Review of Living Dead At Manchester Morgue, The

Introduction

I`ve seen a few zombie films, and lets face it the 70s were full of zombie films. So when this one came along digitally remastered and nobody else was keen to sit through it, probably because they thought it was another second rate thrash metal group in another abysmal live performance, I thought I`d do the samaritan thing and watch it meself.

Like a lot of films in this genre all those years ago, this came under many names including Breakfast at the Manchester Morgue, Don`t Open the Window, Sleeping Corpses Lie, Zombi 3, Non si Deve Profanare il Sonno Dei Morti, No Profanar El Sueño de Los Muertos and what actually appears on this print, Let the Sleeping Corpses Lie. The reason being is clear as you soon get into the film and watch a bit of bad lip-synching, but more of that later.

Shot in both England, Italy and Spain, this was clearly always meant to be an international production for an international market. But as it kicks off in what is supposed to be London but probably isn`t, and then takes us through the English countryside, I suspect only the studio set pieces weren`t shot over here. Anyhow the funky music at the start was probably compulsory for all films shot in Britain during the 70s, and it accompanies our hero George as he leaves his shop and sets off for a weekend break in the country.

Video

Considering the age of this film the picture quality is amazing. It is definitely soft but then you can`t expect something to compete with modern prints especially such a non-mainstream title. Someone has spent some time on the digital remastering here, there are no signs of scratches or dust, and anyone who has been watching this on VHS will certainly notice a huge quality improvement.

So nice also for a film of this ilk to appear in anamorphic widescreen, a lot of old horror flicks never make it for one reason or another, this usually being the inability to track down a good master in time, or the lack of economical desires to do so. A lot of this film is kind of dark, pardon the pun, but I really did get the impression this was like seeing a brand spanking new virgin print at the cinema all those years ago.

As for what you see film wise, yes we have gore, but not obscene amounts of it, enough to illustrate the fact that the dead people are dead and like eating bits of live people. The director Jorge Grau is occasionally inventive with his camera angles, although he does sometimes do the classic dreaded 70s zoom shot, but he does see horror films as an art worth taking seriously which helps.

Audio

Boasting a digitally remastered 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack is sometimes a dangerous entry to a road ending in disappointment, and here we have just one of those gimmick 5.1 soundtracks. Whilst it is better than the Dolby Stereo offering on the same disc, all that goes to the rears (and it visits them on a unicycle at that) is music at the start, the odd special effect, and Jorge Grau`s pre-empted Jaws-like audio triggers.

Dialogue can be hard to hear at times as well, because what is loud is loud, and the voices of the principles definitely isn`t. If your watching this late at night and can`t have the sound all the way up then your going to need that dynamic range compensation feature on your DVD player that you always wondered what it did but never got around to finding out.

Features

Once again considering the age, size of the market for this disc, and so on, the extras are actually not bad. The interview with the director is interesting, and you also get a short introduction from him as well. I can`t say photo galleries often do it for me, so to say this one did would be lying, so I won`t. Old trailers are always fun to watch though, and nice to have these are.

Conclusion

Made a few years after George A. Romeros classic Night of the Living Dead, Jorge Grau`s feature is similar in both style and special effects. If you can`t stand that sort of thing then we don`t have the movie here to change your mind, but if you like old classic horror films then maybe you should check this one out.

Obviously made for an international market at times you can`t work out if the actors are talking in English and then dubbed with their own voices later, mostly talking in English and then dubbed with someone else`s, or mouthing anything they like and then being dubbed for each territory the film would be sold to.

The plot is stupid, but then all plots for all zombie films are like this, although you will laugh at the machinery and science which is causing the dead to arise from their graves. The acting is at times up there with Kevin Kostner`s abilities, but there is the odd few seconds which are more cardboard than completely wooden. Everything is a little predictable, but it is mostly nicely shot and an interesting viewing if your into this genre.

If you like 70s zombie films, then this should definitely be in your collection. If your not sure if you like 70s zombie films, then you can do far worse than try them out with this disc.