As any historian will tell you, the Knights Templar were thirsty bros. They were into some decidedly not nice things like witchcraft (the bad kind), flaying people alive, and blood drinking. After they were convicted of these things and tied to stakes, some birds pecked out their damn eyes. Don’t judge! A bird is gonna bird. 500 hundred years later, the castle and surrounding graveyard has been abandoned with locals staying far away since they think it’s cursed (and rightly so).

A dumbass tourist named Virginia (María Elena Arpón) ain’t hip to this vital info and ditches her friend (and former lover) Betty (Lone Fleming) after a petty squabble to spend the night in the Templars former domicile. Her sexy butt awakens these blind monsters, who follow their victims by ear but also horse and drink all their damn blood. Before you even ask, how the whole undead horse thing works is never fully explained.

Now Betty, along with Virginia’s hunky boyfriend Roger, is headed out to find Virginia. They find her frickin’ corpse! To find out what happened to her, they talk to a professor who is an expert on the legend of the Knights Templars. He hooks them up with his Pedro (José Thelman), a bandit/God’s gift to women. Betty, Roger, Pedro, and his tagalong moll Maria (María Silva) head to find out exactly what’s going on. So yeah, it doesn’t end well.

Seeing Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972) for the first time on Elvira’s “Movie Macabre” as a kid in the 80s was one of those experiences that would permanently alter my taste in movies. Along with The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (1967), which also aired on Elvira’s show, this was one of the first European horror films I ever watched. The mechanics of how the undead Templars hunted their prey and that jaw-dropping ending sparked my imagination and left me craving more ghoulish delights.

While I enjoy many of his other films, Spanish horror mastermind Amando de Ossorio brings us his finest hour. Tombs was so popular that it spawned three sequels, an unofficial sequel/homage in 2007, and an Italian remake in 2020. Heck, this film is so iconic that the sequels all feature clips from it! The lighting is fantastic and the camerawork by Pablo Ripoll is quite elegant. The brutality of the knights must have been quite shocking in 1972, and the dread that their presence brings with it is palpable even today.

Tombs has one of the best endings in horror movie history. It also has the most useless rape scene in horror movie history as well. Few things enrage me more than a scene like the one in this that adds nothing to the plot or even how the victim and the rapist interact with each other. And other than adding a layer of sleaze (and viewer misery) to the film, it’s just there for… titillation? Or were they just trying to punish the only gay character, you know, for being gay?

Even with that unfortunate misstep, Tombs of the Blind Dead is just so damn good. The combination of the jaw-dropping locations, spooky sets, truly unique movie monsters, lapses in logic, a morbid music by Antón García Abril, lesbian overtones, freaky mannequins, and awesome sound design all come together to make an essential piece of Spanish horror cinema. If you’re ever thinking of jumping off a train and camping at an abandoned castle just to avoid an awkward social situation, maybe don’t do it.

I was still hanging onto my old Anchor Bay DVD of Tombs of the Blind Dead until this release and man oh man, I am so glad that I held out. The video and audio of Syanpse’s release is stellar and a real treat to behold. The Spanish version of the film can be watched with Spanish audio and English subs through the entire film, or you can watch it with English audio and the Spanish audio will kick in whenever a scene that wasn’t in the English version pops up. You can also watch the English version of the film, but that one cuts all the violence and nudity out.

This release has not one, not two, but three audio commentary tracks! First up is one with author Troy Howarth. Next is a commentary track with actress Lone Fleming, moderated by director/producer Calum Waddell. It’s a lot of fun hearing her reminiscing about Tombs and her career. The third track is with Rod Barnett and Troy Guinn of The Naschycast. There’s a massive feature-length history of Spanish zombie films that is just awesome. There’s also a 15-minute German documentary about Spanish horror. Last but not least, the “Revenge of the Planet Ape” opening credits, a music video, and a trailer are also included.