THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES

Director: John Gilling
1966

One of the best films to come out of the fruitful partnership of the production companies Hammer and Seven Arts, The Plague of the Zombies is also one of the most influential of all British horror films, defining a sub-genre that continues to be popular with both filmmakers and audiences. Its influence can be seen on George A. Romero’s classic horror masterpiece Night of the Living Dead (1968), and the plethora of zombie films since. Although it was released as the B-movie accompaniment to the more lavish Dracula: Prince Of Darkness (1965), this is clearly the superior film, offering far more thrills and a much more interesting story than the more familiar vampire romp.

t may seem pretty tame by today’s standards, but when it was released in 1966 The Plague of the Zombies was something of a groundbreaking film, pushing the boundaries of acceptability with a more realistic depiction of physical violence than had so far been seen in a British horror film. It is easily one of the most shocking and scariest of the horror films that Hammer made, and also one of the most compelling. The highpoint has to be the sequence set in a misty graveyard where the zombies rise from their graves and advance slowly on their petrified human victim. This sequence has been emulated many, many times since, almost to the point that it has become a standard horror cliché. Gilling’s direction and Arthur Grant’s suitably expressionistic photography makes this an utterly terrifying journey into Hell - and an enjoyable one at that.