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Burial
Ground:
Nights of Terror
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Review
by
Brian Lindsey
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5
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7 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Zombies,
sex, incest, gore — it's got to be an Italian
flick, right? Si. Burial
Ground (known in Europe as The Nights
of Terror, among other titles) came smack
dab in the middle of the gut-munching frenzy spawned
by the success of Lucio Fulci's Zombie
in 1979 — itself an exploitation riff on Romero's
Dawn
of the Dead. A middling entry in the
subgenre, there isn't much of a plot or many characters
on hand. The flick is concerned only with getting
to the exploitation elements in fairly short order.
As such, Burial Ground
isn't really a good film but it's fairly entertaining
as far as rip-offs go. It gets right to the zombie
action — no waiting around for a half hour or
so before those rotting revenants get their flesh-hungry
groove on. In a pre-titles sequence, a hippie
professor (Raimondo Barbieri) is shown pouring
over some ancient tablets. He has some kind of
revelation, then grabs a lantern and heads for
an archeological site nearby. He's poking around
in the catacombs beneath the ruins when zombies
appear and attack him. The prof's plaintive declaration
of "I'm your friend!" naturally doesn't
have any sway with the ghouls, who chomp on him.
After
the credits (set to an uninspired, totally inappropriate
piece of jazz music) we see a small convoy of
cars pull up at an imposing, mansion-like villa
in the countryside. Three couples have arrived
to stay at the house for the weekend. One of the
couples, George (Roberto Caporali) and Evelyn
(Mariangela Giordano) — the wealthy owners of
the villa — have brought along their young son
Michael. The kid, I think, is supposed to be about
10 or 12 years old... It's hard to tell because
Michael is played by Peter Bark, a (then) 25-year
old midget! (An actual child couldn't be cast
in the role for reasons I'll get to in a moment.)
Bark, unlike most "little people" seen in films
and TV shows, has arms and legs more or less in
proportion to his body, so from a distance he
can pass as a young boy. Close up, though, with
his huge eyes and very bad wig, this "child" is
creepier looking than the zombies! An adult —
trying to sound like a prepubescent boy — dubs
Bark's voice, which only adds to the off-kilter
weirdness of the character.
Whether
the three couples are related or just friends
isn't really spelled out. It is mentioned that
a Professor Aryes has been staying at the villa
to pursue his research of the nearby Etruscan
ruins. Aryes is a no-show but George tells the
group that he's likely too absorbed in his work
to put in an appearance. (We know the egghead
is already zombie chow.) Everyone settles in for
the night, so it's time for a little gratuitous
sex and nudity. Leslie (Antonella Antinori) models
some lingerie for her boyfriend (husband?) James,
who's inspired to jump her bones; Evelyn and George
are getting it on in their bedchamber when creepy
little Michael walks in on them. Startled, Mom
jumps out of bed to grab her nightie — she could've
just pulled the covers up but then we wouldn't
get to see Giordani nude, now would we? Young
Michael, by the way, tends to behave quite oddly
in the presence of his mother... Next day, George
and Evelyn engage in a little pistol practice
down in the basement (???) while the other
couples enjoy frolicking in the estate's large,
sun-dappled garden. Janet (Karin Well) and Mark
(Gianluigi Chirizzi) are making out on the grass
when, in one of the film's few genuinely effective
scenes, a maggot-infested zombie claws its way
up from the turf and starts slowly crawling toward
them. Then more zombies appear. Leslie and James
(Simone Mattioli) hear Mark and Janet's screams
and rush to their defense in the nick of time.
Crushing their heads with rocks stops the monsters,
whose noggins can be smashed to bits like old
crockery. But more zombies keep coming. The foursome
manages to evade the living dead in their dash
through the garden but Janet accidentally steps
in a steel animal trap (who put it there, the
zombies?), seriously injuring her leg. They make
it back to the house only to learn that George
has been killed and eaten by more zombies. The
survivors wisely decide to split the scene but
are deterred by all of three or four ghouls loitering
about the vehicles. There's nothing for it but
to barricade themselves in the villa and ride
out the "night of terror".
Apparently
made with very little money, Burial
Ground doesn't waste any time with character
development or plot. (In truth, do any
of these types of movies?) The zombies are awakened
from their slumber by the professor — exactly
how isn't explained — and then spend the rest
of the movie killing and eating everybody.
There's
plenty of gore on display but while effective,
it doesn't reach the sanguinary excesses of Fulci's
Zombie; gorehounds
should nonetheless be quite pleased. (One sequence
blatantly rips off Zombie's
most infamous scene, the one in which a character
is pulled headfirst through a broken door.) An
interesting aspect of this film is the nature
of the zombies themselves. Taking a page from
Tombs of the Blind Dead,
these ghouls are "ancient" — dressed in either
Etruscan robes or monk's garb — and are completely
silent. They also use tools and weapons, most
notably in the decapitation-by-scythe of the villa's
housekeeper. Unfortunately their makeup is rather
disappointing. Quite effective in long shots,
when shown close up the zombies' faces are revealed
to be Halloween masks slathered with putty, accentuated
with rotten teeth and the occasional dangling
eyeball. You can plainly see the actors' black-painted
lips and noses beneath the masks. Still, zombie
fans should find Burial
Ground entertaining enough. It gets right
to the "good stuff" and doesn't let up. A bit
of nudity makes for attractive parsley garnishing
the plate, while the dubbed dialog provides unintentional
laughs to leaven the carnage. As played by Peter
Bark, the bizarre Michael character will certainly
raise a few eyebrows, particularly when he starts
feeling up his shapely mother while cooing about
how much he loves her breasts. (Remember, the
"kid" is supposed to be about 10 years old.) This
über-kinky element of the story — and how
it's ultimately played out — should linger in
the memory long after similar zombie flicks are
forgotten.
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Shriek
Show has done a marvelous job bringing this infamous
exploitation-horror film to Region 1 DVD. Though
plagued with grain (particularly in nighttime scenes)
and looking just a bit washed-out, the print used
is otherwise immaculate. This is easily the best-looking
version of Burial Ground
ever seen on North American home video, especially
when compared to the horrendously dark and murky
VHS editions of the '80s. The disc's audio track
is clear and distortion-free.
A full slate of extras are served
up as tasty side dishes to the main course. There
are two separate video interviews of producer Gabriele
Crisanti and star Mariangela Giordani. Both speak
in subtitled Italian and don't actually recall a
great deal about making the film, but these Q &
A sessions should delight Euro-Cult fans. A Still/Poster
Gallery, set to music cues from the movie, showcases
promotional materials from various countries. In
addition to the Italian-language trailer for Burial
Ground (Le Notte del Terrore), previews
for Eaten Alive, House
on the Edge of the Park, Spasmo,
and Zombie Holocaust
are included. Rounding out the package are brief
but informative liner notes.
7/22/02 |
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