Review Let sleeping corpses lie (1974) a.k.a. The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue a.k.a. Do not speak ill of the Dead a.k.a. Don't open the window (1974)

genre: horror

This one starts a little slow but does make it up to the viewer half way through and how. As zombie movies goes this has to be counted as one of the best. Somehow it never got as much credit as the ones made by George A. Romero and Lucio Fulci. Let sleeping corpses lie has everything what horror fans need and want. To begin with atmosphere. If you had no clue this was a zombie movie but more of a Gothic horror then you weren't far off. Through the setting English country you wil get the impression it will be about haunted mansions, graveyards and ghosts. Then there is the build up to the use of these locations. Teasing you with this dark danger lurking. To top it off there is gore. Not overly used and only to demonstrate how dire the situation has become. Complementing all this is a charming lead who by accident reluctantly gets involved in all of this but does what he has to do, to fight the good fight. It is actually very admirable what he tries to do. Especially when he is called hippie scum doing the devils work by this most despicable police inspector. Of course there is a damsel in distress (Christine Garbo who you might know from the giallo The Killer must Kill again). Who is the exact opposite of the main character Ray Lovelock. As the gentleman he is, he doesn't abandon her when she is in need of help which makes him even more likable. Therefore it is extra painful but exciting at the same time to see him struggle and fight like this when people are too stubborn and stupid to listen to him. And only are judging him on the way he look in stead of what he carries in his heart. I also liked the explanation given for why these dead people come to life again. In most movies of this type they don't even bother. It is this extra effort that keeps you glued to your seat while watching. Somewhere in this wonderful piece of cinema there are also social commentaries hidden that are as actual as they were back in 1974. All these elements combined Make this a superior zombie film that needs to be watched by many.