Orgy of the Living Dead

Director - Jose Luis Merino (Hell Commandos, Scream of the Demon Lover)

Starring - Stelvio Rosi (Something Creeping in the Dark, Pirates of Blood Island), Maria Pia Conte (The Arena, Day of Violence), and Dyanik Zurakowska (Cauldron of Blood, The Vampire's Night Orgy)

Release Date - 1973

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Scarier than your worst nightmare!"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Back late last year when Full Moon announced the release of two films on blu I was pretty fucking excited.  The first film was the Klaus Kinski flick The Hand That Feeds the Dead.  I had never seen this one but I had definately heard about it.  The second was the Paul Naschy flick Orgy of the Living Dead from 1973.  I love Naschy but this was one I had never heard of before.  I requested a review copy and Full Moon was kind enough to send one over.  I want to thank them for sending this one over!

     The film follows a man who is visiting a village after the death of his distant uncle.  On his walk to the village he travels through the cemetery where he finds a young woman hanging from a tree.  Once he arrives at his uncles home he informs them of her death where he discovers that she was the one who inherited the home of his uncle.  He's now the prime suspect in the murder but soon urban legends and mysterious happening leads him to beleive that something supernatural is at play here.

     When I tossed this one in I hard never heard of the Naschy flick Orgy of the Living Dead but after just a few minutes I realized that the reason I had not heard of this movie was because it was released in the US under the title The Hanging Woman which is a Troma release.  The film, which bills legendary Paul Naschy as a star, does not actually star Naschy and is a pretty popular release from Troma.  It's awesome getting this one on blu but I wish I would have known that this was an alternative title from Troma.  The acting in this one is pretty damn good.  As I stated earlier, Naschy is not the lead in this one.  He is a supporting character but his screen time is not what most of his fans would expect.  However, the films lead, Stelvio Rosi, is fantastic in the lead.  His character is great and does a fantastic job at carrying the film.  The supporting cast is just as bold and great as well.  The story for this one is a gothic murder mystery with a deep root in horror.  I really loved the "whodunit" storyline and how well it was written.  I never found this film predictable and just as you think you know what is going on something else is thrown your way.  It never becomes dull and the twists really work.  It's a well written and polished murder mystery.  Finally, the film has some blood and decent enough practical effects but if you are looking for memorable death scenes you will be very disappointed.  The film is a gorgeous gothic set murder mystery with plenty of atmosphere but that's it.  Overall, Orgy of the Living Dead is a well put together and stylish gothic horror flick that does not disappoint.  It's a fabulous double feature companion to The Hand That Feed the Dead.  The blu looks great but lack of special features is a bit disappointing.