4. Tombs Of The Blind Dead (1971)
The Knights Templar, a sect killed off centuries ago because they practised witchcraft and Satanism, reanimate in the present day. A young couple on holiday from college have soap opera dramatics on the train involving another girl. This leads to one of the women jumping off and spending the night in ruins where the Knights dwell. They come to life and make short work of her. Over the course of the movie, more dumb young people are fodder for the sinister and bloodthirsty Knights. As in the title, the Knights are blind. This is because birds pecked out their eyes when they were strung up dead and rotting after they were executed. The Knights move really slowly. Some of you may prefer more fleet of foot cinema bad guys, but I have always preferred the slow, shuffling zombies. And the fact that they cannot see adds to the fright factor as the victims try to stay silent to evade death. This is classic Euro horror, adeptly handled by Amando de Ossorio, which delivers genuine chills. The film is just dripping with atmosphere and terror. This is aided by a wonderful soundtrack and the Knights themselves are crap yourself scary. There is not a particularly high body count and it may be slow moving for fans of modern horror, but if you enjoy Euro Horror, you will appreciate Tombs of the Blind Dead immensely.