Funny how Knights Templar and zombies go together so well. Amando de Ossorio proved it with his “Blind Dead” films and now Andreas Schnaas’ gore-drenched Don’t Wake the Dead is set to re-enforce the idea.
Don’t Wake the Dead (Germany-2008; dir. Andreas Schnaas)
In the wake of an excellent new Indiana Jones blockbuster — Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (US-2008; dir. Stephen Spielberg) — a bit of deliberately trashy, esoteric zombie horror can’t go astray.
The plot involves a group of female art students who spend the night at an ancient castle. Unbeknownst to them, the palace has ties to the Templar Knights and Nazi occultism—and when blood is spilled on the sacred ground, legions of the undead begin crawling up from its ancient cemeteries. From then on, it’s schoolgirls fighting sword-wielding ghouls and bloodthirsty SS zombies, until a mysterious stranger with an unbelievable plethora of weapons arrives to help them out. (Writer Ted Geoghegan, quoted on Fangoria.com)
Sounds like pure Euro-exploitation, time-shifted from the ’80s — and who’s complaining?
In a Fangoria interview, Geoghegan commented: “The script doesn’t take itself too seriously, but still has some solid, creepy scenes. Andreas constantly likens it to the BLIND DEAD series.”
Here are another two of its zombies:
Don’t Wake the Dead had its European premiere in Hamburg, Germany 2 May, 2008 — and hopefully we’ll get notice of a DVD release soon.
Via Fangoria and Kaiju Search-Robot Avery
And just in case you live in a zombie-free zone and have never heard of Ossorio’s Blind Dead quadrilogy, here’s a trailer for Tombs of the Blind Dead:
