Well, if you are interested in the idea of a severed head with hypnotic power to order others around to his his bidding, Helga Line ripping open the chests of victims to snatch out their hearts, and corpses of those who are victimized by the evil sorcerers on the rampage then Horror Rises from the Tomb is an ideal way to spend 90 minutes. Shot in Madrid, you get a phenomenal setting for your Gothic horror, and the castle is ideally placed in the midst of a cold, gray mountainous area where the Satanic sorcerers have free reign to cause grisly mischief.
Paul Naschy's script it chock full of deranged ideas. We see, at the opening, executioners sentencing two sorcerers for practicing witchcraft and Satanism, for murdering many innocents to supply them sacrifices for their lord. Both, Alaric de Marnac(Naschy)and Mabille De Lancré(Helga Liné) condemn those punishing them and their bloodline to a curse, and then are executed for their atrocities. This was mid-15th Century in France. Move to contemporary early 70's, and descendant Hugo(also Naschy), a cynical, rich playboy scoffs at the ravings of an aristocratic couple regarding spiritualism. Along with pal, artist Maurice(Víctor Alcázar), his lover Sylvia(Betsabé Ruiz), and Maurice's girlfriend Paula(Cristina Suriani), after attending a séance, the four head for Hugo's palatial castle located just ahead a peasant village where the cemetery containing the decapitated head of Alaric, along with his separated body and the corpse of Mabille are said to located. When Alaric's head is discovered, in a treasure chest, two criminals open it hoping for jewels. His head now free to command others with weaker minds, Alaric orders the one thief to slash the other's throat with a sickle, while also murdering an intruding Gastone(Juan Cazalilla), Hugo's manservant. Soon Alaric gains command of Maurice, by kidnapping Paula, with the thief also available to order around, the goal to resurrect Mabille and to restore his head to his body. Once this is taken care of, Alaric focuses on the Astral Convergence which will occur at the end of ten full moons. To remain vital and alive, Mabille and Alaric will prey upon villagers, removing their hearts as sustenance. As the body count rises, with Hugo and Elvira(Emma Cohen), Gastone's daughter, seemingly on their own as Maurice captured Sylvia to be sacrificed for Mabille's reemergence, little hope for their survival remains. Their only weapon against the powers of darkness is a talisman(..whose emblem is the power of Thor)and silver dagger, with a book to train them on how to use their limited resources to combat such evil.
Crazy premise, innit it? Lots of gorgeous naked bodies and plenty of blood-letting, occurring in a fantastic setting, within a castle, cemetery, and woods of Madrid. A head is taken off, re-applied, soon detaching yet again, bouncing down a series of steps! Helga Liné has a memorable scene where she she slashes the back of a villager, rips the chest open(..burying her hand inside, pulling out the heart)of another, and slices the throat of a female victim just for the hell of it. Naschy not only gives himself the hero's role(..well for a certain amount of time anyway), but also the part of the dangerous, sadistic sorcerer. You can see that Naschy(..and Liné)relishes his role as the devious Alaric de Marnac. Nearly every member of the female cast are naked at some point, often victimized while under the power of the sorcerers. For the first part of the film, a sickle is used as the primary tool to kill hapless victims who have no where to turn. I gotta say that the sequence where Alaric's head is re-attached to his body is rather impressive, particularly for their budget and the time when this was made. Emma Cohen and Helga Liné are simply goddesses and I enjoyed their times on screen, both's beauty effectively used. There's plenty of atmosphere and gore to compliment the Gothic trappings. I personally loved how deranged and ridiculous the plot is, and the film provides all kinds of aspects I look for in horror movies. Probably my favorite Naschy movie, that I have seen, because it goes for broke, not to mention it is gratuitous and blood-thirsty. Actually, while not benefited by many of the things Universal had in the 30's and 40's, Naschy could apply blood, gore, and tits along with the gothica, an advantage in my mind.
Paul Naschy's script it chock full of deranged ideas. We see, at the opening, executioners sentencing two sorcerers for practicing witchcraft and Satanism, for murdering many innocents to supply them sacrifices for their lord. Both, Alaric de Marnac(Naschy)and Mabille De Lancré(Helga Liné) condemn those punishing them and their bloodline to a curse, and then are executed for their atrocities. This was mid-15th Century in France. Move to contemporary early 70's, and descendant Hugo(also Naschy), a cynical, rich playboy scoffs at the ravings of an aristocratic couple regarding spiritualism. Along with pal, artist Maurice(Víctor Alcázar), his lover Sylvia(Betsabé Ruiz), and Maurice's girlfriend Paula(Cristina Suriani), after attending a séance, the four head for Hugo's palatial castle located just ahead a peasant village where the cemetery containing the decapitated head of Alaric, along with his separated body and the corpse of Mabille are said to located. When Alaric's head is discovered, in a treasure chest, two criminals open it hoping for jewels. His head now free to command others with weaker minds, Alaric orders the one thief to slash the other's throat with a sickle, while also murdering an intruding Gastone(Juan Cazalilla), Hugo's manservant. Soon Alaric gains command of Maurice, by kidnapping Paula, with the thief also available to order around, the goal to resurrect Mabille and to restore his head to his body. Once this is taken care of, Alaric focuses on the Astral Convergence which will occur at the end of ten full moons. To remain vital and alive, Mabille and Alaric will prey upon villagers, removing their hearts as sustenance. As the body count rises, with Hugo and Elvira(Emma Cohen), Gastone's daughter, seemingly on their own as Maurice captured Sylvia to be sacrificed for Mabille's reemergence, little hope for their survival remains. Their only weapon against the powers of darkness is a talisman(..whose emblem is the power of Thor)and silver dagger, with a book to train them on how to use their limited resources to combat such evil.
Crazy premise, innit it? Lots of gorgeous naked bodies and plenty of blood-letting, occurring in a fantastic setting, within a castle, cemetery, and woods of Madrid. A head is taken off, re-applied, soon detaching yet again, bouncing down a series of steps! Helga Liné has a memorable scene where she she slashes the back of a villager, rips the chest open(..burying her hand inside, pulling out the heart)of another, and slices the throat of a female victim just for the hell of it. Naschy not only gives himself the hero's role(..well for a certain amount of time anyway), but also the part of the dangerous, sadistic sorcerer. You can see that Naschy(..and Liné)relishes his role as the devious Alaric de Marnac. Nearly every member of the female cast are naked at some point, often victimized while under the power of the sorcerers. For the first part of the film, a sickle is used as the primary tool to kill hapless victims who have no where to turn. I gotta say that the sequence where Alaric's head is re-attached to his body is rather impressive, particularly for their budget and the time when this was made. Emma Cohen and Helga Liné are simply goddesses and I enjoyed their times on screen, both's beauty effectively used. There's plenty of atmosphere and gore to compliment the Gothic trappings. I personally loved how deranged and ridiculous the plot is, and the film provides all kinds of aspects I look for in horror movies. Probably my favorite Naschy movie, that I have seen, because it goes for broke, not to mention it is gratuitous and blood-thirsty. Actually, while not benefited by many of the things Universal had in the 30's and 40's, Naschy could apply blood, gore, and tits along with the gothica, an advantage in my mind.