WEBVTT - Weirdhouse Cinema: Return of the Blind Dead 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:05.400 Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind production of My 0:00:05.480 --> 0:00:15.760 Heart Radio. Hey, welcome to Weird House Cinema. This is 0:00:15.840 --> 0:00:20.160 Rob Lamb and I'm Joe McCormick. This is our episode 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:23.400 of Weird House Cinema and our first venture into the 0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:26.920 cinema of Spain. And it's also going to be our 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:32.360 fourth episode that jumps into a franchise with the second film. Um, 0:00:32.520 --> 0:00:34.360 we did this with Boggy Creek To, we did this 0:00:34.400 --> 0:00:36.839 with transfers To, and I guess you could make an 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:39.159 argument that we did this with troll To, though of 0:00:39.159 --> 0:00:41.560 course troll Too had nothing to do with Troll one. 0:00:42.120 --> 0:00:45.680 Uh so that's debatable. Did you actually comb through all 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:48.199 of our titles to verify this? Well, I mean I 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:50.920 have a list of of episodes we've done, so okay, 0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:53.640 it wasn't much coming, but I didn't I scanned it 0:00:53.680 --> 0:00:56.360 real quick. Wait a minute, Wait a minute, Wait a minute, 0:00:56.400 --> 0:00:59.960 I think you're forgetting one. What's that The Ewalk Adventure 0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:03.560 movie we did was indeed, as you're right, that's right, 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:06.080 that was a sequel. Oh and you know what, technically, 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:08.480 Teams in the Universe also a sequel, so make that 0:01:09.480 --> 0:01:12.520 this This would be what number six then, um, the 0:01:12.640 --> 0:01:15.400 sixth film that we've looked at that is a sequel 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:18.520 to another film. Um, so here we go. It's good. 0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:21.080 We're gonna be talking about Return of the Blind Dead 0:01:21.360 --> 0:01:24.679 a k a. Return of the Evil Dead. Also another 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:29.520 another exploitation horror movie from the seventies that is badly 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:31.960 in need of a bath, Rob, How did you dig 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:35.560 up this abomination? This is what I've I've been familiar 0:01:35.600 --> 0:01:38.120 with for a while. I think I actually used to 0:01:38.160 --> 0:01:40.880 have the first two of these, the first two Blind 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:45.120 Dead films on DVD like Ages Past, and lost them 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:47.360 at some point or traded a man or gave them 0:01:47.400 --> 0:01:49.680 away and figured I would never need to go back 0:01:49.680 --> 0:01:53.160 and watch a Blind Dead film again. Uh. And yet, 0:01:53.640 --> 0:01:57.320 as these things, as these things tend to work, eventually 0:01:57.440 --> 0:02:00.520 the thirst returned and I had to to go out 0:02:00.560 --> 0:02:03.200 and watch these films again, or at least the second one. Here. 0:02:03.520 --> 0:02:05.080 This one was the first for me in a number 0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:09.640 of ways. I I know I've seen some Spanish horror 0:02:09.639 --> 0:02:11.920 movies from the seventies before. I'm struggling to think of 0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:14.160 what they are, but I know I have. But this 0:02:14.400 --> 0:02:17.280 was the first movie that I can recall seeing that 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:21.320 had zombies riding horseback. Yes, yeah, this one so so, 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:23.200 this is this is an interesting film from a number 0:02:23.240 --> 0:02:25.959 of different perspectives. First of all, just as a Spanish 0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:28.520 horror film. We'll get into this a little bit, but 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:31.080 it does have kind of an important place. It is 0:02:31.480 --> 0:02:36.160 a key nineteen seventies Spanish horror film, uh that ultimately 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:40.080 had a big impact on that on that genre, in 0:02:40.160 --> 0:02:43.600 that world of filmmaking. It's one that also has acquired 0:02:43.639 --> 0:02:46.800 a cult following over the years. You'll see it often 0:02:46.800 --> 0:02:49.919 something you'll see it associated with kind of I guess 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:52.919 kind of like doom rock kind of vibes. You know. 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:55.680 It does have like, it has several of the elements, 0:02:55.720 --> 0:02:59.000 you know, the idea of like blackhooded figures writing at night, 0:02:59.240 --> 0:03:03.960 weird sound owns, they have big swords, uh. So, and yeah, 0:03:04.000 --> 0:03:07.079 it is in many respects. I mean, it is a 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:11.040 zombie film basically, but it it has this interesting place 0:03:11.600 --> 0:03:15.480 kind of sandwich between the like the George Romero era 0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:18.840 of zombie films with the First Night of the Living Dead, uh, 0:03:18.919 --> 0:03:23.440 and then bridging the way to the gorrier realm of 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:26.840 zombie films that was to come both in the United 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:29.240 States and in Europe. Yeah, I agree. So if you 0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:31.080 look at like Night of the Living Dead as a 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:34.680 I don't know, you could argue a more cerebral horror film, 0:03:34.880 --> 0:03:38.440 something that's independent, original, kind of thoughtful, and it is 0:03:38.560 --> 0:03:43.120 very dialogue driven, almost could function as a stage play. Um, 0:03:43.160 --> 0:03:45.320 this is a little bit closer to that that full 0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:48.440 cheese zombie zone where it's it's more just about kind 0:03:48.480 --> 0:03:51.400 of like fluids coming out of people's bodies and things 0:03:51.440 --> 0:03:55.040 being really gross. Now, one of the interesting things about 0:03:55.040 --> 0:03:58.600 our experience here today is that we each watch slightly 0:03:58.640 --> 0:04:01.520 different cuts of the film. Uh Then I went back 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:04.520 and watched portions of the cut that you watched, But 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:07.880 the one that I watched is like a minute shorter 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:11.400 and has a little less gore in it, and is 0:04:11.440 --> 0:04:14.120 missing one crucial scene that we'll get to here in 0:04:14.160 --> 0:04:17.440 a bit. Uh So, so you probably encountered just a 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:20.200 little more of the oozing juices compared to it to 0:04:20.240 --> 0:04:23.160 what I saw initially. But still there's some dripping blood 0:04:23.240 --> 0:04:25.599 in in my cut as well. But this movie is 0:04:25.600 --> 0:04:28.880 not just a zombie movie. It also ties into some strange, 0:04:29.240 --> 0:04:34.919 uh pseudohistorical themes about the Knights Templar being warlocks or 0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:39.279 something Yeah, So you don't really need to know anything 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:42.520 about the Knights Templars in order to watch this film, 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:45.120 but I thought we'd tell you just a minimum of 0:04:45.240 --> 0:04:48.560 what they were and what they were not, so that 0:04:48.640 --> 0:04:51.200 you can maybe have a little more historical understanding of 0:04:51.200 --> 0:04:52.800 what we're gonna be talking about here, because this whole 0:04:52.800 --> 0:04:56.080 film is about uh Templars who have come back from 0:04:56.080 --> 0:04:58.560 the grave, that have come back with a thirst for 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:01.560 human blood, or at least to kill people. I don't know, 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:04.279 it's debatable how much blood they actually want to drink 0:05:04.520 --> 0:05:06.440 or if they just want to kill people. I don't 0:05:06.480 --> 0:05:08.800 recall them drinking any blood after they come back. The 0:05:08.880 --> 0:05:11.400 drinking blood, I think, is what allows them to come 0:05:11.440 --> 0:05:15.440 back in the future, Right, Yeah, when they're living nights, 0:05:15.960 --> 0:05:20.800 they're all about drinking blood and doing bloody sacrifices and rituals. 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:23.400 But once they come back from the dead, they're just 0:05:23.440 --> 0:05:27.560 about riding their horses around, invading the town, climbing into 0:05:27.600 --> 0:05:30.560 your house and coming at you with a long sword. Okay, 0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:33.680 So what's the deal with these knights? Okay, So when 0:05:33.680 --> 0:05:36.520 we're talking about the Templars or the Knights Templars, we're 0:05:36.560 --> 0:05:39.279 talking about the poor Knights of Christ and the Temple 0:05:39.320 --> 0:05:42.160 of Solomon. This was a religious military order of the 0:05:42.200 --> 0:05:45.920 Catholic Church during the time of the Crusades. Now, their 0:05:45.920 --> 0:05:49.440 original purpose was to serve as protectors for pilgrims who 0:05:49.440 --> 0:05:52.320 are on their way to the Holy Lands. But as 0:05:52.320 --> 0:05:54.040 you can imagine with this sort of thing, a kind 0:05:54.080 --> 0:05:57.160 of power creep occurred. So after a while they were 0:05:57.160 --> 0:05:59.760 given free rein to move across borders. They were made 0:05:59.760 --> 0:06:03.480 exist from taxes. They ended up playing key military roles 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:06.760 in various battles all of the Crusades, sometimes serving as 0:06:06.839 --> 0:06:09.599 kind of like shock troopers. But UM in addition to 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:13.440 military roles, their non warriors also played UH kind of 0:06:13.440 --> 0:06:16.440 a key role during the Crusades, managing the movement of 0:06:16.480 --> 0:06:20.560 funds across the vast distances all of the Crusades and 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:23.479 setting up a kind of proto banking system. So they 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:28.320 became powerful, They made powerful enemies, and as the Crusades failed, 0:06:28.640 --> 0:06:30.680 they ended up taking a lot of the blame. And 0:06:30.680 --> 0:06:33.159 so finally you have filled the Fourth of France with 0:06:33.279 --> 0:06:37.760 the aid of Pope Clement the Fifth, then based in France, UH, 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:41.760 they worked together to suppress the order and also bring UH. 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:45.640 These various false charges of blasphemy and heresy against them, 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:49.479 things like the idea that they worshiped a severed head 0:06:49.839 --> 0:06:53.440 and engaged in you know, all manner of depravities. And 0:06:53.560 --> 0:06:57.239 as a result of this, uh, the Order was dissolved. Uh. 0:06:57.279 --> 0:06:59.520 Some members were burned at the steak, I think fifty 0:06:59.560 --> 0:07:03.320 six in total, including Grand Master Jacques de Malay and 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:06.279 others were Other members of the Order were absorbed into 0:07:06.320 --> 0:07:09.760 different militaries and different organizations, or they were just sort 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:13.840 of you know, retired. Um. So you can roughly measure 0:07:13.840 --> 0:07:17.680 the Crusades as as having lasted from ten to twelve 0:07:17.800 --> 0:07:21.480 ninety one, and then the Templars themselves lasted as as 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:26.320 an organization from eleven nineteen to thirteen twelve. But beyond 0:07:26.400 --> 0:07:29.760 their actual role in history, the Templars have clearly been 0:07:29.800 --> 0:07:34.160 an object of fascination for especially people of a more 0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:37.640 pseudo historiographical bent, people who were trying to sort of like, 0:07:37.720 --> 0:07:43.280 we've conspiracy theories through medieval history. Absolutely yeuh, and you see, 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:45.000 you know this this is all over the board because 0:07:45.000 --> 0:07:48.200 you see so many sort of you know, tragedy conspiracy 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:52.360 books that involved the Knights Templars. But but also I 0:07:52.400 --> 0:07:54.960 mean on two levels. First of all, you have people 0:07:54.960 --> 0:07:59.320 like on Burgo Echo factoring them into fucos pendulum. But 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:03.320 you also have very very you know, very strong, very 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:07.320 serious histories they concerned the Templars because they were they 0:08:07.560 --> 0:08:11.000 were a very fascinating group that was that was involved 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:16.400 in a very dynamic time of human history. That being said, 0:08:16.520 --> 0:08:19.760 when you throw in all these uh accusations of of 0:08:19.880 --> 0:08:24.280 blasphemy and heresy, you have the mysteries associated with them. Uh, 0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:26.520 you know, it just opens itself up to so many 0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:30.760 different conspiracy theories and crazy ideas. And yes, it's a 0:08:30.800 --> 0:08:33.120 great hook for the creation of some sort of a 0:08:33.120 --> 0:08:36.319 movie monster and from what Again. I haven't seen any 0:08:36.320 --> 0:08:38.959 of the other movies in this series, but in this one, 0:08:39.000 --> 0:08:42.400 the premise seems to be, Okay, these Nights, the Templars, 0:08:42.440 --> 0:08:46.000 they were warlocks. You know, they did evil magic and uh, 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:48.480 and people didn't like that, so they killed them. But 0:08:48.600 --> 0:08:50.600 you know what, what warlocks do. They come back from 0:08:50.640 --> 0:08:53.280 the dead, right, And that's basically the premise. That's all 0:08:53.320 --> 0:08:55.720 you really need to know. Uh though I guess the 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:57.880 other key thing is that they're not only the dead, 0:08:57.960 --> 0:09:01.360 they are the blind dead. They cannot see so they're 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:05.000 functioning in this kind of sightless way that's has been 0:09:05.040 --> 0:09:07.720 explored in other films. I think we actually got into 0:09:07.720 --> 0:09:10.400 this a little bit with the hopping vampires of Mr Vampire, 0:09:11.200 --> 0:09:14.400 UM and and I and what I guess we have 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:17.160 some contemporary films as well. Right, Uh, there's there was 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:20.000 something with Jim from the office like don't make a sound, 0:09:20.360 --> 0:09:25.400 don't don't be noisy. A quiet place, A quiet place, yes, yeah, yeah, 0:09:25.559 --> 0:09:28.240 like a similar thing. Be quiet, so the monsters don't 0:09:28.240 --> 0:09:32.040 get you. Yeah yeah, yeah, that's the monsters are blind, 0:09:32.120 --> 0:09:36.000 but they have supersensitive hearing. Yeah so same basically, same deal, 0:09:36.080 --> 0:09:39.440 some similar situation. And that that was another part of 0:09:39.480 --> 0:09:42.520 like the key cell on these films. Now, when I 0:09:42.559 --> 0:09:47.480 say these films, I'm generally referring to the four essentially 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:53.200 standalone pictures, all the work of the Spanish filmmaker Armando 0:09:53.320 --> 0:09:58.080 d o Sario. He did four Blind Dead films. The 0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:00.120 first was Tombs of the Blind Dead and seven D 0:10:00.200 --> 0:10:03.240 two and that's basically vacation ers encounter the Blind Dead. 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:05.960 Then he did Return of the Blind Dad. The pictures 0:10:06.000 --> 0:10:09.160 are discussing here today in seventy three, that's locals encounter 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:11.720 The Blind Dead, and then he did The Ghost Gallleon 0:10:11.880 --> 0:10:14.600 in nineteen seventy four, which is basically The Blind Dead 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:17.679 plus a ghost ship. And then finally he did Night 0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:20.640 of the Seagulls in nineteen seventy five, which is The 0:10:20.679 --> 0:10:23.520 Blind Dead with a coastal setting and a love crafty 0:10:23.559 --> 0:10:26.520 and element thrown in as well. I've only seen the 0:10:26.559 --> 0:10:29.520 first two thus far, but I've been tempted. I've been 0:10:29.520 --> 0:10:32.440 tempted to get to go to to go ahead. Like basically, 0:10:32.480 --> 0:10:35.160 there's a lot of debate of these films, like which 0:10:35.160 --> 0:10:37.360 one is the best and which one is the worst. 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:41.640 And you'll find connoisseurs land in different places. I've seen. 0:10:42.640 --> 0:10:44.520 I've seen people. A lot of people are like, Nope, 0:10:44.520 --> 0:10:46.360 it's only the first one. I've seen people who say, no, 0:10:46.520 --> 0:10:48.839 the second one, returning The Blind Dead is the best. Uh. 0:10:48.880 --> 0:10:51.439 Some people are actually like, nope, the Ghost Gallion, that's 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:53.760 the one. I think I saw someone say Night of 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:55.920 the seagull So it's it's it's it's kind of all 0:10:55.920 --> 0:10:59.200 over the place, depending on I guess what exactly you're 0:10:59.200 --> 0:11:03.600 looking for in an undead, blind, medieval night movie. What 0:11:03.600 --> 0:11:07.080 what is the forum for these debates? Oh? I don't know, 0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:09.840 you see just different different posts about these movies. Um. 0:11:10.760 --> 0:11:12.880 I saw an interview with the lead singer of Electric 0:11:12.920 --> 0:11:16.240 Wizard where he referred to the one he liked the most. Uh, 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:19.160 I think he likes the Ghost Gallion the most. Okay, 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:21.000 so you know, it's it's all over the place. I 0:11:21.000 --> 0:11:24.880 guess it depends on what your particular tastes are. So far, 0:11:25.000 --> 0:11:27.480 my favorite is this one, though it's hard to imagine 0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:30.280 the other one's having human villains as profound as like 0:11:30.360 --> 0:11:33.559 the mayor and all of the creeps in this one. Yeah, 0:11:33.640 --> 0:11:37.080 this one has a great lineup of human creeps that 0:11:37.080 --> 0:11:39.000 That's one of the main things I noticed about It 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:43.400 is basically like essentially except for the main character Jack 0:11:43.480 --> 0:11:47.079 and like one other guy, every other dude in this 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:51.760 movie is cartoonishly cowardly, selfish, and misogynistic and just like 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:56.840 awful scumbags. Yeah yeah that. The elevator pitch I came 0:11:56.920 --> 0:11:59.679 up with for this film is Undead Crusader. Nights are 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:01.760 back for the dead, but we can surely handle it 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:04.000 if all the men in town are not dirt back. 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:07.280 But of course almost all of them are dirt back, 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:11.080 so most of the people in town are doomed. Now 0:12:11.120 --> 0:12:12.960 before we move forward that I do want to touch 0:12:12.960 --> 0:12:15.480 on one other things concertainly just the nature of these films, 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:18.000 because because one thing I was I like to think 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:19.920 about is okay when you have something like this occur, 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:23.240 when you have a series of four films that are 0:12:23.280 --> 0:12:25.720 that are influential, seemed to have hit a nerve, but 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:29.360 are also unlike uh so many other films, they seem 0:12:29.440 --> 0:12:32.600 to exist in isolation. You find yourself asking, well, what 0:12:32.760 --> 0:12:35.280 are these films like? Where do they emerge from? And 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:38.600 sort of the you know, the Spanish mindset of the day, 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:42.200 or you know, culture and politics of that period. And 0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:44.679 of course one way of looking at is okay, well, sorry, 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:46.760 was just he just had it came up with a 0:12:46.760 --> 0:12:49.600 cool twist on the zombie format, right lean into history 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:52.600 a little bit, throwing a little wild hunt. Maybe maybe 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:54.480 you've read Lord of the Rings and you when you 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:56.680 throw a little Nascal in there. I don't know, there's 0:12:56.720 --> 0:12:58.959 so many different ways you could basically come up with 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:01.480 these same results. Oh yeah, I didn't think about it. 0:13:01.520 --> 0:13:03.920 But the blind dead in this film are kind of nasgal. 0:13:04.040 --> 0:13:09.160 They're they're sort of ghostly or otherworldly undead writers with swords, yeah, 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:13.959 and have at least a different sensory realm that they inhabit. Yeah. 0:13:14.040 --> 0:13:15.760 So I wanted to read more about this. I was like, 0:13:15.760 --> 0:13:18.160 all right, somebody, somebody has bound to have explored this, 0:13:18.240 --> 0:13:21.920 and I found an article titled Spanish Zombie Films by 0:13:21.960 --> 0:13:27.400 Alex del Almo Ramon published in the journal Coolabah, and 0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:30.080 the author argues that prior to the sixties and seventies, 0:13:30.120 --> 0:13:34.000 Spanish fantasy and horror cinema was just severely repressed due 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:36.959 to quote the repression that was still being meted out 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:41.000 by the Church Catholic power and the harsh dictatorship imposed 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:43.880 by General Franco. Another element that they point out is 0:13:43.880 --> 0:13:47.400 that in nineteen four Spain's news Standards for Film Development 0:13:47.400 --> 0:13:50.359 initiative opened the door for co productions and the international 0:13:50.400 --> 0:13:53.000 growth of Spanish cinema. And then on top of that, 0:13:53.080 --> 0:13:55.520 there was a big corruption case at the time involving 0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:59.960 loans to Spanish cinema production. So for both reasons, low 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:03.480 budget horror movies were suddenly just a smart investment. Uh. 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:06.120 They point out that despite the fact that Spanish horror 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:09.160 and fantasy films only numbered something like three hundred or 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:12.720 so during the sixties and seventies. Total, almost a hundred 0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:15.800 films were shot between sixty nine and seventy three, so 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:20.640 the ideas cheap movies, cheap thrills immediately profitable. But in 0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:22.280 all of that, I think the thing that I latched 0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:24.560 onto the most of this idea that you know, this 0:14:24.680 --> 0:14:28.480 inside about state and church repression being uh, you know, 0:14:28.720 --> 0:14:31.640 you know, because ultimately with this film, we have these 0:14:31.680 --> 0:14:35.720 horrifying creatures all of the church that rise up against 0:14:35.760 --> 0:14:40.840 the townsfolk and corrupt politicians are ultimately powerless to stop them. Now, 0:14:40.840 --> 0:14:42.520 of course, I think if you were going to try 0:14:42.560 --> 0:14:45.800 to defend this movie against charges of blasphemy or something, 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:47.800 you would say that like, oh, well, they're not The 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:50.640 knights in this movie are not true Christians. They're they're 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:54.280 devil worshipers in secret, right right, Though apparently I was 0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:56.760 reading that he was very concerned there were a number 0:14:56.800 --> 0:14:59.080 of challenges to making this film and pretty much all 0:14:59.120 --> 0:15:02.680 the films that sorry it did. But uh, in the 0:15:02.720 --> 0:15:04.720 first film, if you go back and watch it, you'll 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:08.520 see that the the the templars, the blind dead all 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:11.360 clearly have not a not a cross on their chest, 0:15:11.440 --> 0:15:14.600 not a templar across, but instead they have the ONC 0:15:15.960 --> 0:15:18.160 on their chest instead. And and that was in part 0:15:18.520 --> 0:15:22.760 a direct choice to try and prevent uh, you know, 0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:27.400 accusations of of inappropriateness because he didn't. He was like, 0:15:27.520 --> 0:15:29.440 I don't want to shoot this film and then they're 0:15:29.440 --> 0:15:30.880 gonna come back and say, I'm sorry, you have to 0:15:30.960 --> 0:15:33.960 take all the parts with the blind dead out. So 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:36.320 he said it was safer to just go with an alternate, 0:15:36.800 --> 0:15:39.680 you know, crucifix design. So these Nights just happened to 0:15:39.720 --> 0:15:42.960 be followers of the Egyptian religion or something. Well. Remember 0:15:43.000 --> 0:15:44.960 part of the plot is that they went off to 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:49.600 foreign lands and they they learned foreign concepts, including the 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:54.000 secret of immortality. It's not a very good form of immortality. 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:55.920 This is something I've wanted to bring up about a 0:15:56.000 --> 0:15:59.480 number of movies that have some kind of demonic figure 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:03.680 Van Empire, Zombie whatever that says, you fools, you know 0:16:03.920 --> 0:16:05.920 you you can strike me down, but I will come 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:08.440 back from the grave. I will live forever. But in 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:11.320 almost every case, it looks like the form they get 0:16:11.360 --> 0:16:14.080 to come back in their immortality does not look very 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:17.120 pleasant for them. I mean, are they are they having 0:16:17.160 --> 0:16:20.320 a good time being these rotted corpses that are having 0:16:20.360 --> 0:16:23.280 to chase down the villagers. I mean, it doesn't really 0:16:23.400 --> 0:16:26.960 seem like functional immortality. It just seems like, well, your 0:16:27.000 --> 0:16:29.360 body can kind of come back and lumber around and 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:32.640 do some violence. I mean, I guess it's just the whole, 0:16:33.120 --> 0:16:36.640 you know, trope of clinging to life, of of putting 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:41.080 upmost importance on the mortal existence, right, even if the 0:16:41.120 --> 0:16:45.320 mortal existence is reduced by it. Right, I guess it's 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:48.160 a symbol of a certain kind of imagined vanity, right 0:16:48.280 --> 0:16:50.960 that you would it's more important that you continue to 0:16:51.040 --> 0:16:55.680 be animate than what the what form that that life takes. Yeah, 0:16:55.840 --> 0:16:58.320 but certainly these are some of my favorite like Mad 0:16:58.400 --> 0:17:02.040 Scientists and Wizard Care. There's from fiction where they clear 0:17:02.280 --> 0:17:05.440 clearly this was a terrible choice. You made a terrible choice. 0:17:06.200 --> 0:17:08.440 But I don't know, maybe they're they're they're thinking, ha, 0:17:08.800 --> 0:17:11.479 pulled one over on death this time. Should we hear 0:17:11.520 --> 0:17:14.760 some of that trailer, Yes, let's hear. I'm not sure 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:16.600 if we may even play the whole trailer, so just 0:17:16.680 --> 0:17:19.360 be prepared. Sometimes we play a clip, we might play 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:23.120 the whole thing, because it's just a fabulous nineties seventies 0:17:23.160 --> 0:17:26.359 grindhouse trailer, and I should, uh, I should remind you 0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:29.879 that this is using the English title for the film 0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:41.080 The Return of the Evil Dead. Terror once again tricks, 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:47.480 It's legendary course, making your flesh creep with pleasure. Night 0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:51.000 when the unliving rise again from their graves, you will 0:17:51.040 --> 0:18:00.840 tremble with the return of the Evil Dead, hell born 0:18:01.000 --> 0:18:04.639 revenge by which there is no assurance of protection. Or 0:18:04.720 --> 0:18:09.040 will you escape the fear, the anxiety which the return 0:18:09.160 --> 0:18:13.600 of the Evil Dead provokes a new high and excitement? 0:18:18.240 --> 0:18:40.119 Help me The Return of the Evil Dead. The Return 0:18:40.160 --> 0:18:44.280 of the Evil Dead with Tony Kendall and Fernando Sancho, 0:18:45.119 --> 0:18:50.800 The terrifying thriller of the year. Do not attend this 0:18:50.920 --> 0:18:54.920 film alone. We suggest you bring at least one large 0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:59.719 part to hold you tightly. The Lifeless Horseman will make 0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:07.840 this theater into a living horror. The Return of the 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:14.600 Evil Dead, The Return of the Evil Dead. Are you 0:19:14.720 --> 0:19:29.800 sure you're in a fit condition and don't scream? All right? 0:19:30.000 --> 0:19:33.879 Oh man? I love this trailer so much for starters 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:38.520 it makes. It makes several promises or statements about what 0:19:38.760 --> 0:19:40.840 is going to happen when you see this film. They're 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:43.600 trying to get you to sign that contract. Right. They 0:19:43.680 --> 0:19:45.880 let you know. It's almost like the side effects list 0:19:45.960 --> 0:19:48.520 on a medication. They let you know that your flesh 0:19:48.560 --> 0:19:52.399 will creep with pleasure, you'll tremble your Also, fear and 0:19:52.400 --> 0:19:55.480 anxiety are going to be unavoidable. You will get high. 0:19:56.320 --> 0:19:58.399 You should not attend this film alone. You should bring 0:19:58.440 --> 0:20:02.359 at least one large partner to hold you tight. The 0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:06.000 theater itself will become quote a living horror. I'm not 0:20:06.080 --> 0:20:09.040 sure what that means, but it sounds impressive. You need 0:20:09.080 --> 0:20:11.160 to make sure you were in fit condition to see 0:20:11.240 --> 0:20:13.840 this film, so I guess consider going to your doctor 0:20:14.280 --> 0:20:18.040 and making sure that you're cleared. And then also, don't scream. 0:20:18.200 --> 0:20:20.240 Not it's a good idea not to scream. I guess 0:20:20.280 --> 0:20:23.240 it's in case the Blind Dead also infiltrate the theater. 0:20:23.520 --> 0:20:26.119 It's the opposite of the Tingler. Yeah, well, the thing 0:20:26.280 --> 0:20:29.040 that's right, the Tingler you had to scream to alleviate 0:20:29.119 --> 0:20:32.199 the growing monster in your what your spinal colm. I mean, 0:20:32.280 --> 0:20:35.000 in general, this trailer does have a strong William Castle 0:20:35.119 --> 0:20:38.160 quality to it, and that it's Yeah, it's making lots 0:20:38.200 --> 0:20:41.000 of promises about what the film will deliver and saying like, 0:20:41.119 --> 0:20:43.000 I don't know if you're up to it. I don't know, 0:20:43.320 --> 0:20:48.560 you know, we dare you to see this film. Oh 0:20:48.600 --> 0:20:50.159 and then that's the other thing too that I love 0:20:50.160 --> 0:20:53.119 about it. I love a movie trailer that repeats the 0:20:53.240 --> 0:20:56.080 name of the moves movie multiple times, and this one 0:20:56.200 --> 0:20:58.639 does it. It says that is some of you may 0:20:58.640 --> 0:21:00.760 have noticed that the narrator said as the return of 0:21:00.800 --> 0:21:04.520 the Evil Dead six times and in less than two minutes. 0:21:04.880 --> 0:21:07.440 It reminds me of those great old radio spots for 0:21:07.680 --> 0:21:12.239 Zombie that would just be like Zombie. Oh, it's got 0:21:12.320 --> 0:21:15.920 my arms, Zombie. No one under seventeen will be admitted. 0:21:25.840 --> 0:21:27.680 All right, shall we get into some of the people 0:21:28.000 --> 0:21:30.359 here involved in this film? All right? Well, you already 0:21:30.400 --> 0:21:35.639 mentioned the director Amando di Osorio. Yes, director, also writer, 0:21:35.880 --> 0:21:38.440 and he also did special effects on this one. So 0:21:38.800 --> 0:21:41.280 he lived nineteen eighteen through two thousand and one, one 0:21:41.320 --> 0:21:45.040 of the key names in the nineteen seventies Spanish horror resurgence. 0:21:45.320 --> 0:21:49.000 He was also a painter. He directed commercials and documentaries 0:21:49.040 --> 0:21:52.760 before branching into horror with nineteen sixty nine Malenka The 0:21:52.840 --> 0:21:57.560 Vampire's Niece, and he often employed inventive ideas to that 0:21:57.760 --> 0:22:02.040 ran up against budgetary frustrations and vegetary realities. So he's 0:22:02.080 --> 0:22:04.160 one of these guys that he seemed to always dream 0:22:04.200 --> 0:22:07.240 big and never had the budget to realize the sorts 0:22:07.280 --> 0:22:10.640 of effects and you know, visuals that he actually wanted. 0:22:11.080 --> 0:22:13.800 I love the vampires and these because it just seems 0:22:13.800 --> 0:22:15.359 like you're working your way down the chain. It's like 0:22:15.400 --> 0:22:19.440 you got bride of Frankenstein, son of Dracula, the vampires, 0:22:19.480 --> 0:22:23.840 and niece, um the Mummy, second cousin. I don't know, 0:22:24.080 --> 0:22:26.240 it didn't sound like a boat, like like, okay, let's 0:22:26.240 --> 0:22:28.879 start small vampires, niece and will work the horror empire 0:22:29.000 --> 0:22:31.800 up from there. Apparently he almost got Boris Karla for 0:22:31.880 --> 0:22:35.359 that one, but yeah, I think it wasn't. His choice 0:22:35.440 --> 0:22:37.840 was something that the producers finally said, now, this too much. 0:22:37.960 --> 0:22:40.560 He's asking too much now. As Ramon points out in 0:22:40.600 --> 0:22:43.440 that article I referenced earlier, Oh sorry, oh did it 0:22:43.520 --> 0:22:46.040 just encounter all sorts of issues making the first Blind 0:22:46.119 --> 0:22:49.280 Dead film. He couldn't film in Spain as originally planned, 0:22:49.280 --> 0:22:52.560 because authorities were concerned that filming a horror movie there 0:22:52.640 --> 0:22:55.600 might ruin tourism or hurt tourism, so he ended up 0:22:55.640 --> 0:22:58.040