The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (1974, Review)

Published on June 8, 2008 by Greg B. · No Comments

aka Non si deve profanare il sonno dei morti
aka Let Sleeping Corpses Lie

Cast: Cristina Galbó, Ray Lovelock, Arthur Kennedy

Blue Underground / 1974 / Not Rated / NTSC Region 0 / Widescreen (1.85:1/16×9) / 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround, Dolby Surround 2.0, Original Mono / PURCHASE

Edna is on her way to see her sister when she has an accident and backs over George’s motorcycle. She agrees to give him a ride to his destination but along the way, Edna is confronted by what seems to be the walking dead. Dead, mutilated bodies begin to turn up all around town, but no one believes that the zombies are responsible. So the two are pursued and investigated by the local police after they are suspected of the gruesome crimes. But only George and Edna know the real truth.

George finds out that there is a large radiation machine being used to kill the insects and rodents in the town. Could this be the reason the dead are now living? How can they prove to the police and the hard-nosed Inspector that they are not the murderers? Racing around town, trying to stop the zombie plague, the traveling companions must fight off the walking dead and run from the authorities. Will they succeed before it’s too late?

I am not a huge fan of zombie movies. George Romero just didn’t do it for me. In my opinion Fulci did it better. I love the atmosphere and the shark vs. zombie underwater throwdown. To me, most undead flicks are too formula-matic. Dead rising, gut munching, shoot in head, rinse, repeat. But with this Italian cum English production, that is not a concern. It does have some of those elements, but it is done in a style all its own.

The easiest way for me to describe the look and feel of the movie is “gothic zombie”. The fantastic settings and surreal, nightmarish cinematography set this one apart from most. It sorta reminded me of the old horror serial Dark Shadows without the cheesiness and vampires. The acting was awesome and the leading lady was scorching hot. She reminded me a lot of a more mature Lindsay Lohan. The story was as much mystery and suspense as it was gory zombie guts. But there was plenty of that for the carnage seekers. Even the ending was surprising and well done if not a little down-beat.

It was an all-around top-notch horror movie. If you are into the zombie thang, you will love this. If you are like me and have more discerning tastes (HA!), you will also love it. Blue Underground did a great job on the transfer of both video and audio. It was nearly perfect. The 2-disk set includes an extras-packed DVD with lots of interviews and goodies. Definitely one of the best zombie flicks out there.

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