(1974)
1.5
Patrick Legare
The Knights Templar take to the high seas in this third installment in Amando De Ossorio's infamous Blind Dead film series. The production is obviously low-budget -- particularly when you are forced to see the same foggy shot of a Spanish galleon that is an obvious miniature -- but it is still amusing and occasionally chilling fun for fans of the series. While De Ossorio's original film was a scary shocker, the sequels attempted increasingly outrageous tactics to please viewers. For its part, El Buque Maldito combines elements of vampire films with those of The Exorcist, which was released a year earlier and was to inspire dozens of lesser films such as this one. The best is when a meteorological professor suddenly reveals his knowledge of "exorcism" by burning a homemade cross to chase the zombies back into their caskets. The graphic elements have been toned down quite a bit (there's a tame lesbian sequence and very little gore) and the ghouls are not nearly as threatening this time around (hardly any have swords), but the shipboard setting provides an interesting new venue for the Templars. There's also a well-designed shock ending that provides a fitting climax for the galleon's survivors. As with all of his Blind Dead films, De Ossorio comes up with a good concept that is weakened by screenwriting gaffs such as ludicrous plot turns and inane characters who appear unable to think with any degree of logic. Then again, since they only serve as victims for the ghouls, it doesn't make much difference.
cast-crew for El Buque Maldito on AllMovie
El Buque Maldito (1974)
