The Curse of the Blind Dead is a horror film series that originated in Spain in the 1970s. The films revolve around a group of blind, undead Templar knights who rise from their graves to terrorize the living. These ancient knights are cursed to eternal blindness, condemned to roam the land seeking victims based on sound alone. The first film in the series, "Tombs of the Blind Dead," was released in 1972 and directed by Amando de Ossorio. It tells the story of a group of friends who stumble upon the ruins of an old Templar monastery and unwittingly awaken the blind dead. As they try to escape, they discover that the knights are relentless and seemingly unstoppable.

Movie Review: Nothing to see in “CURSE OF THE BLIND DEAD”

You’d think a movie reviving the Knights Templar from Spanish horror specialist Amando de Ossorio’s cult-classic features of the 1970s would make them the center of attention…until you see CURSE OF THE BLIND DEAD. Its titular undead fiends are only part of about one-third of the story, leaving this Italian-made feature feeling like a trite postapocalyptic/religious thriller that had the Blind Dead dropped in to differentiate it.

We begin at an indeterminate time in the past, within a CG castle where the still living and sighted knights have a wailing, pregnant woman crucified in a dungeon. They deliver the baby and are about to sacrifice it when a small group of villagers run in and easily subdue them (some knights they are!) before making them blind and dead. Before this interruption, there’s a lot of religioso dialogue that sounds vaguely portentous without making it at all clear what the point of that sacrifice is supposed to be. After opening credits backed by gratuitous images of Nazis and 9/11, followed by nuclear war, we arrive in a postapocalyptic future and a forest that is still clearly lush even given the movie’s desaturated color scheme.

The two central survivors are Michael (Nick Stielstra) and his daughter Lily (Alice Zanini). She’s pregnant, which means the viewer will likely be way ahead of the story once they wind up at that same fortress, whose initially welcoming inhabitants are overseen by Maestro Abel (Bill Hutchens). Here too, a lot of the dialogue (delivered in English by the British and Italian cast) is awkward and its meaning unclear, as if it had been translated from English to Italian and back again, perhaps more than once. There’s little in the way of plot and almost nothing in the way of characterization before it’s time for another ritual, signaled by lines like “Today is the dawn of a new era, and we are the chosen ones” and “The day of the dark night has arrived.” Beyond the apparent confusion about the time of day, there’s still more talk about prophecies and such that’s just as incoherent here as it is in that prologue; the more they talk, the less clear it is what they’re doing and why.

Eventually, the Blind Dead emerge from the shadows, wearing more elaborate makeup than in the de Ossorio films, which nonetheless somehow makes them less scary, despite all the guts they rip out of victims, along with one poor guy’s spine. Meanwhile, Michael gets chained to a wall in a side room and must free himself to save Lily, and to do so must retrieve a just-out-of-reach knife lying on a table, and unfortunately he doesn’t use a severed arm that is lying within reach to help him secure it. Once he does escape, while he’s in the midst of running through the fortress dodging Blind Dead attacks and trying to find his daughter, someone says to him, “Can’t you see what’s happening? You can’t understand, you can’t!” and you know just how he feels.

CURSE OF THE BLIND DEAD has a certain amount of surface atmosphere but no real mood or suspense, and the acting is pretty lacking, though it must be said that none of the cast are given much to work with. As noted above, the Blind Dead don’t have enough to do either, and they turn out to be so easily dealt with, it plays like a joke on fans of their ’70s outings. You can almost sympathize with these ghouls for being so sidelined in what is supposed to be their movie, and maybe even feel a touch of envy of their sightlessness by the end, as they don’t have to witness the frustratingly abrupt conclusion that leaves nothing explained.

Curse of the blind dead

Stars: Aaron Stielstra, Alice Zanini, Francesca Pellegrini | Written by Francesco H. Aliberti, Lorenzo Paviano, Raffaele Picchio, Alessandro Testa | Directed by Raffaele Picchio

If you’re of a certain age the term “Blind Dead” will probably mean nothing to you, but for those of use who grew up in the 80s and lived through the pre-certification era of the UK genre scene – and to a lesser extent lived through those early 90s days of The Darkside magazine referencing Euro-horror aplenty, then the term Blind Dead conjures up a myriad things: atmospheric horror, zombies and some of the creepiest poster art to name a few. So when it was announced that another “Blind Dead” movie was set for release I couldn’t help but get a little excited…

This time round the horror of the blind dead comes from Italy rather than Spain, with Morituris director Raffaele Picchio taking the helm for what appears to be something of a reboot of the infamous Spanish zombie horror series, originally created by Amando de Ossorio.

I say reboot, as Curse of the Blind Dead starts out in the 14th-Century, when a group of Satan worshipping Knight Templars are captured during a ritual and sentenced to death by the locals – burning out their eyes so they cannot see their way out of hell (hence the “blind dead” moniker). However just before the execution, the knights swear to return from their graves to haunt the village and the nearby forest. Jumping forward centuries, into our very own post-apocalyptic future, as forewarned by the knights upon their execution; and a man, Michael (Aaron Stielstra) and his daughter Lily (Alice Zanini), try to survive against both the blind dead templar knights and a religious sect commanded by a mad preacher.

Oh, and did I mention the religious act are trying to recreate the very same demonic ritual that the knights templar were doing when they were captured and killed? And that Lily just happens to be pregnant with child, a child that needed for the ritual sacrifice?

Let’s be honest here. Curse of the Blind Dead, whilst based on the classic genre films of the 70s, is actually nothing like them. Gone is the gothic atmosphere and the stylish nature of Amando de Ossorio’s films and in comes a TON of gore. Though to be fair, de Ossorio’s films were pretty gory for the time. To be fair, the gore in Picchio’s movie is tremendous. Bodies are torn asunder: spines removed, faces torn apart, limbs severed, blood and guts (literally) spilled by the bucketload and – beware those of a weak stomach – even babies are slaughtered here. The violence of Curse of the Blind Dead is literally indiscriminate. And very, very gory.

In terms of the visuals, whilst the gothic nature of the original series has gone the titular blind dead make-up effects do pay homage to the 70s characters. Of course they have been updated for a modern audience, yet at the same time they do still keep that graven-faced look of de Ossorio’s characters. In some cases, at least in my opinion, they look even more like some of the artwork that accompanied these films rather than the original zombies themselves. Though I could have done without the ridiculous foley work that accompanies the blind dead’s creeping walk!

There’s a brief nod to the sublime horse-riding undead scenes of de Ossorio’s films towards the end of this one but not even that is enough to save Curse of the Blind Dead from being decidedly average. Mainly due the fact there’s not much story here – we get the flashback set-up; meet Michael and Lily who get in trouble with the cult; then once the blind dead show up the film is nothing more than a series of kill scenes, there’s literally no plot beyond that. It honestly feels like there was no idea behind Curse of the Blind Dead beyond “what would happen if the blind dead showed up in a post-apocalyptic future?” There’s also an odd choice to make the ritual sacrifice, that the knights templar were killed for in the opener, the possible saviour of humanity in this unforgiving post-apocalyptic future. At least I *think* that’s what happening, it’s not abundantly clear; though it is a bold idea to hang your film on but I’m not sure it’s one that works.

Curse of the Blind Dead is available on DVD and Digital, in the US, now from Uncork’d Entertainment.

User Reviews

The film has zero atmosphere, zero suspense, zero tension n it is not at all scary. It has some gore n thats it. A scene is copied from Antropophagus n Cottage, the spine removal scene. We have a snake plissken a la poor man's Kurt Russell with an eye patch. Cos of the low budget they cudnt show the roads, highways or cities in dilapidated or post apocalyptic state, so they shot the entire movie in some park or fields.

So what was this supposed to be? A tribute to the 1972 "Tombs of the Blind Dead" movei? A tribute? A sequel? A stand-alone movie with only the shared title?

Regardless of its intention, the 2020 movie "Curse of the Blind Dead" was not really an outstanding movie. Especially since it was lacking a proper storyline. The plot and script was so weak that you could easily leave the movie for a prolonged time - say a bathroom break, snack break, etc. - and come back later and not have been missing out on anything vital to the storyline. Because there simply was nothing vital to the storyline.

Director Raffaele Picchio just shambled through the storyline at an incredibly slow pace, which really didn't do much to spruce up the overall enjoyment of the movie. In fact, the slow pacing was just helping to make the movie all the more unbearable to sit through.

However, I managed to do that, sit through the entire movie. But trust me, I was by no means entertained here. But still, being a zombiesque movie, of course I sat through the movie to the end.

I will say that while the movie was just plain boring, then "Curse of the Blind Dead" actually had adequate effects, both for the templar zombies and for the blood and gore. And that, at least, counted for something, but it just couldn't make up for the shortcomings on an improper storyline and script.

The acting in the movie was adequate, taking into consideration the total lack of proper characters, script and dialogue.

All in all, there really is no reason for bothering sitting down to watch the 2020 "Curse of the Blind Dead" movie. I am rating it a generous three out of ten stars, and that is solely based on the blood, gore and special effects.

Horror of the Zombies can now hold its head up high and forever cast away the shackles of being regarded as the worse Blind Dead movie.

Heck even 2009's Graveyard of the Dead/Erotic Nights of the Blind Dead felt more in keeping with the original series than this abysmal Walking Dead wannabe. The Knights Templar take forever to show up (sidelined in favour of uninteresting characters bickering amongst themselves) then when they do almost everything about their 'look' has been altered from the De Ossorio originals ('natch not for the better). They are also largely written out of the last ten minutes of the film, taking a backseat to what is obviously an attempt at building a franchise and setting up further sequels. It seems not even the blind dead are immune from the curse of 2020.

Due out on UK DVD next month (you have been warned) as 'The Curse of the Knight Templar'. They seem to be dropping the whole 'blind dead' angle for the UK, in favour of selling it as a historic adventure to the Games of Thrones crowd . ignoring the small matter of this being a post-Apocalyptic movie!!

There have been a few one-off sequels to Amando de Ossorio's quartet of Blind Dead films. The four original films, which were released in the early '70s, dealt with very slow-moving animated corpses who invariably made their way after scantily-clad females, on equally slow-moving horses. The films have acquired cult status over the years and inspired more modern-day directors to tell their own stories featuring the bedraggled Knights Templar.

Director Raffaele Pocchio is working with a limited budget, and this has earned his film criticism from some quarters - yet Ossario's productions were always modestly financed; he even created the masks and costumes for the villains himself.

These Knights have an agenda. They are on a mission to kidnap newborn babies for reasons not made clear (unless I missed them) and so therefore, we are treated to several gruelling, enthusiastically played childbirth scenes. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, it appears the Knights want to fashion the young to their ways. There are several gut-wrenching scenes, and while the acting is distinctly mixed, there's a definite energy here which propels the murky story.

70's Italian star Fabio Testi makes a tiny cameo and it's curious that he's used so sparingly. Good to see him though. I enjoyed this broad and bloody tale. It doesn't adhere to many of the rules of the original films (which were always changing their own backstory anyway) and makes its own narrative. My score is 8 gore-soaked points out of 10.

Let me preface by saying that I am a huge fan of the Blind Dead series. I didn't want to watch this because everything I had seen on it looked like crap. But it's free on Amazon Prime so I tried to watch.

The good; Anton Abril's score is heard in the beginning and sprinkled throughout. The composer also did a good job of blending the original music to match. And. that's about where the good ends.

Armando De Ossorio is rolling in his grave. If I were in charge of his estate I would sue these guys to remove his name from it. It has nothing on his creation. The post-apocalyptic setting is unbelievable. The idea to set it after an apocalyptic event is plain stupid as it could've been set in contemporary times. I actually had written a treatment for a Blind Dead sequel and was able to pull it off.

The original 4 films had atmosphere and were well acted and scenes were well staged. You'll get none of that here. Acting is a joke. CGI is terrible. The gore effects are decent but. It enough to redeem this train wreck of a movie. Also the Blind Dead themselves look like they're wearing Halloween club discount isle costumes and masks. The original films were low budget as well but pulled it off much much better.

I would've scored it better for the gore and music but the insult this is to Amando De Osorio is simply unforgivable.

I was drawn like a moth to a flame (or a fly to. something) to the Italian production Curse of the Blind Dead. It opens in the 14th century (presumably as the filmmakers aren't big on details) with five Templar knights preparing to sacrifice a baby. They are stopped by some villagers and the world's best Christian fighters are captured without putting up a fight. Hell, they don't even draw their swords. They are blinded and then burned at the stake. Fastforward several millenniums and the world is now recovering from a nuclear war (showcased by a big green forest). Sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes. er, Michael (Aaron Stielstra) and his daughter Lily (Alice Zanini) are wandering around aimlessly, apparently searching for "Paradise" that they hear about from a radio signal (again, I was forced to suss this info out on my own). They are attacked by some marauders and saved by followers of a religious order led by Maestro Abel (Bill Hutchens). Of course, cinema law dictates any benevolent group is really looking to kill you and sure enough Abel wants to do the whole baby sacrificing ceremony again for the now zombified Knights Templar. Wait? How are these guys back? No idea. They just are because "the ancient prophecy" says so.

The sightless Knights Templar zombies that graced Amando de Ossorio's four Spanish films have always been one of the more unique takes on the undead subgenre. So much so that I thought the concept would be great for a revisit. But this ain't it. I am always baffled how films like this exist. How do you get through writing a script, scouting locations, assembling a crew and cast and then deliver something so flat? To quote the paramedic from Return of the Living Dead (1985), this thing has "no blood pressure, no pulse." It is so maddeningly boring that I almost wanted to pluck out my own eyes. It is the kind of film where nearly everyone in the post-apoc world has normal clothes and nice haircuts with trimmed beards. The kind of film where a guy gruesomely severs his own thumb to get out of some handcuffs and then it doesn't bother him after that. The kind of film that casts Italian action legend Fabio Testi and gives him one line. The kind of film where the director has a POV shot for one of the blind zombies (he will probably say he was trying to convey their "hearing" sight, but I ain't buying that, chief). There is some gore but I swear the masks for the blind dead guys are just refurbished Darkman masks. This feature opens with the Uncork'd logo and, honestly, that is the perfect home for something like this dreck. The only remotely interesting thing about this film is now I will spend the next few days wondering if this was better or worse than the Blind Dead knockoff that had a Knight having sex with a busty blonde on the cover.

I liked some of the post-apocalyptic vibes even if it's obvious this was made for very little money. The protagonist is kind of annoying, though, and I wanted her to shut up.

After seeking shelter from bandits, a father and his daughter are overcome by the hospitality offered by their hosts in an underground bunker only to realize the situation was a ploy to allow them to use her as a sacrificial pawn in an unholy ceremony afforded by zombified Knights Templars and must save her from being involved.

Overall, this was a pretty decent and enjoyable genre effort. One of the better aspects here is a fairly likable and chilling setup that offers up a rather intriguing series of events. The backstory here, offering the initial desecration by the living Templars and the cursed nature of their existence following it, starts this nicely enough as a means of introducing the creatures and the curse that runs over the community forcing them to try the sacrificial appeasement ceremony to satiate them. It provides the other necessary foundation needed for the couple's purpose to be captured and taken in by the group as the setup for this plays out rather well in placing the pieces together. This serves the film enough to be the framework for the creature attacks to take place. The inability to know what's going on when they arrive at the compound allows for some rather fun moments showing them trying to get the daughter prepared after having the father tied up. The ceremony that takes place is quite fun and brings out the groups' intensity in their preparations when the Templars arrive and feel the duplicity is intended to signal the start of a genuinely impressive series of encounters focusing on the Templars setting out on the rampage to seek revenge on the group in vicious, graphic means. Full of great action-packed confrontations with the Templars chasing down everyone they can through the twisting catacombs that allow for a series of great gore effects and a dark twist at the end, these have a lot to like. There are a few issues to be had with this one. One of the main factors here is a general sense of rambling around in the second half when it doesn't need to drive down the tension. With the focus on the preparations for the ceremony taking place and the need to keep the Templars satisfied, so much of the film wanders around in the same repetitive manner featuring the father continually alerting the Templars to him, the daughter screaming for him to come save her, and the still-alive group members trying to get to safety which can drag this setup out quite a bit. That also amounts to the finale few minutes where the full resolution of the film comes off as quite confusing and like it's trying to generate an epic conclusion to set up further installments. As well, there's also a rather confusing setup that doesn't tie this into the franchise all that much. The initial exploits of the film present this one as a reboot of the series with the opening shot of the Templars being zombified like the method used in the original before going off in a different direction involving the dystopian society that's at the behest of the zombie creatures. This type of format where they're lording over the community and demanding sacrifices is from a later installment and doesn't make sense as to why the whole thing exists the way it does as it doesn't come off with the type of coherence it should so it feels more like a franchise homage than a reboot, which are all that hold it down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Language.

Curse of the Blind Dead is about what you would expect from a Blind Dead movie, not much on plot but with a decent amount of atmosphere and gore. The plot begins like some of the previous entries with the Knights Templar getting ready to perform a satanic ritual only to be stopped, blinded, and executed. The movie then transitions to the main story, which in this case is a post apocalyptic tale of a father trying to protect his pregnant daughter from scavengers and a cult that wants to sacrafice her child to the undead knights.

What I liked about this movie is that it moves at a brisk pace, the effects work on the Knights, and the gore. The Knights in particular look pretty good and it's a nice update to their look. The setting is also interesting enough, though it does feel like not enough was done with it.

If there is one thing I've learned from Blind Dead movies it's that it's never been big on story or acting, and in this regards the movie fits right in. The story is predictable, and the acting is pretty campy. Where the movie faulters though is that it doesn't capture the haunting feel when the Knights are on screen. The previous films used slow motion to give the Knights a very haunting feel, it's part of what made these movies stand out. This movie only does this once, and while it was nice to see again, it didn't capture that haunting feel.

Overall Curse of the Blind Dead is a middle of the road horror film. It's not awful, but it's also not great either. Blind Dead fans may dig it, or fans of campy movies.

As they try to escape, they discover that the knights are relentless and seemingly unstoppable. The Curse of the Blind Dead films have become cult classics among horror fans. They are known for their atmospheric settings, featuring desolate landscapes and crumbling castles.

The films also incorporate elements of Gothic horror, with dark themes of revenge and supernatural forces. One of the most iconic aspects of the series is the design of the blind dead themselves. The knights are depicted as skeletal figures wrapped in tattered, rotted robes, with empty eye sockets. Their slow, deliberate movements and eerie silence add to their menacing presence on screen. Despite the low budget and technical limitations of the time, the Curse of the Blind Dead films have endured and garnered a dedicated fanbase. They have inspired other filmmakers and influenced the genre of horror filmmaking. The series stands as a testament to the power of storytelling and the ability to create fear and suspense without relying solely on visual effects..

Reviews for "Myth or Nightmare? Debunking the Curse of the Blind Dead"

1. John - 1 star - I was really disappointed with "Curse of the blind dead". The plot was confusing and poorly executed, and the acting was wooden and uninspired. The film failed to capture any sense of horror or suspense, and the special effects were laughably bad. I found myself losing interest within the first few minutes and struggled to stay engaged until the end. Overall, I would not recommend this film to anyone looking for a satisfying horror experience.

2. Sarah - 2 stars - "Curse of the blind dead" had some potential, but it ultimately fell flat for me. The storyline was intriguing, but the execution was lackluster. The pacing was slow, and the film failed to create any real tension or scares. The characters were cardboard cutouts with no depth or development. Additionally, the low-budget production quality was evident throughout, with poor lighting and unconvincing makeup effects. Overall, I found the film to be underwhelming and forgettable.

3. Michael - 1.5 stars - I had high hopes for "Curse of the blind dead" based on the premise, but it turned out to be a disappointment. The film lacked a coherent narrative and left me confused and uninvested in the characters. The scares were predictable and uninspired, relying too heavily on jump scares rather than building a genuine sense of dread. The cinematography was subpar, and the editing was choppy, making it difficult to follow the action. Overall, I would not recommend wasting your time on this lackluster horror film.

4. Emily - 1 star - "Curse of the blind dead" was a complete waste of time for me. The plot was convoluted and made little sense, leaving me frustrated and disengaged. The acting was wooden and unconvincing, and I struggled to find any redeeming qualities in the film. The scares were cheap and relied on tired horror tropes that failed to elicit any genuine fear. The production value was low, and it showed in the shoddy special effects and poor set design. Overall, I regretted watching this film and would advise others to avoid it.

The Blind Dead's Revenge: Tales of Retribution