The Lord Of the Living Dead

'Plague Of The Zombies' is, quite simply, fantastic. Hammer's only zombie picture is fast moving, pretty surreal and rather kinky, and I love it. 

When Professor James Forbes receives a worrying letter about a mysterious epidemic from his favourite pupil, he and his daughter hot foot it down to his proteges practice in Cornwall just in time to see a funeral interrupted by a load of yahoos, the deceased unceremoniously dumped out of his coffin. A few nights later, the dead man is seen roaming around looking menacing and, when further investigations are made, his grave and many others are found to be empty...

But what does this have to do with the spate of mysterious deaths, or the arrogant Magistrate / Lord of the Manor and his obnoxious cabal of thuggish mates? And what about the incessant voodoo drums coming from the disused tin mine? As Toyah might say 'it's a mythtery'.

Part Gothic, part Scooby Doo, 'Plague of The Zombies' has a huge amount to recommend it, including probably the best nightmare sequence in Hammer history. Perfect as a double bill with 'The Reptile', not least because they were made back to back on the same sets, and it's fun to spot the similarities. Highly recommended.