LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE aka DON'T OPEN THE WINDOW aka ZOMBI 3(1974)

[Raffine]

A young British couple, thrown together by an auto accident, encounter cannibalistic living dead roaming the picturesque English countyside. It seems the recent dead are being brought to life by an experimental pest control device, which also causes newborn infants to attack their mothers and bite their nurses!

In addition to battling the growing number of undead, the two must also deal with a bitter local police chief.  The chief is convinced the two are actually hippy devil worshipers and that they are responsible for the growing number of brutal "Manson-like" murders.

Despite the veddy English setting and accents, it's fairly easy for the seasoned 70's horror movie fan to spot this as an Italian production. Director Jorge Grau freely admits the influence of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD on the film.

Some might find it a bit slow to start, but I thought it was one of the best of the many 70s zombie flicks. There's the expected over-the-top gore (there's a scene of a woman's breasts being ripped off just to remind you you're watching an Italo-horror movie), but its not overused - with the emphasis more on atmosphere and character. Veteran American actor Arthur Kennedy stands out as the obsessed police chief.

For young veiwers puzzled by the naked lady running through the streets of London in the opening credits - that was called "streaking", another one of those quaint 70s fads your parents might not tell you about them doing in their youth. 

A Groovy Montage (with music by The Beatles!)
May contain a few mild spoilers...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0N_BRLEDeM&feature=related

[indianasmith]

I saw this last year . . . very strange film.  I kinda liked it.

[indianasmith]

Isn't it wonderful that almost any form of cinematic weirdness can be explained by one simple phrase . . .

"Dude!  This movie was made in the 70's!"

[Sister Grace]

i have this on VHS and i'll never let it go, i love it!!!

[Mr_Vindictive]

I absolutely love The Living Dead At Manchester Morgue, the title that I much prefer to the others that were attached. 

I picked up the film in one of those Anchor Bay "Six-Packs" that they released a while back.  I had always heard good things and I was certainly not let down.  The film does start out slowly as you already said, but it contains some fantastic scenes.  I loved the scene in the crypt and the finale of the film in the hospital.

It has been a good while since I watched this last.  Might need to pull it out and give it another viewing.

[Raffine]

Isn't it wonderful that almost any form of cinematic weirdness can be explained by one simple phrase . . .

"Dude!  This movie was made in the 70's!"

Many, many things can only be explained that way.

I rewatched IT'S ALIVE recently and the thing that struck me was how brown everything was: clothes, cars, decor, air ( ). There's a scene in the young boy's bedroom when the parents tell him his baby brother is a cannibalistic killing machine, and I  couldn't focus on the dialogue because I was looking at that kid's wallpaper: it was a collection of peace signs, doves, and other happenin' symbols all done in various shades of brown. 

Except ladies' eyelids - they were GREEN! GREEN, for God's sake!

I had always heard good things and I was certainly not let down. 

I was only slightly aware of this one. Some book on horror movies I've had for years had a photo of that "autopsy zombie", and that was about all I'd ever seen about the film. The photo was very creepy, though, and I'd had it in the back of my mind for years to look this one up sometime.   After finally seeing it I was proud to find (a good ol' Southern expression) there are still a few unknown gems (to me, at least!) out there.

[The Burgomaster]

Years ago, I had a VHS copy of this (it was copied from a foreign import).  I bought it from a local guy who had a company called "Fright Video."  He had hundreds of obscure titles (most not available in the U.S.) that he would copy from foreign VHS or laser disc imports.  The quality ranged from very good (which was the case with LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE, THE MAN BEHIND THE SUN, and some others I bought from him) to poor (which was the case with CANNIBAL MAN).

I now have DVD copies of many of the flicks I bought from Fright Video (including LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE, CANNIBAL MAN, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, and I DRINK YOUR BLOOD).

Anyway, LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE is a nice 70s Euro drive-in horror movie (when I was a kid, the version that played at the drive-ins in my area was DON'T OPEN THE WINDOW).  Any movie that can be described as a "nice 70s Euro drive-in horror movie" is okay in my book!

[voltron]

I have the Anchor Bay VHS. GREAT  zombie flick.