10 Old School Horror Movies Perfect For Halloween

The missing link between George Romero’s zombie films and the eroticism of Jess Franco, Tombs Of The Blind Dead is the first instalment of Spanish director Amando de Ossorio’s quartet about the Templar Knights, who in the Thirteenth Century were excommunicated for worshipping the Devil (and taking an unwholesome interest in busty starlets).

Centuries later, they return as robed skeletons that roam the abandoned medieval village of Berzano, riding their undead horses (!) and seeking their victims by sound. They never have to wait very long because despite all the legends that surround the place, Berzano seems to attract an uncommonly high number of females that have a problem remaining clothed.

Unlike most recent zombie films there’s atmosphere to burn in this movie, and de Ossorio proves his mettle as a horror director in a series of stylish attack sequences. Whether riding through the Portuguese plains in slow motion or advancing on a screaming victim, the Templar zombies are striking creations and de Ossorio makes the most of what was obviously a meagre budget. His slender resources are occasionally apparent, though: unable to show a zombie being set on fire, he resorts to superimposing flames over the writhing corpse.