The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue
1975 ‘Non si deve profanare il sonno dei morti’ Directed by Jorge Grau
Synopsis
They tampered with nature - now they must pay the price...
A cop chases two hippies suspected of a series of Manson family-like murders; unbeknown to him, the real culprits are the living dead, brought to life with a thirst for human flesh after government officials conduct pest control experiments using subsonic waves in the area.
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Popular reviews
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Spanish/Italian zombie horror, also known as Don't Open the Window and Let Sleeping Corpses Lie. Although if you search for "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" here on Letterboxd White Zombie (2008) comes up. No idea what that film's about.
In spite of the crap title and rubbish (and spoilery!) cover, The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue is a real treat for 70's horror fans.
The film is set in England, although unfortunately you'll still have to put up with poorly dubbed dialogue. The backdrop of the English countryside gives it a slightly Hammer vibe, but make no mistake this film feels very Italian.
After a minor accident the arrogant but loveable George catches a ride into the countryside with the beautiful… -
Despite the absurd title - and it does have many - this is a surprisingly credible and well-made zombie shocker that borrows from Night of the Living Dead but does its own thing with it. The gore is wonderfully disgusting and the zombie action as good as anything in NOTLD. One of the better examples of zombie cinema.
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Despite being a zombie-fan, this is one of those films that I've only found out existed because of Letterboxd (specifically Chris Ward!) - this site is awesome sometimes!
It's got some rather interesting concepts here, particularly the whole graveyard scene towards the end. The fact it's set in the English countryside only makes me more fond of it. The gore is top notch, very effective despite their obviously low budget. Performances could've been better but it's neither here nor there in a film like this. I wasn't looking for Charlize Theron in Monster or Pacino in Godfather, so it didn't matter. The dubbing may have had an effect on that, though!
I'd give it a higher score if it wasn't so blatantly stealing aspects of the story from other films (specifically Night of the Living Dead) but it has enough originality there to make it a good film in its own right.
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One of the best and most influential zombie films ever made, and it actually pre-dates most of them. It's a shame it's not more well-known outside hardcore horror enthusiast circles.
As a result of being such an early zombie film, the zombies here are a bit different than they are in many other films. While many of the then-new, now-traditional traits are there (lumbering movements, cannibalism, relentlessness), there is an unusually supernatural element to the proceedings, some of the zombies seeming to possess ghost-like and/or vampire-like traits. On top of that, there is an interesting ecological angle (one of the film's chief themes is the hazards of pollution and of messing with Mother Nature, and the ghouls are created by…
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Decent slightly above average zombie movie that has the most annoying dubbing of a lead actor since bob from house by the cemetery! Has it's moments but i would not go overboard to be honest. Good cheesey fun nevertheless!
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Catching up on horror classics can be a dispiriting experience. While there are often things to like about them, it's rare that they live up to their legends completely.
This didn't so much meet my expectations as career off in a completely different but equally rewarding direction. Its link to Manchester is fragile at best and the anticipated army of zombies never really materialises. That doesn't matter though because, with the bucolic English countryside setting, science-gone-bad plot and shambling beast-men around every corner, it feels like a super gory take on Jon Pertwee-era Doctor Who. This is by no means a bad thing.
Recent reviews
More-
Spanish/Italian zombie horror, also known as Don't Open the Window and Let Sleeping Corpses Lie. Although if you search for "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" here on Letterboxd White Zombie (2008) comes up. No idea what that film's about.
In spite of the crap title and rubbish (and spoilery!) cover, The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue is a real treat for 70's horror fans.
The film is set in England, although unfortunately you'll still have to put up with poorly dubbed dialogue. The backdrop of the English countryside gives it a slightly Hammer vibe, but make no mistake this film feels very Italian.
After a minor accident the arrogant but loveable George catches a ride into the countryside with the beautiful… -
Catching up on horror classics can be a dispiriting experience. While there are often things to like about them, it's rare that they live up to their legends completely.
This didn't so much meet my expectations as career off in a completely different but equally rewarding direction. Its link to Manchester is fragile at best and the anticipated army of zombies never really materialises. That doesn't matter though because, with the bucolic English countryside setting, science-gone-bad plot and shambling beast-men around every corner, it feels like a super gory take on Jon Pertwee-era Doctor Who. This is by no means a bad thing.
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Hypnotic and compelling. Gruesomely beautiful.
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Stimmungsvolles Zombie-Frühwerk, sichtlich durch Romero's Night of the Living Dead beinflusst.
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This zombie film has been released by three different titles such as "The living dead at Manchester morgue", "Dont open the window" and "Let sleeping corpses lie". I believe this is the first zombie film to follow up Romero's "night of the living dead" masterpiece and though thats almost an impossible mission, this film followed it pretty impressively. You have to have a real respect for older horror movies that paved the way to really appreciate movies like this because they are usually very slow with barely any of today's effects and camera tricks. This is filled with good atmosphere, good acting, a more complex story then "Night of the living dead" and some decent kills and gore for a…
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Packed out cinema for this treat. Even got asked to do an introduction for the film, tested my pronunciation Italian and Spanish names.
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Despite being a zombie-fan, this is one of those films that I've only found out existed because of Letterboxd (specifically Chris Ward!) - this site is awesome sometimes!
It's got some rather interesting concepts here, particularly the whole graveyard scene towards the end. The fact it's set in the English countryside only makes me more fond of it. The gore is top notch, very effective despite their obviously low budget. Performances could've been better but it's neither here nor there in a film like this. I wasn't looking for Charlize Theron in Monster or Pacino in Godfather, so it didn't matter. The dubbing may have had an effect on that, though!
I'd give it a higher score if it wasn't so blatantly stealing aspects of the story from other films (specifically Night of the Living Dead) but it has enough originality there to make it a good film in its own right.
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A Living Dead masterpiece...
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Interesting zombie curio that draws inspiration from across Europe by nature of its director, the key influences of the genre at the time and its location in rural Northern England.
Witty, effective and grimy. It mightn't be the most accurate interpretation of Britishness but it's charming for that very reason.