Everyone rightly agrees that George Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD pretty much single-handedly invented the modern zombie genre in 1968. It posited the zombies as a flesh-eating monsters which, when massed together, became a terrifying threat. Therefore the quaint Hammer Horror film THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES, made in 1966, is one of the last of the old-fashioned zombie films made just before the sub-genre changed forever.The good news is that this is a fantastic little film which feels much fresher and more inventive than Hammer's Dracula or Frankenstein films of the era. Peter Bryan's screenplay is the stuff of excellence, featuring some realistic and likable heroic leads (Andre Morell is at his best here, I feel), a truly dastardly villain in the form of John Carson (making him a fox-hunting toff is a stroke of genius), and a very clever reason for the existence of the zombies in the first place (they're cheap labour in a Cornish tin mine).Prolific B-movie director John Gilling directs what I think is his best movie. Certainly this is atmospheric stuff indeed with wonderful sets and costumes and a really lush and colourful look to it. The supporting cast includes Michael Ripper and Jacqueline Pearce and is just as colourful in its own way. The eerie dream sequence is well-remembered for a reason and there's one of those rousing fiery climaxes that Hammer did so well. THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES is a real delight for horror lovers and there's not a thing I can fault about it.

I caught this unexpectedly on TV one afternoon and was surprised by how good it turned out to be. I was expecting it to be rather campy and melodramatic but it just wasn't. Rather, an intriguing story, taut direction, a foreboding musical score and some fine acting all held my attention to the very end. Andre Morell is particularly outstanding and Brook Williams is excellent too (especially in the decapitation-scene and dream-sequence), Diane Clare makes for a spirited, no-nonsense heroine, Jacqueline Pearce is suitably languid, and John Carson displays just the right amount of villainy as the diabolically scheming Squire. Visually, too, the film is very strong, with great camera-work and stunning use of location. Perhaps the single most notable aspect of this film is the dream-sequence which succeeds in being truly eerie and disturbing. What really makes it so, for me, is not just the zombies themselves but also the reaction of the dreamer: he doesn't exhibit the kind of terror that you usually find in such scenes, he just appears kind of puzzled and almost as if he's in a trance himself. And it's daylight, which makes the scene even more unsettling. It's interesting to consider the nature of the zombies featured here. On the one hand, these are just poor, subservient mine-workers (the film touches upon themes of capitalist/colonialist-oppression), which makes them somewhat akin to the original concept of the zombie as a mindless slave. But they are also very much like the shuffling decaying corpses of the Romero films (and it is noteworthy that Night of the Living Dead came out just a year or two later). Altogether The Plague of the Zombies appears to be rather unjustly overlooked in zombie film-annals, but Hammer's only excursion into the genre is one of its very best productions.

This movie begins with a young woman by the name of "Alice Mary Tompson" (Jacqueline Pearce) awakening from what appears to be a bad dream. The scene then shifts to London where a gentleman named "Sir James Forbes" (Andre Morell) is handed a letter from his daughter "Sylvia Forbes" (Diane Clare). The letter just happens to come from the husband of Alice who goes by the name of "Dr. Peter Tompson" (Brook Williams) which details a mysterious ailment in the Cornish village where he and Alice live. Being a professor of medicine Sir James is intrigued and decides to travel to this village to check it out. Sylvia comes with him because she is anxious to see her good friend Alice. Anyway, when they get there they soon discover that this plague is unlike anything they have ever come across and they cannot seem to isolate the cause. Now rather than disclose any more and risk ruining the film for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this movie was certainly quite watchable. At least for me. I say this because I typically like most zombie movies. Not only that but I especially like movies bearing the "Hammer" trademark. So this film definitely had my interest and I was not disappointed. Having said that however, I think it's only fair to point out a couple of minor deficiencies. First, the zombies looked a bit goofy. But considering that this movie was made in the mid-60's I suppose one has to make some allowances. The other thing I noticed was that some of the acting was a bit mediocre at times. Not bad necessarily but a bit mediocre all the same. Be that as it may, I liked the performance of Diane Clare and I also thought the story flowed very smoothly from one scene to the next. In short, this was a fine "pre-Romero" zombie movie and I rate it as slightly above average.

Being left with my nerves torn to ribbons by 2012's ultra-creepy The Woman in Black,I felt that for October,I would take at one or two of Hammer Horror original titles.Searching round on Amazon,I was thrilled to discover that my interest in Hammer had hit at the perfect time,thanks to Studio canal bringing out new editions of the films,existentially remastered from the original negatives.Carefully judging the prices,I decided that Plague of the Zombies would be my intro to the world of Hammer Horror.The plot:Reciving a letter from his former top pupil, (whose also married his daughter's best friend) about a mysterious illness that is leading to people dying in a very strange way,Sir James Forbes and his daughter Sylvia decided to go and pay Dr. Peter Tompson a visit,in the hope of helping him to stop the continuous spreading of the illness.Arriving to the village in Cornwall,James and Sylivia are horrified to discover that the town is controlled by upper-class gangs,who rule the area with an iron fist.Attempting to make the gangs see reason,the Forbes and Tompson tell them that an autopsy has to be performed on one of the victims,so that the cause of death can officially be confirmed.Angered by their demands,the controllers of the village tell the Forbes and Tompson that it is simply "marsh fever" and is something which does not need any investigating at all.Seeing signs of this being a cover up,James and Peter begin to relies,that they only have one,illegal option left,to find out what disease is really killing the poor people of the town:dig up a body.Prepairing to carefully open the coffin,James and Peter are interrupted,when two police officers spot them,and get set to arrest them both on "grave robbery".Relising that this could possible be their only chance to see-what after effects the illness has had on the decease body,Forbes and Tompson quickly open the coffin,only to discover,that despite a person being buried in it,the coffin is now completely empty….View on the film:Feeling unsure about what I was about to witness,in my first ever,"classic era" Hammer Horror,I was relived to find Studio Canal giving the film a tremendous red carpet treatment,with the bonus making of on the DVD showing the painstaking work that the company had put in,to bring this terrific movie,truly back from the dead.Opaing with a lively,proto-Jaws like score from the great James Bernard,director John Gilling shows the events at the start of the movie to be "just another,typical day in Cornwall" as a West Indies Voodoo/Zombie ritual takes place deep within a tin mine.Despite being restrained by the studio to only use sets that would be used for the filming of another movie, (The Reptile) Gilling shows tremendous skills in not allowing the "boxed-in" restrictions from stopping him creating a wonderful,mysterious atmosphere.Although the film does feature a number of good,surprisingly dream-logic style Zombie scenes,Gilling unexpectedly makes the most chilling moments in the film,ones which involve psychological fear rather than gore,with one of the most terrifying scenes in the film,being a character fearing that they may be about to get gang Raped.Showing a strong influence of Arthur Conan Doyle,screenwriter Peter Bryan, (who,in 1959 wrote the screenplay for Hammer's version of Doyle's The Hound of the Baskerville) combines Tompson and the Forbes increasingly dangerous, amateur sleuthing with a wonderful,cleverly handled underlying subtext,which shows,that even after becoming dead & buried,the working class,is here literally used as slaves by the upper-class of the village,to do all of the "dirty work for them,even after death!Despite great performances from the whole cast,with the charming Diane Clare, (whose other credits include Ice Cold In Alex,Whistle Down the Wind and 1963's The Haunting) as Sylvia Forbes,and the wickedly good,James Mason-sound-alike John Carson as the boo-hiss Squire Clive Hamilton being two of the main highlights,Bryan sadly struggles to give the film the knock-out punch that it feels to be building towards in the first hour,as the ending leaves behind any sense of atmospheric, mystery horror behind,to instead end on a poorly done, Disaster movie-like note .