VividSimon Simply Perfect

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

WisdomsHammer Be prepared for: Long, drawn out scenes with blaring organ music on top, really bad acting, really bad makeup, and hilarious death scenes. There is the odd moment of genuine entertainment and fun peppered throughout, but it's awfully tough to wade through the movie for them. It's a stream of boredom, predictability, confusion, and at times hilarity. I would rename this "Horror Very Slowly Rises from the Tomb to Loud Organ Music". If you like old, Gothic horror. You'll probably get a kick out of it. If you're looking for witchcraft and the occult to be center stage, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. In this movie, the warlock and his concubine are just a couple of stock villains cast to be the baddies. The movie did have a few moments where I said, "Ok. That was cool." That and the unintentional hilarious scenes that made me laugh out loud are what gets this movie 3/10 instead of 1 from me. I really don't want to see this again, though.

Michael_Elliott Horror Rises from the Tomb (1973) *** (out of 4) Warlock Alaric de Marnac (Paul Naschy) and his partner (Helga Line ) are executed for practicing witchcraft but before they're killed they put a curse on those who witness their death. Flash-forward five-hundred years later and a group of people travel to the country looking for a treasure and sure enough the spirit of the warlock returns for vengeance.Director Carlos Aured and Naschy would make four films together with this one here being the first. The film is out there in at least three different versions including a clothed version, which was originally done for Spain and there's a short American version. The best version to watch is the uncut, international version, which contains all the gore and nudity. HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB isn't a masterpiece but there's no question that it's a very entertaining Spanish horror film that has a lot going for it.What I enjoy most about this film is the fact that it's quite a dirty little picture. If you're looking for violence and gore then there's quite a bit here including several decapitations as well as scenes where hearts are ripped out. In one of the highlights, there's a great sequence where we see a man's chest ripped apart. If you like nudity then you'll be happy to know that there are several beautiful women who take their clothes off throughout the picture. These two elements are common in Spanish horror and there's no doubt that the film delivers.The film also benefits from the country setting as the director manages to build up a rather nice atmosphere and especially during the final twenty-minutes when things really start to happen at rapid fire. The cast is also quite good with Naschy playing three different roles and doing a great job with each of them. His warlock is certainly the highlight of the three and I really loved the little touches like the neck. Line is good and seductive in her role and we get some nice support from Victor Alcazar and Emma Cohen.HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMBS has a few pacing issues and it takes a while to get going but if you stick with the picture it's certainly becomes quite rewarding.

mark.waltz Horrible sound effects accompany this miserable and bloody gore-fest that starts off interesting enough but resorts to extremely disgusting visuals to move the story forward. Starting off in the 15th century, the back plot has a warlock and his wife being executed for their crimes against God, and five centuries later they are back thanks to the discovery of the warlock's head that forces modern day people into zombies and to turn to dismembering others for their hearts which ultimately brings back the original warlock to life. Bizarre modern subplots including the presence of a cult of demons hanging people in the middle of the road don't seem to be related and seem present more for shock value than of any use to the plot. Excessively bloody and deeply disturbing, this is almost unbearable to watch. I say that not as someone who is against anything satanic in nature in movies, but through the way that this is presented. I had a headache half an hour into the film because of the annoyingly awful sound, and after the 4th or 5th gory murder which follows with people literally having their hearts cut out with a machete then others set on fire, I just was plainly annoyed. This is just impossible to watch. I have seen many of these late 1960s and early 1970s Eurotrash horror films that combine sex and degradation with a satanic plot, and a few of them are mildly enjoyable. Of course, the gratuitous sex scene ends up being pointless, more sadomasochistic than arousing. This one other than some interesting art direction and of course the historical setting up left me wanting it to end long before it did.

Scott LeBrun Spanish genre superstar Paul Naschy gets a fine showcase here, playing no less than three roles, and he also wrote the screenplay using his real name Jacinto Molina.His primary role is that of a ruthless 15th century sorcerer, Alaric de Marnac, who gets put to death - by his own brother. However, he and his female cohort Mabille De Lancre (Helga Line) are quick to rely on one of those oft used clichés of the genre - the curse that is placed on future generations. We cut to modern day Paris, and Hugo (Naschy again) and his friends journey to his old family place to do some investigating; the decapitated head of his ancestor Alaric is stored away somewhere on the property. Things soon go terribly awry as Hugo & pals fall victim to many supernatural and sadistic goings-on. Will any of them survive?Naschy is a great deal of fun here; he and the striking Line are a wonderfully devious pair and it's entertaining to watch them do their thing. His scenes as the severed head of Alaric are simply priceless. The cast also includes Victor Alcazar, who also plays more than one role, and the intoxicating Emma Cohen who is irresistible as nice girl Elvira.The movie is slow going for its first half, with an awful lot of talk, but making up for that is the second half which successfully delivers some effective genre staples. These include sex (Line goes full frontal), violence (there are throat slashings with a sickle, which becomes a recurring image in the film, and there are also delicious scenes of hearts being ripped out), and surrealism (things get substantially more eerie, and the screenplay incorporates blood drinking and zombie action into the mix).As another asset, the look of the film is just gorgeous, with colours that pop and an appealing mixture of cinematography (by Manuel Merino) and production design. Director Carlos Aureds' pacing is always deliberate and his creation of a grim ambiance is impressive.Fans of European horror should find this agreeable entertainment; it's got a decent body count and is at least unpredictable enough that people may not know where it's going from scene to scene. Recommended.Seven out of 10.