the Tomb comes as close as I've yet seen. The final third of the movie is a nice slice of Euro-horror. It's loaded with lots of juicy horror elements - a reanimated head, a sickle-welding maniac, zombies, a magical talisman, and more. If only the first two-thirds of the movie could have been this good. It's not that the first part of the movie is bad, it's just not as good as the final half hour.

- The Head-in-a-Box. Horror Rises from the Tomb certainly isn't the first film of its type to have a reanimated head, but its definitely handled better than most. Through some nice editing and some tricky camera placements, du Marnac's head comes to life. In fact, most of the special effects (the zombies rising from the swamp or the heart being ripped from the chest are two more examples) are as good as anything I've seen form an early 70s Spanish horror movie.

- Helga Line. du Marnac's twisted, blood-thirsty female companion is played to perfection by Helga Line.

What Doesn't Work:

- Paul Naschy. I've written this before, but I just don't understand Nashcy's status as a cult icon. He's one of the most unappealing actors I've ever seen. As the descendant Hugo, Nashcy lacks anything approaching charisma.

- Dialogue. This may have as much to do with the dubbing as anything else, but some of the dialogue had me going back to see if I had heard things correctly. The best example goes something like this (I don't have the exact quote, but this is close): "Two people have been murdered and we've just dumped their bodies in the lake. We've got to get out of here. We don't want to get involved." Huh?

I've come to realize that Naschy's brand of horror may not be for me. I'll still watch his films in hopes that one day I'll see in him what so many other horror fans have seen. Horror Rises from the Tomb may not be Naschy's breakthrough with me, but it's a movie that I enjoyed and will revisit in the future.

6/10