Seven years after the success of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, the Spaniards decided to make their own, little-seen version under the steady hand of Leon Klimovsky (the guy who made my favourite Spanish film of all time, SHADOW OF THE WEREWOLF). While not a classic movie - and certainly not up there with Klimovsky's best horror output - this is still a classy, solid thriller which is bolstered by some good performances and an excellent music score which varies between classical music, repeated piano notes to generate suspense (just like in EYES WIDE SHUT) and typical lounge music for the lighter moments. Indeed it is this film's music which adds a lot to the suspense and atmosphere of the film; that and the beautiful Spanish countryside and the expensive-looking echoey mansion in which much of the action takes place which provide the chills and thrills that this movie is striving for.Things open with a bunch of assorted B-movie types assembling in the dank cellar of a country mansion to re-enact some Marquis de Sade type-behaviour. They are rudely interrupted in their endeavours by a sudden earthquake which, it turns out, was caused by some nuclear explosions. When the men travel to the location village to get supplies, they discover that the populace has turned blind (similar to DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS). One of them can't hack it and ends up shooting down a bunch of blind folk before he himself is killed.Re-assembling back at the mansion, the group are horrified to find themselves the only unhurt survivors in the vicinity. One doctor is so upset that he loses his mind completely and crawls around naked on his hands and knees (a pretty funny moment, it has to be said). A young couple take a car and travel into the village to help the blind people but are attacked and killed - just like like that similar scene in NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. After a fairly slow pacing up until now with little action, all hell breaks loose when the blind surround and attack the mansion, quickly forcing their way in by driving a car through the doors. The survivors escape into the cellar and then the countryside after a fire rages out of control. Tensions fray within the group...Although the basic plot is little more than a nicely-packaged rip-off, this movie does have some nice macabre touches to it. In one instance, the blind smash a hole in the ceiling of a room and drop the bloodied corpses of their first victims through! Later on, a black girl is assaulted by a creepy-looking blind beggar (complete with fake stubble) who tears her eyes out in a fit of jealousy! The downbeat ending is again a rip-off, but is surprisingly understated and effective and is a neat precursor to later conspiracy thrillers in which the government is not to be trusted.The acting is pretty good for a change, with all of the cast having fun with their admittedly clichéd roles. The women (including genre stalwart Maria Perschy) are given strong characters for a change and each person is given a specific role to play with no chance of the viewer getting confused between them. Stealing the acting honours again is genre icon Paul Naschy who plays a gun enthusiast. Naschy proves himself to be a tough and powerful member of the group. As a whole his performance just lifts the film. THE PEOPLE WHO OWN THE DARK passes the time well, proves to be an interesting adaptation of Matheson's I Am Legend, and, while not one to stay in the mind afterwards, delivers all the chuckles and chills that a fun B-movie should.

Ever wanted to see Paul Naschy shoot clay pigeons? Look no further than The People Who Own the Dark, a superior nuclear holocaust thriller from under-appreciated director Leon Klimovsky. Naschy plays Bourn, a military officer who joins several other men at a remote château for a night of depraved debauchery with a group of five beautiful women (one of whom is played by Maria Perschy). Just as the film threatens to head into Jess Franco territory, however, it takes a 180-degree turn when a nuclear explosion damages the house and knocks out the power. Now our group of de Sade wannabes are faced with the greatest challenge of all: surviving the radioactive fallout that's inexorably heading their way--and to make matters worse, the residents of the nearest town have all been blinded as a result of the explosion and have developed some disturbing, zombie-like tendencies. The original Spanish-language version of this film is apparently twelve minutes longer than the English-dubbed cut, but good luck finding it. Presumably the early scenes involving Lenin and Marx make more sense in the uncut version. Then again, maybe not.

The People Who Own the Dark is about a group of wealthy gentleman who visit a secluded for some kinky sex games with the prostitutes. During the party, they are startled by a huge earthquake from a nuclear disaster which has taken place. They soon discover that survivors from a nearby town are now transformed into wandering blind creatures. They kill a few of the blind survivors due to being scared and unsure. Soon the rest of the blind survivors make their way to the villa to seek revenge. Despite the fact it's an obvious rip-off of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, it still manages to evoke a sense of doom and helplessness throughout the film as each one is killed off by the wandering blind townspeople. Paul Naschy is in prime form as a jerk who's out to save his own skin. It's refreshing to see him play a different role aside from Waldemar Daninsky for once. Maria Perschy (Beyond the Door, Night of the Howling Beast) is also very good as one of the prostitutes. Her acting is what makes this film shine the most. The only thing this film suffers from is a downbeat ending. Fans of Spanish horror or Paul Naschy should enjoy THE PEOPLE WHO OWN THE DARK. It's different from other film's in his catalog (namely, the Waldemar Daninisky series.) It is incredibly rare, but I'm sure you can still manage to locate a copy of it on ebay or amazon. It's more than worth the price, despite its downbeat ending.

Forget the reference books (including the IMDb) - PLANETA CIEGO was directed by Argentinian filmmaker Leon Klimovsky, also responsible for WEREWOLF VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMAN, VENGEANCE OF THE ZOMBIES (both with Paul Naschy, who co-stars here, too) and THE VAMPIRE'S NIGHT ORGY. A group of prominent business and military men enjoying a weekend debauch in the cellar of a rural bordello are spared when a nuclear attack devastates Europe. Finding the locals blinded, and drawing hatred upon themselves for looting the village stores, the survivors board up the villa and prepare for an attack by night. PLANETA CIEGO, which is also known as THE PEOPLE WHO OWN THE DARK (a shortened version that played in America) and ULTIMO DESEO is an exciting and disturbing (if non-graphic) reworking of themes found in George Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. The cast includes Alberto deMendoza (HORROR EXPRESS) and Maria Perschy (also in Klimovsky's VENGEANCE OF THE ZOMBIES). This film has for too long been attributed to Amando de Ossorio, probably because he directed the well-known "Blind Dead" films. Well worth seeking out.