Living Dead at Manchester Morgue [Blu-ray] [1974] [US Import]

I bought this film for my son (don't worry he is 27) who has been a horror film fanatic for many years and this review is largely his thoughts. Firstly then this a mid-budget film with good 'special effects'. I am told it was made by a Spanish film unit which peraps explains why the Manchester Morgue in the title only gets one mention in the entire film. The action takes place in the Lake District of Northen England. Basically a London Shop keeper closes up his shop in an extremely dirty London and escaspes to the Lake Distric where he meets up with a lady and then the Zombie invasion starts. After a recent scientific study we now know the zombies will always win so don't expect any happy ending because there isn't one.

There is plenty of tension and very good special effects as I have written. The acting is good and the story-line pretty standard zombie fare. If you like horror films and zombie stories then you are not going to be disappoined with this film. Of course if you don't keep clear and this film is clearly an 18 rated movie because there is plenty of gore. If you buy it I feel sure it will give you a good evening.

If zombies existed and formed their own Zombie Actors' Guild, this is the kind of film they would be fighting (in their patently clumsy way) to appear in. When I started watching Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, I didn't really know it was a zombie movie; then, by the time it was over, I had it ranked in my personal top three zombie films of all time. This film is living proof that you can't judge a zombie film by its number of zombies. It's all about atmosphere, a fact which most European filmmakers have always known, and that's why a film with less than a dozen zombies plays much better than some sweeping epic about a zombie apocalypse. And I must say this is a thoroughly European film, as it's an Italian-Spanish coproduction featuring a Spanish director (Jorge Grau) and a British cast (and filmed in Britain). It also goes by many names, including Don't Open the Window, The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue, No profanar el sueño de los muertos, and Non si deve profanare il sonno dei morti.

When you think about it, letting sleeping corpses lie isn't really the problem here; I daresay every single character is wholly in favor of doing just that. The problem consists of keeping sleeping corpses from rising all on their own. Either way, the last thing George (Ray Lovelock) expected to be dealing with on his weekend trip to the country was zombies. Unfortunately for him, a red-headed stranger named Edna (Christine Galbo) accidentally runs over his motorcycle. He insists that she take him to his destination, but they end up checking on her sister first. Along the way, Edna is attacked by a decidedly abnormal man, although no one believes her. Neither do they believe her sister when she claims this same man murdered her husband. Having arrived at the wrong place at the wrong time, George finds himself basically trapped in town as the hippie-hating police sergeant's main suspect. His attempt to extricate himself from the situation indirectly leads to him finding ample proof that Edna was telling the truth all along, though. Not only is the murderer a zombie, he's engaged in waking up some undead friends to join the fun. Not surprisingly, the gruff sergeant isn't buying such a seemingly cock and bull story of corpses coming to life and feeding on human bodies. George and Edna are pretty much on their own when it comes to trying to survive the whole, unbelievable situation.

The source of the zombie outbreak is actually rather interesting, as it's a far cry from some wacked-out virus or alien infestation. The whole storyline is well above average, for that matter, holding together quite well as it forges its own path through the zombie genre. And the ending? Well, I can't think of any way to improve it, really. It's well-nigh perfect. Additionally, lest my fellow gorehounds despair, there are some excellent scenes of blood and gore as the film proceeds - both in terms of what the zombies do to their victims as well as what their victims do to them as they frantically try to escape the horror all around them.

This 1974 film inevitably draws comparisons to George Romero's immensely influential Night of the Living Dead. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure which film is the better of the two - although, if I had to choose which of them to watch over again, it would be Let Sleeping Corpses Lie. That's how impressed I was with this film.

Living Dead at Manchester Morgue [DVD] [1974] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] is a double disc delight. Not only do you get one of the finest and most underrated zombie genre movies ever made but you get lots of additional add ons including a wonderful location feature called "Back to the Morgue" with the films delightful and insightful director Jorge Grau. This is a must for any genre fan or film buff. The film itself is the full unrated version and definitely the best available on the dvd market bar none. For its age this film I suppose must be considered one of the standard bearers along with Romero's Night of the Living Dead who the director Grau himself as admitted was his own inspiration. The difference between Romero's classic and Grau's is that this masterpiece comes at you in glorious colour and therefore for me personally as more reverence and effect than Romero's legendary classic. For me this was the zombie film that set the whole genre forward including Romero's very own Dawn of the Dead which came several years after this film. I have personal delight in watching the opening scenes when Ray Lovelock - George decides to travel to the countryside for the week for reasons explained soon after. It is the opening montage of Lovelock and his Norton motorbike as he travels through different locations in and around Manchester town centre, a place that I myself know well and even to this day I still hold dear as a fellow Mancunian who still lives in Greater Manchester. As the wonderful soundtrack composed & conducted by Giuliano Sorgini plays through the opening scenes it adds to the spice of an industrial city backdrop. Grau even takes a moment here to throw in a female streaker who leans by the doors of Manchester's famous cathedral. After a brief mishap the character Lovelock - George begins a journey with Christina Galbo - Edna that results in monsters, mayhem and American/Irish detective - Arthur Kennedy leading the British police force into a investigation that leads to addiction and murder and then eventually to the core cause and inevitable conclusion that science and nature do not always mix and as a result our unlikely hero and heroine must battle the living dead in the countryside. I would like to offer a full synopsis but for now I will just offer you this summation. To be a genre fan and not own a copy of one of the most defining zombie movies ever made is a crime frankly and if the good people at 'Blue Underground' have taken time and patience and resources and spectacularly care in re-issuing this classic and offer us the best remastered printed presentation of this zombie adventure then surely it is worthy of adding this Jorge Grau masterpiece to your collection. If you do not then be damned like the Eco created zombies in this 20th century classic. Lots of gore and lots of creepy fun to be had here folks. Even the language over dub is probably the best I have seen in any foreign dubbed movie and that's way back in the year 1974. P.S. From a biting newborn baby 'seriously' to Ray Lovelock who plays main character George is a delight in his portrayal of an initial irritating and dislikable character into an unsung hero and is quite captivating at times. Arthur Kennedy as the inspector is worth the investment of this film alone...The film is a Priceless adventure of the highest nostalgia driven order and to this day is still one of the few standout Euro classic horror movies ever to grace the genre.