Amandi de Ossorio’s Blind Dead films are given new life in the form of a new undead flick Curse of the Blind Dead. The film had abundant violence, action, and gore but lacked in story substance and continuity. 

In the 14th century, a group of Satan worshipers, the Knights Templar, are captured during a ritual and brutally murdered by the locals. Just before the execution, the Knights swear to return to haunt the village and the nearby forest. Centuries later, in a post-apocalyptic future, a man and his daughter try to survive against both the Undead Knights and a sect commanded by a mad preacher.

Curse of the Blind Dead had gorgeous coloration. Throughout the film, there was a heavy presence of grays that were dipped in red and for the purposes of the film, this was quite striking. It evoked images of blood, murder, and violence, which was thematically appropriate. The opening title sequence served as a perfect stage for this coloration, depicting humanity’s capacity for violence and tragedy and ultimately the events that lead to a modern-day apocalypse in which the film takes place.

Additionally, I quite enjoyed the special effects make-up used to bring the blind dead to life. The scene where their eyeballs are burned out and the mangled remains drip from their faces was particularly haunting and will linger in my brain indefinitely. Generally speaking, I was quite pleased with the appearance of the blind dead overall, and the makeup team along with the special effects team should be acknowledged for their talent and efforts.

As for the time period, I would have liked to see this story unfold in a time setting other than the present. Using an apocalyptic present day as the primary setting for this story took away from the real interest, the presence of the blind dead (who don’t make an appearance until the last twenty or so minutes of the film). Curse of the Blind Dead also suffers from some pacing issues. Even though it runs at just under 90 minutes, the choppy dialogue and occasional lack of flow led the film to drag on and made it feel too drawn out.

The plot is fairly flimsy, so thankfully there is enough violence and gore (if that’s your thing) to make up for the lack of a clear storyline. Many story elements used to push the story forward were not explained or haphazardly thrown in and you are just expected to accept it as fact. That being said, seeing someone’s spine being ripped from their body by an angry undead knight needed no explanation and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Should you decide to watch Curse of the Blind Dead, be prepared to hear A LOT of screaming and grunting–I mean a lot. More than any Saw film that memory can recall. In fact, there was so much screaming it felt excessive and became distracting from the overall plot. I understand there’s a heavy amount of torture and suffering but at some point, it begins to elicit feelings of irritation rather than sympathy. 

Overall, Curse of the Blind Dead had some things going for it. It raised the dead and lowered my expectations all at the same time. Thankfully, gore saved the film from being a complete letdown. Curse of the Blind Dead comes to DVD and Digital March 2.

3 out of 10