Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror (1981)

   

Directed by:

Written by:


Starring:

Karin Well .... Janet
.... Mark
.... James
.... Evelyn
.... Leslie
.... George
Peter Bark .... Michael
Claudio Zucchet .... Nicholas

Release Dates:
Theatrical: January 23, 1981 (West Germany); July 9, 1981 (Italy); September 26, 1983 (Madrid, Spain); Limited Theatrical: February 27, 1986 (USA)

 

 

Rating:

 

A professor discovers a secret of an ancient stone when he opens a crypt which revives the dead but these zombies start to kill him and then starts to invade a mansion nearby with guests that are planning on meeting him with this secret that he has only to becomes meals for the undead and the survivors try to find some way on surviving these living dead people even if it means locking themselves intot he mansion. However, the zombies are more clever than the guests have expected since they find devices on breaking into this mansion and are hungry for their flesh.

 

The film looked rather entertaining during the beginning when we spot a professor doing some experiments as well as going to an ancient stone of a crypt which the surroundings looked great by giving the story a good creepy touch to what we all may see unravel later on. Plus some nice shots on a couple of zombie's creeping up on him and cornering him as this looked perfectly shot as well as the make up on these living dead people looking perfectly done.
Of course in these italian horror flicks with the guests partying we do spot a married couple who happens to be
George and Evelyn fornicating since we spot some interesting shots on their lusting since many films foreign or otherwise in a horror flick before the terror starts shows a nice focus on this and of course we spot some interesting close up shots on their son Michael spotting them with good wide eyed expressions which looked well done too making the moments mysterious on him being disturbed by all of this as this was all supposed to make you wonder if he has a deep and dark secret towards his folks.

Meanwhile we spot some interesting and still moments with the zombie's slowly leaving the crypt as well as a great shot on them slowly walking up a hillside with the sunlight reflecting on them which looked overly entertaining for a living dead flick and giving it a nice retro feel to a foreign horror such as this one. I was thinking to myself that this was going to be a good film with the beginnings of all of this but yet I was going to be in for a disappointment later on.
Another impressive moment though is when we spot another couple Janet and Mark making out near a garden which was nicely focused as well as a good close up shot on a zombie rising from the ground which looked awesome to watch and can please any zombie fan. Also some nice spots on the two of them trying to dodge this living dead form along with good close up shots on the zombie's mangled face and wide eyes too.
The story seems more original in some aspects with the living dead as the zombie's seems to be wise by using weapons or finding other devices in order to get into the mansion as well as using a deadly weapon wit kill the maid there which looked well shot and pretty grisly to watch as well. Plus some nice close up shots on the xzombie faces including one's with worms pouring out too. Yet it seems that italian zombie flicks are a bit different with zombie personalities than the one's we often spot in our country.
There's some nice surroundings with George, Evelyn and Michael being surrounded by zombie's cornering them as well as good shots on George trying to fire his gun at them and good close up shots on the bullets hitting them. Plus there's a moment when his gun is empty with bullets keeping you in suspense while we spot a good close up shot on the zombie's gatherin up on him. Looked a bit intense but yet could've been a little more powerful looking at the same time.
We spot a strong moment with Leslie comforting Michael after what had happened and the scene draws in even more when we spot Michael seemingly coming on strong towards her and trying to seduce her as this looked perfectly twisted by making you think "WTF??? This kid is messed up big time." Certainly something that you don't see too often in a horror flick.
A perfect mysterious moment when Michael goes to spot Leslie in a bathroom with her head turned and then slowly turning to reveal herself which leaves an impression that she is now the undead. Nice shots on this as it was carefully shot and blocked too.
Also a good intense moment when Evelyn spots on what's happened to her son as well as what she does in order by losing control towards this undead woman as it doesn't look pretty to watch at all with her brutal persistence. While we watch alot of this going on as well as other scene's it ends up looking bland and pointless since the story is terribly slow and twisted but in a lame way.
More pointless moments with the survivors trying to find some way of escaping and yet we spot the zombie's trying to trap them as well as a moment when Evelyn spotting his son approaching as the undead and then tries to breast feed him which makes you think that this woman has really lost it. It looked lamely written into the story. However it makes you watch carefully that he is going to do something horrifying towards her and boy does it look shocking.
The movie ends too soon as it leaves a to be continied type of feel but yet a sequel never arose as it looked a bit unorginaised in which you could tell the writer was running out of ideas as how to end this damn flick.
Bottom line is that this film was really unique and crafty to watch during the beginning since this looked promising but when the action happens it doesn't go anywhere and becomes terribly bland, sick and silly to watch too. It offered shocks but not enough to make this a worthy horror flick at all. Better off the next round.

The acting is hard to tell since it's overdubbed in english and very few are worth mentioning here but I will do my best here... Karin Well (Janet) seemed to try and add some charisma into what she does as well as really getting into some make out sequences. However when she freaks out it seemed to lack just a wee bit. Yet when she panicks she seems to pick it up a bit. She draws well across the camera by what she does here. She had the average looks and wasn't a stunning beauty like you'd expect as the lead female victim in a horror flick.
(Mark) also seemed fairly mediocre in his part of the film but shows some nice alerted expressions especially when the terror strikes him and offers some nice freaked out energy too as well as trying to struggle from the madness. He was on target with his blocking as well. Shows the odd nice excitement to what he did in the film but at the same time didn't show off a memorable performance.
(Evelyn) seemed quite solid by portraying a family woman in the film as she showed a sharp personality as well as having a good caring attitude too. She also does well with her upsetting emotions and shocked attitude too. Plus does well acting out of control and insane in a scene which she has a nice powerful blocking when smashing someone's head and losing it big time. Does a nice job near the end of her performance losing her sanity as well as acting like a convincing basket case.
(Leslie) was another sharp performer in her work as well as acting convincingly sexy and slick with her blocking and what she has to do in her role. Looked stunning as this was another nice plus. Also shows a nice versatality when she becomes the undead looking perfectly wicked with her expressions and slow motion type of blocking too.
(George) offered a nice charm as a family man in which he shows a good laid back type of appeal. Also does a good job acting alert after doing a lustful scene showing good concerned and energetic emotions. Plus was well alerted while firing his gun at some zombie's too which he seemed to do solidly well too.
Peter Bark (Michael) however was hilariously miscast as a child in which he was really a dwarf playing this role since doing this film was already a full grown adult. He does show good paranoid and wide eyed shocked reactions as this was memorable to watch. Yet when he reacts to being upset or running away he is very off and can't get into the mode by portraying a child at all. I just didn't find that he cut the cake at all. Quite embarrassing.

A woman exposes her breasts while fornicating with her husband as the two of them also reveal their butts too.
A mother reveals her breast while trying to feed to her child.

Many gruesome looking corpses with their eyes gouged or worms spilling out. Plus their heads getting blown to bits and stuff like that.
A maid's head is sliced off by a sharp object and her lifeless body is also revealed.
Many insides of a vicitm is torn out and eaten.
Chopped off arm is revealed.
Many bloodied corpses.
A woman's breasts is bitten off. OUCH!

Like most italian horror flicks the score is way more unique than what we see in our types of standards as it almost made the movie look good by having a sort of outer space sci-fi synthesizer types of effects as well as it sounding light headed too. Plus seemed to sound quite artsy as well in a perfect gloomy fashion too. We hear the odd old fashioned horror sounds as well as some jazz saxophone and clarniet playing for the uplifiting scene's too. Perfect low humming type sounds too which sounds incredibly effective. Nice music for the closing credits with the odd guitar string pluckings too. All of this was put together by Elsio Mancuso and Berto Pisano

Michael: [after making sexual advances on his mother] What's wrong? I'm your son!