Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror
Alternative Titles: The Zombie Dead; Le notti del terrore; Zombie 3; Le Manoir de la Terreur
Director: Andrea Bianchi
Year: 1981
Starring: Karin Well, Gianluigi Chirizzi, Simone Mattioli, Mariangela Giordano, Peter Bark
Context:
The unforgetable Peter Bark was cast in the role of 12 year old Michael, when at the time of filming, he was approximately 26 years old and he would appear in only three more films...all uncredited.
Of all the cast in this film the only one who is likely to be known to genre fans is the beautiful Mariangela Giordano who would go on to star in the giallo GIALLO A VENEZIA as well as SATAN'S BABY DOLL and Soavi's LA SETTE aka THE SECT.
The principal setting was the Palazzo Braschi which is located only 12 miles from Rome.
Interestingly a little fact about the film, one of the shots of a zombie on fire, was actually a real incident on set as opposed to a stunt, seizing his good fortune Bianchi ordered the camera’s to film and later used this unfortunate accident in the film, with the beautiful actress Mariangela Giordano later going on record to state that she heard the ‘zombie’ screaming in fear.
Taken from IMDB it states that The workshop seen in the film's climax was also used in Dario Argento's Inferno. Also confirmed in the audio commentary by John Martin on the 88 Films release.
Synopsis:
A professor opens a crypt and reanimates rotten zombies. The zombies attack a jet-set-group which is celebrating a party in a villa nearby as the proletariat zombies rise up...
Review:
Released under several titles and allegedly shot in only four-weeks, this film was a true forgotten gem from the 80s Italian zombie cycle. Directed by Andrea Bianchi (who also directed the fantastic giallo STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER) and written by Piero Regnoli (whose credits also include the fantastic NIGHTMARE CITY), this duo treat us to arguably the definitive Italian zombie film, combining atmosphere, violence, J&B and the obligatory ripped off scenes.
Plot wise the film opens with a professor discovering the location of a secret Etruscan crypt where he unwittingly unleashes a bunch of zombies. Fading to the opening credits we are treated to a delightful jazz score at odds with what we have just seen but perfectly setting the tone for the carefree frivolity that is due to take place not to mention the sporadic inconsistency that we are about to witness.
As three couples and one “child” (I use that term lightly) arrive at the Professors' palatial villa, it becomes quite clear that they are more interested in their own lust than worrying about where their host could be, and in true Italian exploitative style we are treated to copious amounts of flesh in the first ten minutes. Bianchi also takes this time to set up a very strange oedipal dynamic between Michael (Peter Bark) and his mother all while maintaining a low level of impending doom as more and more zombies start to rise around the villa.
Within twenty minutes all of this culminates with exploding light bulbs and some terrible acting courtesy of the Villa's servants to indicate the true arrival of the zombie hordes. Keeping in with the Italian tradition these zombies are more maggot infested Fulci than blue faced Romero, and this is no surprise considering the involvement of Gino De Rossi (ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS; CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD; CANNIBAL FEROX) with the SFX.
The majority of our frisky bourgeoisie are out frolicking in the grounds and thankfully penises aren't the only things being raise as more slimy, flower pot maggot heads rise from the ground and interrupt all the heavy petting going on.
Seeking refuge the action returns quickly to the villa where your standard, low budget siege scenes kick in but thankfully Bianchi has learned a trick or two and in a rare display of innovation (or should this credit be given to scriptwriter Piero Regnoli) Burial Ground does away with the expected and almost lending weight to the claims that this film is allegorical of class war, as the downtrodden, particularly in look, zombies take up arms and begin to attempt to storm the villa.
If this is sounding like it is becoming a little high-brow do not worry for Bianchi plays it the exact opposite and with some extreme violence, a particular highlight being the slowly enacted decapitation of a maid which has to be seen, but all this innovation is thrown out of the same window as he plays homage to a very famous scene from Lucio Fulci's ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS, but don't worry there is no shark thrown in here.
Bianchi keeps the pressure up on the viewer saving one of the most iconic and distinctive scenes until five minutes from the end (thank you Peter Bark and Mariangela Giordano) and then, possibly to hit a pre-arranged end time, just finishes the film. Not quite a bleak ending as it seems like ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS, this abrupt end is just that. Over, a bizarre choice but when discussing this film an apt one.
Returning briefly to the interpretation of a class struggle, this idea is not one that is really explored in the film, nor in many critiques of it and as such it is hard to distinguish if this really was an underlying thought and aim of the writer or if it was coincidental and any attempts to rationalise and theorise it and the film through a social commentary perspective is futile. Particularly when we evaluate it in the context of Bianchi and Regnoli's other work, both were hardly Pasolini.
Despite being trashy and cheap yet BURIAL GROUND entertains. From the repulsive, gruesome zombie make-up to the over-the-top head explosions which really do appear to be an explosive squib on a dummy head full of goo Bianchi proves that he knows what horror audiences want and he gives it in abundance.
Also, neither good nor bad but simply hilarious is the choice to cast a blatantly mid-20s actor (Peter Bark) as a Oedipal pre-teen which simply adds an even more creepy edge to an already perverse character dynamic. Looking even stranger than Bob in HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY sounds, Bark and Bianchi play this role straight, I guess hoping that no-one would notice. I would be more worried about the audience if they didn’t.
So despite being riddled with errors, mistakes and more (dodgy audio syncing, some dubious acting performances and the standard illogical character decisions) as well as taking clear influence from many other European zombie films (ZOMBIE FLESH EASTERS and TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD to name but two), BURIAL GROUND somehow ends up much better than it deserves to be, perfectly capturing the spirit of the Italian splatter zombie cycle while managing to compress everything key to the genre into its run time without falling into the trap of feeling derivative of its influences.
Oh and how a film can get a full release with two spelling mistakes on the screen I will never know, but then again I am not Italian, and it somehow only adds to the charm of the highly entertaining film that gives zombie fans exactly what they want.
Version Reviewed:
The initial review was based on the Vipco release of 'THE ZOMBIE DEAD' however since that was published 88 Films have put out a tremendous blu-ray release. Now fully uncut and uncensored the viewer has the choice of a brand new HD restoration from the original 16mm negative and a more grindhouse version which is the 35mm projection print. There are, as you would expect, significant differences and for home viewing (all far superior to the old DVD we reviewed) I would recommend going with the new HD restoration if this is your first viewing. That said I would love to witness the grindhouse version up on the big screen, to give that authentic retro as well as down and dirty experience of the trash that this, ultimately is.
Film choice aside, there is the choice of both Italian and English audio as well as a commentary from critic John Martin and academic/documentarian Calum Waddell. It took me a little while to get into this film commentary and initially thought, admitedlly after watching his interview, that Mikel Koven would have been a better choice than Martin but as time passed I was treated to a fair few nuggets of information and trivia that I never knew and while I won't be sticking this commentary back on I am glad that I at least gave it one run through.
Further extras include the aforementioned tremendous interview with film author and academic Mikel Koven (bizarrely misspelt on the blu-ray case) who discusses in detail the career of the films director, Andrea Bianchi (STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER; MALABIMBA) which is both highly informative and engaging. Here's hoping 88 Films bring Koven back in for a few pieces.
This release is seen out with a couple of trailers, one for this film and one for Zombi Holocaust, a few deleted scenes, a pointless "collectable art card" that I wish they would just save the money on but I guess some collectors must love it, and a brief booklet which is as well as some brief info about the transfers, is a top notch article by Calum Waddell on why some of these trashy Italian gems endure in which he immediately strikes a chord when discussing that "desire to go into a new DVD shop, in a foreign land, and see what obscure movies they have stashed away".
With the article off to a winner from the start Waddell maintains this level as he whisks us through some of the bargain basement Italian hacks...sorry directors and sub-genres, that despite of or rather because of, a lack of quality are still being discussed thirty or forty years later. A highly entertaining read and one I would implore people who pick up this release to go through.
