The Plague of the Zombies (1966) review

12. The Plague of the Zombies (1966)

Directed by: John Gilling

Produced by: Anthony Nelson Keys

Screenplay by: Peter Bryan

Starring: André Morell, Diane Clare, Brook Williams, Jacqueline Pearce, Alexander Davion

If you’re a horror fan, then you know all about George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead,” and what a truly groundbreaking achievement it was in the zombie subgenre. There had been zombie films before, going back to the 1932 Béla Lugosi cult classic “White Zombie,” but “Night of the Living Dead” was the first to depict its zombies as flesh-eating ghouls; previously, they had been portrayed as hypnotized slaves, usually as a result of voodoo magic taken from Haitian folklore, or extraterrestrial meddling, as was the case in Ed Wood’s infamous “Plan 9 from Outer Space.” Today’s movie, “The Plague of the Zombies,” was one of the last examples to come out before Romero changed everything; produced by Hammer, it plays out more like a mystery drama than anything resembling a gore fest, but its cinematography and pacing help give it genuine class.

It takes place in a poor provincial Cornish village in 1860, where its inhabitants are dying from a mysterious plague (leave all COVID jokes in the Comments below). Local doctor Peter Thompson (Brook Williams) sends for outside help from his mentor Sir James Forbes (André Morell), who arrives with his daughter Sylvia (Diane Clare), who’s longtime friends with Peter’s wife Alice (Jacqueline Pearce). But they discover that the corpses of the people who’ve died are missing from their coffins, eventually turning up as zombies walking near an old mine, which lies on the estate of Squire Clive Hamilton (John Carson). So it’s up to the doctors to figure out the connection between the undead fiends and the plague before they or their loved ones suffer the same fate.

I have to admit, it’s a little weird to watch a Hammer horror film, and see no sign of Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee, although the James character feels like one that either of them easily could have played. But the good news is that he’s played by André Morell, who also has this aura of sophistication, making the ridiculous seem perfectly plausible; he and Diane Clare as Sylvia have an easy chemistry, and I also like Marcus Hammond as Tom, brother of one of the deceased who’s understandably hell-bent on knowing what happened. But I think Brook Williams is kind of bland as Peter, while Jacqueline Pearce gives Alice some awkward line deliveries. The villain, meanwhile, which really isn’t a surprise when you discover who it is, is completely forgettable; everything about them from the mannerisms to the motivation to the back story is just weak, making the stakes not as powerful as they should be.

Thankfully, because this is a Hammer production, it has all the Gothic scenery and production design to still feel engaging. While I think the color scheme gets a little too dark and the camera jitters around way too much during some of the action scenes, there are some mildly grand, sweeping shots, accompanied by creepy music composed by James Bernard, a longtime Hammer veteran. This especially comes into play when we actually see the zombies rise, Alice in particular; first we watch her face decay in this rather impressive use of cross dissolves, and then she crawls up out of the earth and stalks towards Peter and James in a predatory manor before James takes her out with a shovel. When you check out the camera angles and the makeup on the zombies, you can spot how it had influence on future films.

Really, if most of the characters were stronger, this would seem like a really epic story; it actually does get legitimately exciting during the third act, and I do like the build-up, the moments of Peter and James talking to the police and theorizing what could be causing all this. But it seems like the movie frequently hesitates on going all the way with certain ideas, like the way it introduces other characters and then doesn’t give them much purpose, or actually has a scene where Peter is swarmed by zombies, and then…oh, it’s all a dream…yeah, that’s really lame, I don’t care if this is from almost 60 years ago, it’s always lame when they try to trick you like that! And as I indicated before, the reasoning behind the villainous plot is just plain dull; let’s just say that it involves the mine and money. Really, you could go for something so much bigger or more interesting than that.

Part of me feels like I’m being hard on this film, and to be fair, some of these gripes are somewhat inconsequential; but I will die on the “it was all a dream” hill, come at me. Anyway, this is still a pretty good film; it’s paced well, the visuals are pleasantly creepy, and there is a weight to at least the basics of the story. But I think the villain should have been either much more developed or much more sinister, and some of the scarier scenes should have either gone on longer or had a better payoff. As it is, “The Plague of the Zombies” is a decent watch; I just feel like this could have gone down as an underrated classic of the decade if the execution was better. So if you still enjoy zombie films, I would recommend digging this one up; it’s far from the best, but still ahead of its time and worth watching despite its weaker elements.

My rating: 7.5/10