Multi-talented Paul Naschy writes the script here (under his real name, Jacinto Molina) and also performs a dual (triple?) role in yet another film that tells his oft-visited tale of individuals executed for witchcraft visiting a curse on the descendants of their accusers. Naschy in his heyday was known for creative 'recycling' of the same plot, and the variation here is that instead of a case of werewolf-ism, we have a pair of re-animated corpses, one of them beheaded, who summon a minor zombie invasion at one point in the story.
Tortured and executed for practicing the 'black arts', Aleric du Marnac and his wicked mistress, Mabille De Lancré, vow to seek vengeance from beyond the grave. It takes a few centuries, but eventually they manage to get some revenge going when Aleric's decapitated head is unearthed from its burial place. The head, which has held up extremely well after all these years, wills its finders into reuniting it with Aleric's body. Supernatural surgery takes care of the rest, and pretty soon Aleric is whole again, in all of his diabolical glory. Mabille is resurrected too, courtesy of a human sacrifice, and at this point, the lurid promise of the title has been fulfilled. Horror has definitely risen from the tomb.
Horror also rises from the swamp as well, as the plot places the modern-day descendants of both du Marnac and his executioners in a remote villa. When supernaturally-influenced persons commit murder and are murdered, the solution that the survivors come up with is to dispose of the bodies in the swamp and get out of there as soon as possible, so as not to become "involved" (?). Their plans are complicated when the bodies rise later as water-logged zombies and descend on the house "Night of the Living Dead"-style, in one of the movie's best sequences.
The film is very typical of Naschy's films in that the situations are improbable and seem to have been invented on the spot. Indeed, if you explore the production notes you will find that Naschy wrote the script in about 48 hours. Considering that, this movie ain't too bad.
What's important about Naschy and his genre is how it represents a bridge between the Gothic horrors of the classic monster movies and the modern sensibility of realistic violence and gore. Although it relies on a lot of clichés that have been around since the early days of film, "Horror Rises From the Tomb" also has plenty of blood, and if the special effects are sometimes less than convincing, the brutal tone of the violence makes up for it. Although the villains dress in period costumes worthy of a cheap thriller from the 40s, the characters suffer cruel and violent deaths all around, much more shocking than in any Universal film. The Euro sensibility also allows for gratuitous nudity, both male and female, and Naschy himself isn't shy about disrobing.
Those expecting a standard zombie outing will be disappointed, since many of the film's home video marketing makes it out to be something along the lines of Fulci or Romero. It's not that, but if you have an appreciation for European-style exploitation films, you'll probably like this one a lot.
Tortured and executed for practicing the 'black arts', Aleric du Marnac and his wicked mistress, Mabille De Lancré, vow to seek vengeance from beyond the grave. It takes a few centuries, but eventually they manage to get some revenge going when Aleric's decapitated head is unearthed from its burial place. The head, which has held up extremely well after all these years, wills its finders into reuniting it with Aleric's body. Supernatural surgery takes care of the rest, and pretty soon Aleric is whole again, in all of his diabolical glory. Mabille is resurrected too, courtesy of a human sacrifice, and at this point, the lurid promise of the title has been fulfilled. Horror has definitely risen from the tomb.
Horror also rises from the swamp as well, as the plot places the modern-day descendants of both du Marnac and his executioners in a remote villa. When supernaturally-influenced persons commit murder and are murdered, the solution that the survivors come up with is to dispose of the bodies in the swamp and get out of there as soon as possible, so as not to become "involved" (?). Their plans are complicated when the bodies rise later as water-logged zombies and descend on the house "Night of the Living Dead"-style, in one of the movie's best sequences.
The film is very typical of Naschy's films in that the situations are improbable and seem to have been invented on the spot. Indeed, if you explore the production notes you will find that Naschy wrote the script in about 48 hours. Considering that, this movie ain't too bad.
What's important about Naschy and his genre is how it represents a bridge between the Gothic horrors of the classic monster movies and the modern sensibility of realistic violence and gore. Although it relies on a lot of clichés that have been around since the early days of film, "Horror Rises From the Tomb" also has plenty of blood, and if the special effects are sometimes less than convincing, the brutal tone of the violence makes up for it. Although the villains dress in period costumes worthy of a cheap thriller from the 40s, the characters suffer cruel and violent deaths all around, much more shocking than in any Universal film. The Euro sensibility also allows for gratuitous nudity, both male and female, and Naschy himself isn't shy about disrobing.
Those expecting a standard zombie outing will be disappointed, since many of the film's home video marketing makes it out to be something along the lines of Fulci or Romero. It's not that, but if you have an appreciation for European-style exploitation films, you'll probably like this one a lot.