Fantastic!

A different way of telling a story

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

There is a world of difference in what Spanish filmmakers could get away with before the death of Generalissimo Francisco Franco in 1975, and what they could get away with after the subsequent introduction of the infamous "S" rating (denoting sex and violence) two years later. A pair of Spanish films that this viewer recently watched has served to demonstrate these differences very clearly. The 1977 film "Satan's Blood" is replete with nudity (both topless and full frontal), orgies, rape sequences, beheadings and other gory carnage (as I have written elsewhere, it is a truly wild and memorable film, and I do commend it to your attention). On the other hand, the 1971 Spanish offering "Graveyard of Horror" (which originally appeared under the title "Necrophagus" and has also been released with the appellation "The Butcher of Binbrook") is a much more conservative affair, with no nudity whatsoever (even in its several lovemaking scenes) and also nary a cc of blood on screen, despite the ghastly nature of the film's proceedings. It is a picture that depends more on mood and the power of suggestion to get the job done, and I suppose that there's nothing really wrong with that!This viewer had no problem with the film's first 1/3; its initial, comprehensible section. In it, we meet a young husband named Michael Sherrington (sympathetically played by Bill Curran), who returns to his ancestral castle by train (and that train is one of the film's few hints as to its modern-day setting; with some very minimal changes, "Graveyard of Horror" could just as easily have transpired in the 19th century) only to encounter the most dismal homecoming imaginable. His brother, the earl, has mysteriously disappeared, and Michael's young pregnant wife, Elizabeth, has died during childbirth. The earl's wife, the Lady Anne (sternly beautiful Catherine Ellison), is acting very strangely, Elizabeth's sisters and mother have become hostile, and the town's two doctors seem to be withholding information. What's left for any sane man to do but dig his wife's body up and search for clues? But when Michael does so, he finds his wife's coffin to be empty, whereupon he is knocked out by two figures in demon masks and attacked by some kind of hideous monster! All well and good. But then comes the next hour, in which Michael disappears, and which contains more head-scratching, bewildering and "WTF?!" moments than you might reasonably expect in any single film....I must confess that I did not have the slightest clue what the hell was going on during this picture's final 2/3, and was thus pretty surprised to find that everything made perfect sense (well, maybe not "perfect" sense) by its conclusion. A repeat viewing revealed that the film does indeed cohere very nicely, with all the many character motivations interacting clearly (and lemme tell you, those three sisters-in-law are one complicated bunch of senoritas!). This really is a film that benefits from another look! The picture has been directed by Miguel Madrid (on the Image DVD print that I just watched, he is listed as "Michael Skaife," for some strange reason) for maximum freakiness, and employs shifts in time, a sepia-tinted dream sequence/recap of events, flashbacks, echo FX, unusual camera angles and quick cutting, all serving to disorient the viewer. Incidental music by someone listed as A. Santisteban abets the freaky mood marvelously, and is largely comprised of outre jazz, mainly utilizing a morbid-sounding organ and flute. Adding to the overall strangeness is the fact that, despite the film's snow-enshrouded, wintry feel, some scenes seem to transpire at the height of springtime; the winter/spring dichotomy is at least as bizarre as any day/night/day shenanigans to be found in an old Ed Wood film. And then there's that monster, which, when we finally DO get a good glimpse of it, near the film's tail end, is as strange looking a construction as anything this side of "The Outer Limits"! The bottom line is that I doubt any viewer will be able to foresee what comes next, in this truly unusual horror outing. Despite the lack of overt violence and gore, it is a picture that does succeed in making a grisly impression.As for this DVD itself, it features a somewhat battered-looking but serviceable print, with nice color and very adequate dubbing. And be sure not to miss the trailers for the six Filipino flicks included as extras, especially those for Eddie Romero's famed "Blood Island" trilogy. Now THERE'S a bunch of movies that never skimped on the breasts and the blood!

A Spanish movie that was (badly) dubbed into English and released here direct to TV. There's no nudity, sex or violence and there's very little blood so it's perfect for TV.It deals with this handsome guy traveling to his ancestral home to see his wife (who died after giving birth to a still-born baby). But he can't get into the cemetery to view his wife's grave and everyone is VERY evasive on giving answers as to why.The plot is all over the place with WAY too many people and situations to keep track of, the special effects are terrible and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. However this often played on a local TV station when I was in high school. It played from 11:30 at night to 1:30. I saw it and, back then, was scared silly! There's eerie organ music playing through most of the movie, the settings are atmospheric and the plot is so confusing that you have to play strict attention to follow it! Cool monster at the end too. Not a great or even good horror film but not a bomb either.

What if someone made a horror movie that was completely devoid of plot?Well, I think it would probably end up a little bit like this one. I don't think I've ever seen a move was so steady it its slide from hackneyed (at the beginning) to complete crap (by the end). I only stuck with it, because I kept thinking it couldn't possibly get worse. Well, up until the very end, "Necrophagus"/"Graveyard of Horror" proved me wrong.Who would have suspected that a movie with an undead lizard-man, evil grave-robbing cultists, and mad scientists tossed in for no discernible reason could suck this bad? One would think there'd at least be some humor value... but not here.

The English translation of the title on the DVD version of this film is "Graveyard of Horrors," but I think that must be an error. It should have been called "Graveyard of Horribles." Horrible acting, horrible editing, horrible story, and horrible music all make this a horrible film best left in a horrible graveyard.Horrible.