Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974) Poster

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8/10
Now THIS is a zombie movie!
The_Void15 July 2005
I've been a fan of zombie films for pretty much the same amount of time that I've been a fan of films, and I thought I'd seen just about all there is to see from the horror sub-genre. So you can imagine my surprise then when I came across this hidden gem! Let Sleeping Corpses Lie does everything that you would want a zombie film to do; it has gore, shocks, atmosphere, humour, intrigue and a typically thin plot line, which allows the film to put more emphasis on the more important aspects, rather than swamping itself in needless plot details. Of course, the film does somewhat cash in on the success of George Romero's zombie milestone; 'Night of the Living Dead', but really; it's almost impossible for a post-Night zombie film to not have that comment lauded upon it, and Let Sleeping Corpses Lie has enough about it to more than adequately rise above the Night of the Living Dead rip-off's. The classically styled zombie film story follows a group of farmers that create a machine to kill insects with ultra violet rays. However, this contraption does more than it says on the tin, as recently deceased members of the public start popping up, just around the same time that George and Edna; two people that came together after an accident, roll into town.

Ray Lovelock takes the title role, and looks the part as a young London man. His style, along with very over the top dubbed in London accent work a treat, and his performance adds something of a sense of humour to the picture. Christina Galbó has less to do opposite Lovelock, but she does well with what she has and makes for a good heroine. The film starts off rather slowly, but the relaxed pace never makes the film boring, but it does add to the film when the horror really starts; as we're sufficiently on the edge of our seats by then. Director Jorge Grau creates a fabulous atmosphere through his English countryside setting, and I personally thought it made a very nice change for the zombie antics to be set in the English countryside rather than America, as they usually are. Despite the fact that this is an Italian film, the filmmakers have managed to implement a great British feel to the movie, and the movie feels something like a fusion between Italian and Hammer horror. This is certainly a plot line that Hammer would have taken on! The gore in the film is few and far between, but when it's on screen, you'll definitely know about it, as it doesn't exactly hold back! On the whole, I think it's criminal that this film hasn't won itself more recognition. Let Sleeping Corpses Lie is a film that I wont hesitate to name as one of the best zombie films ever made, and it therefore comes with the highest recommendation!
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8/10
Ray Lovelock takes on zombies and The Man
Bezenby28 February 2018
This is an outstanding zombie film that instead of going straight for the jugular, piles on the atmosphere and tension...and then goes for the jugular.

Slightly annoying antiques dealer/hippy George leaves the polluted and overcrowded city and heads for the countryside on his motorbike, where he intends to spend the weekend watching the grass grow in the back garden of his cottage. His weekend is ruined when Cristinia Galbo reverses her car into his bike, wrecking it, so the least she can do is give him a ride to his cottage. Cristina soon finds that George is a bit of a gobby smartarse who might have a point, talking as he is about how the powers that be are destroying the Earth. George finds out the Cristina is a neurotic flake who doesn't even know where her sister's house is.

George ends up leaving Cristina in the car to go and ask a farmer for directions. It's at the farm he discovers an experimental machine that is being used for destroying insects and parasites (haven't these folk heard of the food chain?), which he lectures the scientists about in his strangely Zippy-from-Rainbow-like voice. It's about this time that a strange man dripping with water tries to attack Cristina, but when George and the farmer get back to the car, the man is gone. It's weird however how the description of the man reminds the farmer of Old Guthrie, a tramp who drowned in the area recently.

It's dark by the time George and Cristina get to her sister's house. It turns out Cristina's sister is a junky just about to be taken to rehab, and while trying to sneak a fix in the shed she's attacked by Guthrie, which leads to the death of her husband Martin. Enter the cops, especially hard-ass Irish cop Arthur Kennedy, and if there's one thing he hates more than dead bodies, it's hippies! He doesn't buy the story of walking corpses and arrests Cristina's sister after he finds out she's a junky. How are George and Cristina going to prove her innocence?

It takes ages for the first full on zombie attack to occur, but you won't be caring. Every scene in the film is just filled with atmosphere. Martin is killed right in front of his automatic camera that keeps flashing upon the scene of a waterfall. His house is adorned with pictures of his wife having withdrawl symptoms. The local pub has a scabby live owl perched in the hallway. When the zombies do rise up, there aren't that many of them but the sheer terror of the victims comes through live and clear. The zombie rules haven't truly been written in stone either - these zombies are super strong, can take a shot to the head, but really don't like being set on fire.

Grau doesn't skimp on the gore either, especially when zombies rise up in the hospital and attack the receptionist. Best of all is Arthur Kennedy's performance as the copper. He hates George so much that he will not listen to anything he's saying at all, even if it could save lives. This leads to several shocks near the end of the film, as well as the ambiguous ending.

I must admit this is one film I did rush out and buy when it appeared on DVD, and have watched it many a time. It's a good one! The only thing it lacks in comparison to the later Italian zombie film is cheese.
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7/10
A group of dead coming back to life terrorizes the countryside, cemetery and a hospital
ma-cortes30 November 2009
This clever horror movie deals about a couple (Ray Lovelock, Cristina Galbo) afflicted by stalking, vicious Zombies (Jose Lifante, Fernando Hilbeck,Joaquin Hinojosa and many others) relieved by ultrasonic radiation caused by agricultural experimentation. Meanwhile a grumpy Police Inspector (Arthur Kennedy) is investigating the strange events.

Gory, gruesome , and ghastly cannibal feast in which the stumbling flesh-eating stiffs are reanimated by means of radioactive waves and can be only destroyed by fire. Unrelenting shock-feast laced with touches of ecological denounce. Army of Zombies appearance roaming the countryside , graveyard and some people besieged inside a hospital deliver the goods , enough to be interesting. Jorge Grau's first great success is compelling directed with startling visual content . This frightening movie is plenty of thrills, chills, body-count executed by the eerie Zombies and photographed in glimmer color with lurid images and phenomenal results. This is a classic Zombie film where the intrigue,tension, suspense appears threatening and lurking in the foggy outdoors and every room, and corridors from a hospital. At the time considered the plus ultra of disturbing movie is less stomach-churning by nowadays's standards, yet its fundamental power to thrill remains undiminished. Agreeable performance by Cristina Gabo who made various Giallo and Horror movies as ¨The boarding school¨ , ¨What have you done to Solange¨, ¨The killer must strike again¨. This genuinely frightening story with correct utilization of images-shock is well photographed by Francisco Sempere in location of England : Manchester, Derbyshires , Italy : Cinecitta studios and Madrid . Creepie and eerie musical score by Sorgini. Jorge Grau who also made another good terror film titled 'Ceremonia Sangrienta' creates a rare Zombie thriller that manages to be both scary and skilfully made, deserving its cult status . Rating: Good, this is one more imaginative horror pictures in which the camera stalks in sinister style . An average budget horror movie that still packs a punch for those who like to be terrorized out their wits.
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Possibly the most underrated zombie movie ever made.
Infofreak18 October 2002
'The Living Dead At Manchester Morgue' is possibly the most underrated zombie movie ever made. It's certainly one of the most interesting as it's an Italian/Spanish co-production, but curiously set in England, and it predates both 'Dawn Of The Dead' and the subsequent Eurozombie boom led by Lucio Fulci et al. The zombies themselves aren't as gruesome and repulsive as Romero or Fulci zombies, but once you get over that you've got yourself one very watchable and entertaining take on the genre. The two leads (Cristina Galbo and 'Autopsy's Ray Lovelock) are both good. They meet while travelling due to a minor accident, become uneasy travelling companions, and subsequently find themselves caught in a nightmare of non-stop zombie action while being pursued by a ruthless cop (Arthur Kennedy - 'Fantastic Voyage') who believes they are Manson-like hippie serial killers. I enjoyed this movie very much and recommend it to fans of 1970s European horror. An unfairly neglected movie that deserves a larger audience.
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7/10
Christine Plays Defense
ferbs5422 October 2007
The 1971 giallo "What Have You Done to Solange?" was the film that first turned me on to the abundant charms of Spanish actress Christine Galbo, and I just had to have more. In "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie," an Italian/Spanish coproduction from 1974 directed by Jorge Grau, Galbo plays a redhead but is still oh-so gorgeous. In this one, she accidentally wrecks the motorcycle of vacationing antiques dealer Ray Lovelock in the English countryside, and before long, both of them are playing defense against the horde of reanimated corpses that has been brought to inadvertent life by an experimental, ultrasonic farming device. In one of the DVD's many extras, Grau freely admits, during an interview, the picture's debt to George A. Romero's seminal "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), and this debt is not only obvious with reference to the gut-munching zombies on display here (a fairly ugly, creepy, intelligent and fast-moving bunch, I must say), but also to the film's doubly ironic ending. Galbo is as pretty and appealing as I remembered from "Solange," and American star on the downslide Arthur Kennedy manages to score as a bigoted police officer who's convinced that Galbo and Lovelock are responsible for all the gruesome carnage. The film also features gorgeous photography, some well-done gross-out scenes, a tightly plotted story and better-than-average acting. Some of the action sequences unfortunately take place during the dark of night and in gloomy underground crypts, severely limiting the viewer's visibility, but the film on the whole is a gas, especially during its frenetic final half hour. And yes, I think I will be needing another dose of Christine Galbo very shortly....
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6/10
I'm Just Not Seeing It
TheRedDeath309 July 2014
I see a whole lot of 8 and 9 star reviews for this movie. Now, I certainly understand that each of us has their own opinion and I probably like movies that others would wonder about my own rating. Where's the sense of scale, though? If this movie is an 8, then what exactly constitutes a 5 for those people, or god forbid, a 2? The general praise I see is it's "historical significance" being an early precursor of the European zombie movement and, for that, I can see it deserves some credit. However, simply being a museum piece does not equal being a quality movie that most modern viewers will enjoy, does it? Charlie Chaplin may be important to comedy, but very few of us still find him funny, but I digress. Yes, This comes right after Night of the Living Dead and, I would include, Tombs of the Blind Dead, and seem to have inspired Fulci a great deal, especially in the look of the zombies.

After watching the movie, I was left thinking of Val Lewton, to some degree. If I removed the monsters from this movie altogether, do I still have anything entertaining left? The answer is a resounding "NO". Yes, the scenes will the zombies (all 15 minutes that you'll get) are indeed well-done. They have that slow, languid quality like you're in nightmare that you just can't escape from. The rest of the movie is a big, gigantic mess though. The actors are just not good, despite other reviews, especially the male lead. The dialog comes off like something I wrote in junior high creative writing. It's overwrought and just really laughable in parts, especially from the Sheriff. For me, that sort of stuff just pulls me out completely and eliminates any tension because all I'm concentrating on is how bad the writing is in this movie.

I do give cred for giving some explanation to the zombies besides the usual virus, and the means of killing them differs from most other zombie genre movies, but those things don't make up for the rest of the weak points.

If you are a completest, like me, just working your way through the catalog, so to speak, then this is worth a view (if only for it's historical significance), but if you're a zombie enthusiast looking for your next fix, then you can do much better than this (try the aforementioned Tombs of the Blind Dead first).
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9/10
Stylish, but regretfully overlooked zombie fun!
Coventry2 September 2004
Corpses who seem to have risen from their graves infest an isolated piece of countryside and walk among the living again…Shortsighted and prejudiced critics might easily refer to this as another gem that tries to pick in on the success of George A. Romero's classic `Night of the Living Dead'. On top of that, `Let Sleeping Corpses Lie' is an early 70's Spanish/Italian co-production and those movies automatically get categorized as meaningless garbage. But, if you decide to ignore this movie due to these reasons, it's your loss. You'll miss out on one of the most imaginative and clever zombie films ever made! Jorge Grau's modest horror masterpiece is stuffed with ingenious findings, strong plot-twists and adorable black humor. And surprisingly great acting too, as Ray Lovelock (Autopsy) and Christina Galbo (What have you done to Solange) form a lovely horror couple. They're stuck with each other after a silly accident and continue their trip together. Ending up in a quiet little village, they discover that experiments with ultrasonic agriculture methods have disastrous effects on the nerve systems of primitive life forms, causing babies to act homicidal and the dead to live again. The dumb cops, however, have no ears for the warnings and the Inspector considers the couple to be Bonnie and Clyde-like Satanists. `Let Sleeping Corpses Lie' is an excellent horror film with a lot of style and substance. The film contains a lot less nauseating butchering than you might expect but the few sequences in which zombies are devouring their victims are pretty damn gory. The photography is beautiful and you should be prepared for a few impressive shocks that'll hit you like a ten-ton hammer. Highly recommended to all horror fans!
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7/10
One of the better non-Romero zombie movies
capkronos14 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Probably the best zombie film to be released in between George Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (68) and DAWN OF THE DEAD (78). In rural England (where this was filmed), biker George (Ray Lovelock) is left stranded in the country when his motorcycle is accidentally hit by Edna (Christina Galbo), who's also just arriving in town to help her brother-in-law Martin commit her frantic, drug-addicted sister Katie for treatment. Nearby, some agricultural scientists are experimenting with ultra-sonic radiation to decrease the insect and pest population in the area. Instead, the sonic rays have an adverse effect on the nervous systems of bugs, infants... and the recently deceased. The living dead are soon shambling their way through town, killing and consuming victims. But these aren't your usual run-of-the-mill pale-faced, red-eyed animated corpses, but ones with super-strength and the ability to raise other stiffs with fresh blood. Can George and Edna convince the authorities what's going on before the zombie population gets even more out of control? Can they convince name star Arthur Kennedy, playing a screaming police sergeant who hates long hair, "fag clothes," sex and drugs and seems to have a bone to pick with everyone in the movie, of anything?  All-around, this is a very nicely done horror film with decent acting, a fast-paced and environmentally conscious storyline, stylish photography, some suspense and an excellent, bizarrely disquieting music score comprised of natural sounds (whispering, distorted voices, underwater sounds, etc.). There's also an excellent cemetery sequence (with the zombies trying to bust down a door with tombstones they pluck from the ground) and a real bloodbath of a hospital climax.

Released theatrically in the US as DON'T OPEN THE WINDOW! (often double-billed with the unrelated DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT) and first available on tape (heavily cut) as THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE. The Anchor Bay disc comes with a good, long interview with Grau, plus an introduction, TV and radio spots and still gallery.
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9/10
The most overlooked and underrated zombie film ever
hippiedj1 November 2000
First of all, don't scoff at a 9 out of 10 rating for this film!

Trying to say it doesn't stand up to, say, Titanic, for "quality" is ridiculous...by just rating it within the horror genre, this is a superior effort.

Anchor Bay has released this film recently on DVD with a very informative interview with director Jorge Grau (since released twice on Blue Underground, the 2nd of its releases transferred in HD under the alternate title The Living Dead At The Manchester Morgue). He does admit this film was made because he was asked to do something comparative to Night Of The Living Dead. Fortunately he did something more by actually caring about the project and the result is a film that still terrifies after all these years. For being made in 1974, that's a feat indeed.

The film wastes no time in getting to the fun, and with just the right amount of setup about society's excesses whether it be pollution or morals, and then going further with the 1950s style of saying good 'ole radiation (our fault again) is stirring up trouble. Even though it was made around the same time and may only be a coincidence, the scene where babies are rebelling brings to mind Larry Cohen's film It's Alive!

Aside from a familiar face in actor Arthur Kennedy (who was deliciously grizzled in his behavior), the use of not-so-familiar faces really lets you sit back and absorb the story and thrills. It was actually nice to see a lead actor like Ray Lovelock look, as Kennedy's character exclaimed, a "long-haired hippie" instead of the squeaky clean GQ faces of today's heroes. These characters were very real, very believable, and you did care what happened to them.

Not many films date well, but this one could have easily taken place now as 1974. The locations, atmosphere, and overall look of this film is gorgeous. The acting is very competent, the score accents the mood well, and I was very pleased with the uncompromising ending. What I was probably the most pleased with was the fact that it doesn't feel the need to distract you with heavy cussing and lots of nudity (as in films like Dan O'Bannon's Return Of The Living Dead).

It also does not alienate the "over 35 crowd" like myself by pandering to MTV age boppers, the cast is mature and the characters more involved with their fate instead of being concerned with fashion and scoring some to get wasted (like the recent Idle Hands, don't get me started on THAT one). Most horror films these days just don't leave you feeling very satisfied, and I was ready to watch this one again!

Let Sleeping Corpses Lie is probably the most overlooked and underrated zombie film ever, and do yourself a favor by giving this one a look. Don't try to compare it with others, don't try to dissect the logic. It pays off with it's genuinely creepy mood and you'll find yourself watching it more often than most of any recent favorites you might have.
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7/10
"The dead don't walk around except in very bad paperback novels." A highly enjoyable zombie film.
poolandrews1 June 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Non si Deve Profanare il Sonno dei Morti, or the more common titles of Let Sleeping Corpses Lie & The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue among others, starts with George (Ray Lovelock) closing his antiques shop in London for the weekend & setting off on his motorbike for the peace, clean air & tranquillity of Windermere. On his way he stops for petrol & a half asleep woman named Edna (Christina Galbo as Christine Galbo) accidentally backs her mini into his bike (bloody women drivers!). Since George now has no transport he invites himself along with Edna who is travelling to a small village called Southgate to visit her drug addict of a sister named Katie (Jeannine Mestre) which means George is going there as well. George & Edna become lost & stop at a farm to ask directions, George finds the owner with two men from the 'Agricultural Department Experimental Section' testing a new device which emits ultra-sonic radiation which destroys insects & parasites. Meanwhile back at the mini Edna is attacked by a tramp named Guthrie (Fernando Hilbeck) but manages to escape, Goerge calms her down & says he probably meant no harm & they continue their journey. At Katie's house her Husband Martin (Jose Lifante as Jose Ruiz Lifante) is attacked & killed by Guthrie just as George & Edna arrive, the police lead by a no nonsense Sergeant (Arthur Kennedy) are called & think that the three are in it together. While in a shop Edna asks about Guthrie & the shop keeper shows them a photo in the local paper, the strange thing is the picture is of Guthrie's corpse that had recently been found in a river. Edna is positive that it was Guthrie that attacked her & killed Martin, George decides that the only way to rid Edna of her ridiculous fantasies is to take her to see Guthrie's body at the local cemetery but they are shocked & horrified at what they actually discover...

This Spanish production was filmed on location in England & studio's in Spain & Italy by a mixed Italian & Spanish crew & it's perhaps surprising that Non si Deve Profanare il Sonno dei Morti turned out as well as it did. Directed by Jorge Grau I thought this was a pretty good zombie film. The script by Juan Cobos, Sandro Continenza, Marcello Coscia & Miguel Rubio is a little slow in parts & takes it's time to get going & their lack of the local geography is painfully obvious at times especially to an Englishman like myself, listen if you break down in the Lakedistrict in England you definitely do not have to get spares delivered from Glasgow in Scotland (even in the early 70's)! Forget about hordes of flesh eating zombies wandering the English countryside because it doesn't happen, there are only six zombies throughout, they are of the George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968) school of zombies & shuffle along slowly looking for tasty human intestines to eat & it wouldn't surprise me to learn that Non si Deve Profanare il Sonno dei Morti was planned as a quick European cash-in on Romero's film. I'm guessing they were trying to make a horror film which has a message as Non si Deve Profanare il Sonno dei Morti piles on the ecological catastrophe symbolism throughout from the opening shots of a dirty polluted London complete with smoking industrial chimney stacks & dead birds lying on the side of the road to the contamination of the countryside & the use of unnatural pesticides & radiation, for the most part it isn't too distracting & works in the films favour generally speaking as it gives it just that bit more depth & meaning than usual. The character of the Sergeant verges on hilarious at times with some of the things he comes out with like "button up man your wearing a uniform not a pair of pyjamas" or the classic much quoted lines "you're all the same the lot of you with your long hair & faggot clothes" & "I wish the dead could come back to life you bastard, so then I could kill you again." The funky dialogue doesn't stop there either for example the farmer tells George "it runs like a charm laddy, it's killed every bloody insect round here except for you" while trying to defend his machine. The whole film is packed with lines like these & all the better for it I say, great stuff. The film possesses a good atmosphere & there are some really good sequences in this, Edna & George being trapped in a churches crypt surrounded by zombies is one that springs to mind. Luckily Non si Deve Profanare il Sonno dei Morti & it's script doesn't forget about the stuff we really want to see, zombies & gore! This contains some cool early gore scenes including evisceration & intestine eating, graphic shots of burning corpses, an axe in someone's head, stabbings, an unfortunate receptionist (Isobel Mastres) having her breast torn off & some surprisingly good looking zombies. Technically the film is basic, almost crude at times but it's professional enough & helps to give it that unmistakable Euro-horror look & feel. The music, photography, special effects, direction & overall production values are solid throughout. On the down side the climax didn't sit well with me as it sort of went against what the film had previously put in place just to accommodate a twist ending which in my opinion wasn't needed anyway & a lot of the characters are a little stereotypical & stupid. I liked Non si Deve Profanare il Sonno dei Morti a lot & recommend it to all Euro horror fans, zombie fans & anyone interested in the horror genre in general, just be prepared to put the effort in & you should be rewarded with a fine film. Good solid early 70's zombie-filled entertainment!
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4/10
Atmospheric, but it moves like molasses. Its way over-praised IMO
callanvass2 September 2013
I hate using the word overrated. It's very derogatory in my opinion, and sounds rather crass as well, so I'll use a more polite term. It's over- praised by Horror fans in my opinion. I actually thought this might end up being something special when I first started this one. It was very atmospheric and has a rather tense first zombie sighting, but then that's where the problems started with me. It moves like molasses. It's very slow moving, and my interest started to wane big time. I also had trouble getting invested into the two lead characters. Cristina Galbó;s whiny performance grated my nerves quickly. I found her to be very unsympathetic in my opinion. Ray Lovelock tries to play it all cool, but he was rather nonchalant and annoying. I didn't care for him at all. Arthur Kennedy is even worse. His performance as the inspector quickly tested my patience. His anger wasn't enjoyable to watch. Chill. The gore is decent, but nothing like you'd see in a lot of zombie flicks. The zombies themselves are actually pretty creepy; too bad the movie is so boring

Final Thoughts: This tries to rely on atmosphere, but it failed miserably. The slow pace, the grating characters, and overall lack of thrills sink this one. It seems to have a big cult following, so maybe it's just me…

4/10
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8/10
Great Zombie Movie
claudio_carvalho9 August 2014
In Manchester, the owner of an antique shop George (Ray Lovelock) rides his motorcycle to Lake District in the countryside with a couple of antique pieces to a house where his friends are working. When he stops at a gas station, the driver of a Mini Copper Edna (Cristina Galbó) reverses her car and hits his motorcycle. George orders Edna to take him to Lake District to compensate the damage but she asks him to go first to Windermere since she needs to visit her problematic sister. Then she would lend the car to him. George drives Edna to her sister's cottage but they get lost in a dead end road. George leaves Edna in the car and walks to a nearby farm to ask for directions. He meets three men from the Department of Agriculture using an experimental machine to kill insects through ultra-sonic radiation in the range of one mile. Meanwhile Edna is attacked by a strange man and she runs toward George but the man disappears.

In Windermere, Edna's sister Katie (Jeannine Mestre) has an argument with her husband Martin (Jóse Lifante) and he leaves the house to take photos of a waterfall. Katie is addicted in heroin and prepares a shot while Martin is outside. However she is attacked by the same man that attacked her sister and she runs to the field where Martin is. The man hunts her down and kills Martin, and Katie flees and meets Edna and George that are arriving in their car. They call the police and the arrogant and bigoted Inspector (Arthur Kennedy) believes that Katie killed her husband. George and Edna try to find evidence that Katie is innocent and Edna discovers that the attacker is a man that has drowned in the river. George finds an absurd and heads with Edna to the cemetery to see the corpse of the man, and the inspector sends a police officer to follow them. Soon they discover that they are under siege in the cemetery by living dead. Will they succeed to escape from the group of zombies?

"Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" is a great zombie movie directed by Jorge Grau. This is the first movie from this director that I have seen and the beginning of the story shows his concern with the environment, showing the pollution everywhere in the area of London. Ray Lovelock and Cristina Galbó show great chemistry and have good performances and Arthur Kennedy is irritating in the role of a ruthless inspector. This movie was released with several alternate titles, and I bought a used collector's tin from Anchor Bay Entertainment and unfortunately is missing a couple of pages of the booklet. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Não se Deve Profanar o Sono dos Mortos" ("It Shall not Desecrate the Sleep of the Dead")

Note: On 13 September 2015, I saw this film again.
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7/10
Atmopsheric 70's Horror
briandwillis-8382521 October 2020
The living dead return after some radiation experiments and start killing people and the cops are quick to dismiss it and blame two hippies for all the murders.

Loved the atmosphere and gore, of course, but it seems like this movie has something else on its mind that I really appreciate.
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5/10
Not the classic it's reputation would suggest
squeezebox17 June 2010
Warning: Spoilers
THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE (aka "Don't Open the Window" and "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie") is a slow, boring movie that is enlivened by some shocking gore (still effective by today's standards) and a few genuinely creepy moments. Unfortunately, that's about all this movie has to offer, and most of what falls in between the shocks is pretty banal.

An experimental device that is supposed to use high frequency sounds to combat crop-killing pests turns out to have an unanticipated side-effect: it brings dead people back to life. The plot is obviously nothing more than a rehash of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, just not as scary and far gorier.

That is the movie's main claim to fame: it's the first direct rip-off of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Many of the movie's defenders say it is a precursor to the Italian gut-munchers of the the late 70s and early 80s when really it's just NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD in color. It has its moments, including a few scenes charged with a primal horror, but it never manages to maintain a scary or intense atmosphere. It delivers a good scare or an effective gross-out, then goes back to being a dull movie about people we don't care about.

It's worth a look for zombie movie fans, but its inconsistent atmosphere, slow pace and dull characters will probably disappoint first-time viewers for whom its reputation precedes it.
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Has Atmosphere, Gore, and Intellegence
eibon0919 November 2001
Non si Deve Profanare il Sonno Dei Morti/Let Sleeping Corpses Lie(1974) is a lively Italian/Spanish take on Night of the Living Dead(1968). Yet is not a mere rip off because of own brand of zombie horror. Director, Jorge Grau helps make this film a classic zombie pic on its own terms with atmospheric scenery, remarkable moments of horror, gore highlights, and effective surprise twists. In some ways a much more polish looking film than NOTLD. Acting in film is better than in the average zombie pic. Underrated zombie chiller that has recently gotten the attention it deserves with DVD release.

The first zombie to appear on the scene is Guthrie. The attack on Edna by Guthrie is reminiscent of the attack on Barbara in Night of the Living Dead(1968). Guthrie, the zombie is only on the screen for the first half and the film could have used him for its entirity. Fernando Hilbeck has the perfect face and manner to be a menacing looking zombie. Guthrie is the most imposing zombie figure ever to step foot in a zombie horror picture. Guthrie is in the early stages of zombifcation which is why he doesn't look like the usual flesh rotting zombie.

Beneath the gore and horror is a fascinating subtext on fascism. Fascism as represented by the inspector is shown to be closed minded and ruthlessly proud. Director, Jorge Grau lived in Spain during the reign of Francisco Franco which plays an influence on the fascist depiction of the Manchester inspector. Relays that fascism is at its most dangerous when hiding behind law and order. Let Sleeping Corpses Lie(1974) was not popular among British censors or Police because of its anti-authority stance. Fascist subtext is dealt with great power and intellegence.

It was Let Sleeping Corpses Lie(1974) and not Dawn of the Dead(1978) that mainly influenced a rash of Italian cannibal/zombie films of the late 70s/early 80s. Lucio Fulci was one such director who was influenced by LSCL that he patterned his gothic zombie pics after the look of this film. DOTD influence is significant on the Italian zombie craze but not as high as people think. The editor and make up effects man for LSCL would become part of Fulci's entourage. Provides a medium between Night of the Living Dead(1968) & Dawn of the Dead(1978). The Italian zombie films of late 70s/early 80s owe a debt of graditude to this excellent made zombie pic.

Cemetery sequence is first sustained terror moment. Suspenseful scene where the viewer begins feeling the terror felt by George and Edna. Moment when George and Edna attempt to break outside a grave from inside the parlor room inspired a identical moment in House by the Cemetery(1981). Guthrie's touching of corpses to bring them back is a dark parody of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Some juicy gore effects are provided with the bloody death of a Police officer. Expertly handled by Jorge Grau with a feeling of the macabre.

Although zombies are featured as villains, its the inspector played by Arthur Kennedy that is the true villain of the story. The zombies are not in long or sparse enough to be counted as screen villains. The inspector is a self righteous jerk whose unwilling to admit when he's wrong. Arthur Kennedy is convincing bitter as the fascist and sadistic Police Inspector. He uses villainous tactics in handling the case described in the film without willing to find out the truth. By shifting the role of villain to Police Inspector, the film becomes an anti-establishment film.

Few interesting ideas pop up during course of story. First, there is idea of dead coming back to life via an agriculture sonic pest killing device which is an provocative one. Second, the notion of an ecological apocalypse is driven hard into the plot with frightful implications. What's implied here is that humankind is creator of its own destructive path. Third, story for one brief moment deals with the idea of babies born with unusual violent behavior patterns. These ideas and others are what makes it especial among European zombie films.

Second sustained horror moment is hospital carnage sequence. An orgy of bloodletting and zombie mutilation runs amuck upon the seemingly quiet hospital setting. A big influence on the hospital climaxes in Lucio Fulci's The Beyond(1981) and Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator(1985). Moment in elevator when Katie is strangled by undead husband inspired the strangling of Meg by a zombie in Re-Animator(1985). Director builds up this scene slowly and ups the terror as time goes by. Memorable sequence ends in tragedy for two main characters.

Let Sleeping Corpses Lie(1974) is infamously remembered for the ultra gory dismemberment of a hospital telephonist. Fantastic effects are employed by Giannetto De Rossi to make zombie mutilation of telephonist look realistic. Far more violent than anyone in an audience was used to from a horror film in 1974. It was gore moments like these which were the basis for Lucio Fulci using De Rossi for his gothic zombie pics. Filmed with effective editing and graphic novel imagery. A highlight among gore moments in Italian zombie cinema.

Ends with one of the most satisfying surprise endings in horror film history. Final scene is something out of a Tales from the Crypt or Creepshow tale. Unlike Night of the Living Dead(1968), Let Sleeping Corpses Lie(1974) finishes off with a happy ending(poetic justice style). My favorite moment of Let Sleeping Corpses Lie(1974) is this one for obvious reasons. The look on Police Inspector's face as he is closer to meeting his fate is priceless. Let Sleeping Corpses Lie(1974) is a horror favorite of mine that has become more entertaining with each viewing.
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7/10
The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (1974)
jonahstewartvaughan16 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Cult Cuts Volume 42. Shocktober 2023 Week 2)

#3/4:The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (1974)

(7/10): A slower paced yet very strong entry into the zombie canon.

The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue or as it's also known by, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, is the story of a heroine addicted woman who is being taken away for rehabilitation, after stopping to take a break by the creek she is attacked by a man who is in tattered wet clothes and then manages to escape yet estranged husband who was driving her was killed.

She is interrogated by the authorities as they are convinced she did it due to her addiction and refusal to be rehabilitated, she meets with her sister and a man who is with her sister, who then becomes the one who works with her in her defence, but he is not convinced that what she is saying is true so he goes to the morgue near where her husband had died to find the tomb of the man who supposedly killed him and prove to her that he was not killed by a dead man, which he only believes when they're shown the papers of an article of a dead man who was reported dead a week ago, which she says she saw him last night.

When he opens his tomb it is empty and they are soon attacked by the dead.

The officer follows them into the morgue where he is then forced into the situation and he has to leave in order to attempt to make contact with the station but is overpowered by the dead.

After our two protagonists are separated they are now pursued by the police who think that they are part of a cult while they are attempting to warn the hospital of the bodies recently received from the incident and the other is set on shutting off a new machine being tested in the nearby area that emits radiation to kill bugs as it is the only plausible explanation for why the dead are coming back.

It's only a matter of time before all hell breaks loose, will they succeed?

The film is held up there as one of the best and most underrated zombie films and I can agree with that sentiment yet it's still not my preferred kind of approach to zombie films.

I think it's mainly due to its slower pace and higher levels of human interaction than zombie interaction.

That being said it does have its perks as a trade off though, it is pretty atmospheric.

The effects are also very gory and gruesome.

The dubbing is pretty good, still not the greatest but far from the worst.

The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue is another solid recommendation for the season, man, I've just been full of them recently!
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10/10
Excellent zombie film.
HumanoidOfFlesh12 February 2004
Warning: Spoilers
Jorge Grau's "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" is a very stylish and atmospheric zombie film that chooses quality over quantity.It has only 7 or 8 zombies,but it's still one of the best zombie flicks I have ever seen.The film may be pretty slow-moving for some horror fans,but there are several exciting set pieces.The acting is excellent and there is some nasty gore on display.I liked especially the scene where one of the nurses has her breast ripped off before being ripped to shreds.The film is set in the English countryside and there is enough suspense to satisfy fans of horror."Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" is pretty much considered a classic by some,so if you like zombie films give it a look.A must-see!
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6/10
Entertaining Horror Let Down By Its Lack Of Intelligence
Theo Robertson7 February 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I was looking forward to seeing this film . I first heard about it in 1987 when I read a long forgotten coffee book table about horror films which had a still of an incinerated corpse from the movie . Also Britain , Spain and Italy have a long tradition of making entertaining or morbid or gory horror movies so what would a triple combination of these three nations resemble . I couldn't wait to find out . Would the long wait be worthwhile ?

Certainly it's an entertaining film and anyone with any interest in the zombie genre will enjoy it . It has all the inspiration of Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and all the gore that one should expect from the genre . Perhaps refreshingly the horror is more camp than what we're used to these days with the proliferation of torture porn in to mainstream horror . The opening segment also reminded me of Cornel Wilde's NO BLADE OF GRASS as we're shown shots of car and lorries spewing exhaust fumes in to the litter strewn streets . Environmentalism was making a birth during this period and the film is very much a product of its era . Interestingly it's a new " safe " method of replacing pesticides that causes the dead to spring back to life and the moodily lit scenes of zombies attacking the humans are fairly effective as is the muzak which is more like a sound effect than incidental music

Where the film fails is like most horror movies is that when you stop to think about the on screen events everything falls apart very quickly . Ultra-sonic rays are causing the dead to spring back to life but these reanimated corpses are never seen by anyone except the people they kill or the two protagonists Edna and George who quickly get accused of being satanists by the local police . People also do very dumb things like when they meet zombies in a churchyard they run in to the crypt and barricade themselves in instead of making an escape by simply running away . Being very pre Danny Boyle these zombies are slow moving and for some inexplicable reason are also very flammable . The story itself is very slow moving in the beginning because the audience are one step ahead of the characters in that we know the dead are returning to life but they don't . In fact when the film ends most of the characters are none the wiser

There's also a couple of errors involving geography that are quite annoying . At a garage George has his motorbike damaged and the mechanic says he'll have to get a new wheel from Glasgow . Why would someone in The Lake District go all the way to Scotland for a new wheel . Wouldn't somewhere closer Kendal or Blackpool or Preston or Blackburn or Bolton or Manchester be selling motorbike wheels ? Also one character mentions to another that " You came all the way down from London " when in fact the story takes place about 230 miles north of London

All in all LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE is an involving enough horror film that is relatively entertaining for the most part . It's not the most original film you'll see and it's certainly not the most intelligent one . In fact the lack of anybody doing anything intelligent is its most serious flaw but I didn't feel like I'd wasted my time watching it
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8/10
"You're all the same the lot of you, with your long hair and faggot clothes."
bensonmum224 May 2006
Warning: Spoilers
And to think, I've avoided this movie for years. I love horror movies, but I'm not the biggest zombie fan in the world. But Let Sleeping Corpses Lie is different. It's intelligent, dark, witty, and creepy – and that's a hard combination to achieve. I've read a number of reviews that complain about the acting and I don't get it. I thought that Cristina Galbo, Ray Lovelock, and Arthur Kennedy were excellent in their roles. No one was going to win an award for this movie, but they're certainly not as bad as others have indicated. I also appreciate the fact that the film features what I'll call scenes of "controlled gore". There certainly are a few disturbing images, but Director Jorge Grau never lets the gore go over-the-top into quasi-parody and that's a good thing. My only complaint would be with the final scene. It's just so unnecessary. Let the movie end on a dark note. There's nothing wrong with that.
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6/10
Strange zombie movie that was made after Night and before Dawn.
Aaron137529 August 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This is a very sweet experience for me. I am reviewing an old zombie movie from the 70's for the first time in a long time, after I had thought I had basically reviewed all of them. That made me sad as I love watching old horror movies, especially zombie ones. This one was somewhat good, very well made and had plenty of gore. The main reason I score it a bit low is more of a matter of personal preference. That is the part of the plot that has the police and everyone else suspecting the two leads in the film of performing the killings rather than that of the undead. I just do not care for the innocent getting the blame for the killings, like I said this is a matter of personal preference so if this does not bother you and you like zombie movies then by all means see this film. I myself, even with the dislike of that plot element still enjoyed the movie overall. The story is good as it features a rather good reason for the dead to come back to life and attack the living. A dude gets on his motorcycle at the beginning of the film and is riding through the country when at a gas station a woman backs into said motorcycle. I really feel bad for this guy as he gets wrapped up in this whole mess thanks to this woman's clumsiness. Well the female encounters a rather strange man that she fears means to do her harm. She suspects right as this strange man ends up killing the husband of her sister. Of course, the police suspect everyone except the killer and thus we have the police trying to capture the two leads and the two leads trying to get to the bottom of the killings. There could have also been more zombie scenes in this film, but the two really big ones are very well done as there is one at a cemetery tomb underground and the climatic battle in a hospital. Very gory and the deaths were surprisingly good. There are times when the story got frustrating for me as the main dude kept destroying all the evidence of the undead and incriminating he and the girl further. Still, over all it was a nice zombie flick. Loved the ending as the one guy said he wouldn't mind if the person did rise from the dead so he could kill him again. He whiffed on that chance.
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1/10
Awfullllllllllllllllllll
lucky_dice_mgt30 January 2007
What is wrong with you people who are rating this film as a masterpiece? I cant believe anyone would suggest this film is better or good as Night of Living Dead. Im starting to realize that I cant take the advice of 90% of the people and reviewerss on this forum. This movie is a stinking pile of boring crap. Bad acting, bad dialog, slow pace, not scary..etc..etc....Do yourself a favor...skip over this forgettable farce and just get out your copy of Night of Living Dead again..turn off the lights, and watch how a real ,scary zombie film is meant to be...I am quickly finding out that the majority of foreign zombie films are God awful no matter how many reviewers praise those films. And generally the soundtracks do not stimulate scares,tension,etc.
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9/10
A Living Dead masterpiece
fertilecelluloid27 December 2004
The opening ten minutes of this film present a skewed, cynical perspective of society. As our "hero" rides through London on his way to the countryside, Spanish director George Grau feeds us endless images of choked traffic, smoke spewing from grates, commuters filing onto buses like zombies and, finally, a quick shot of a naked woman dashing across a busy street. We notice her, but nobody else does, they're too damn occupied with their own busy lives.

It's a theme revisited in 2004's SHAUN OF THE DEAD, another zombie film with intelligence behind it, but in LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE, it's purely subtext, but it's subtext that works on us like a spreading virus.

As George Romero suggested -- in "Night of The Living Dead" -- that radiation from a downed satellite may have been responsible for the revival of the long gone and recently deceased, Grau is more overt as he links what looks like a piece of farming machinery to the resurrection of the dead.

This film's effectiveness is due to its deliberate pacing and detail-oriented direction. A principle that horror is unexpected in the sunshine is applied to the film's first half as the stumbling dead begin to multiply.

The final showdown in a hospital (The Manchester Morgue) has a graphic, savage nature to it that restates the subtle subtext.

Like great Spanish horror directors before him, George Grau brings a respect for the genre to this moderate masterpiece and his sincerity overcomes the occasional plot snag.

Horror is about fear, and not just fear of the unknown, it's also about the fear of knowing too much.

Perhaps it is best to glide through life like a zombie, oblivious to the changes around you.

LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE was a milestone for horror movies.
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7/10
MANCHESTER ZOMBIES
kirbylee70-599-52617927 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Also known as THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE what we have here is a Spanish-Italian zombie film that takes place in England. George (Ray Lovelock) is on vacation from his antique shop when his motorcycle is accidentally hit by Edna (Cristina Galbo). Trying to get to his vacation spot he hitches a ride with her planning to come back for the bike later.

Edna pleads with him to take her to her destination first and then finish with her sending someone to get the car later. Following the directions she remembers they end up at a dead end and George sets out to ask someone for help. He encounters a farmer and two men from the Ministry of Agriculture trying an experimental device to get rid of bugs using ultra-sonic radiation. Unfortunately the device also brings the dead back to life. The first we see of this is when a dead man attacks Edna back at the car. The farmer tells her that by the description it would be local who fell into the river after hanging himself but it couldn't be because he is dead.

Taking the directions they head for her sister Katie's house. There her husband, a photographer, has been trying to break her of her addiction to heroin. While he's out shooting pictures the same walking dead man attacks her and follows her, killing her husband. Running for her life she runs into the road and George and Edna. They contact the police and the lead inspector (Arthur Kennedy) suspects they are the ones behind the death of the death of Katie's husband. He sends her to a local hospital, Manchester, which also serves as the morgue. It is there that they find the babies born since the machine on the farm started have been affected as well.

With the police not helping find the real killer and only themselves to get to the truth, George and Edna set about following clues they have to go on. Taking the film from Katie's husband's camera they have it developed and see the man who actually killed him. Going to the nearby graveyard they find a half-eaten meal and following the sound of footsteps locate the real killer. But by now he isn't alone.

The movie works well on many levels and provides some truly creepy moments. Unlike many zombie movies to come from Italy they amount of gore here is handled quite well and more realistically than in most. Yes, it does have that semi-dayglow red look to it but less than most. In addition to that the effects are nicely done here with more low key makeup on the risen dead than one would expect. The combination of makeup, atmosphere and story all combine to make a well-made zombie film.

Cheezy Flicks was able to get hold of a great copy of this film to press here. The picture is clean and more than acceptable and makes it that much more enjoyable. The extras are pretty much non-existent but that's fine. This is about having a decent copy of the movie and nothing more. There are several trailers included of other Cheezy Flicks releases and they might make viewers decided to pick those up as well. This one is going for just $6 so my suggestion, if you enjoy a good horror film, is to pick a copy up.
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2/10
Let Viewers Sleep--Dull Film Without Action
osloj24 November 2003
Warning: Spoilers
*** This review may contain spoilers ***

*Plot and ending analyzed*

After reading so many positive reviews of this film, I went through an extensive search in an attempt to find this rare film, well, suffice it to say, it was a complete waste of time.

This boring rarity, should have never seen the light of day, it is a terrible film which attempts to classify itself as a "horror" or "zombie film".

It takes one hour for us to even see any zombies in the film and when we do, they are so lethargic and boring, that we don't even care. The zombies are of the typical variety, very dim-witted and slow, and yet at other times they use their own blood to invent other zombies, pick a door open with a key, throw a headstone at a policeman, etc, etc.

The lead actor is played by a moronic hippie who only whines instead of actually killing any of the zombies, if he were as tough with action as he was with rambling words, then this mess would have ended a lot quicker, but no one believes that there are any zombies in the first place, and we have to go through the entire tediousness of no one believing.

It's a premise that could have been very interesting if the director could have created a viable story that didn't bore us to death.

The washed-up, drunk-o actor Arthur Kennedy (from "Lawrence of Arabia" fame - he was the journalist who remarks on Lawrence's annihilation of a Turkish rearguard by saying his memorable line: "Here, let me take your god damned picture!") plays a cop who makes no sense and he goes as far as shooting the lead actor! Call that absurd, it was actually quite a stupid scene.

The ending was typical, and the whole film had no plot what-so-ever; I would suggest to people that they avoid this mess.

There's a bit of extras on the DVD, namely the has-been director recalling the "glory days" of the film, and even this is boring.
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Well-made video nasty
tomgillespie20027 August 2011
On the video nasties list as simply The Living Dead (it has several other titles), I watched a version called Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, it is pretty difficult to see why this was on the list to begin with. Yes it has some gory moments, but nothing that is close to the opening of people as, say, The Boogeyman (1980), which was dropped from the DPP's (Director of Public Prosecution) list of films that were prosecuted and eventually banned. But then again, there are many strange entries on the list, as we will discover over this project.

The Living Dead begins with the serendipitous meeting of George (Ray Lovelock) and Edna (Christina Galbo) at an isolated garage. Two individuals traveling up north from "that London". Already condemned when they arrive in a small village, what with their hippie looks, they would most certainly be crazy drug-addled satanists. But something more sinister is occurring, as the living come back from the dead to eat the living.

Well, of course it's a zombie flick! It's implied in the title! It's not the greatest of films by a long shot. But it is a well-made film. The "message" is ecological; the culprit behind this macabre situation is an experimental machine from the department of agriculture, that emits radiation to combat insects etc for crops. Damn you government, with your ill-conceived ideas of progression!! The film does also produce a pretty amusing line from 'The Inspector', Arthur Kennedy; "I wish the dead could come back to life. Because then I could kill you again".

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