Review: The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (aka No profaner el sueño de los muertos; Let Sleeping Corpses Lie; Don’t Open the Window)
Directed by Jorge Grau
Synapse Films; Star Films SA; Flaminia Produzioni-Cinematogrpahiche;
MVD Entertainment
95 minutes, 1974 / 2022
www.MVDentertainment.com

Despite using “Manchester” in the title, it sounds like this is a British film, but au contraire, it is actually of Italian Spanish origin. Which means it can be either really good or really bad, or so bad it’s good. I am a fan of Italian giallo films from the period, and also of the absolutely crazy Spanish-origin releases of the period, such as The Blood-Splattered Bride (1972).

To be fair, parts of the outdoor scenes of this was filmed in England, such as Lucio Fulci’s The New York Ripper (1982) was filmed in, well, you know, but most was in Madrid and Rome. However, both the English and the European actors are all dubbed into English, as was the style at the time.

Cristina Galbo, Ray Lovelock

On a road trip to deliver a small statue, obnoxious antique shoppe owner and future protagonist George (Ray Lovelock; d. 2017) has a fender-bender with redheaded and obvious future love interest Edna (Cristina Galbó), and so ends up sharing Edna’s car. For a liberal, he’s a real macho moron, full of toxic masculinity (“I’m driving!" he declares without asking, though it is her auto). He better chill out, or I’ll be on the side of the living dead. The gender roles are codified into “Me Man You Woman” kind of thinking, which I’m so glad that, as a culture, we are starting to break out of, if you’re not a modern Republican.

After a brief set-up of how the dead come to life via farm experimentations with radiation, I kid you not, and Edna being attacked by an obvious dead person reminiscent of Bill Heinzman in Night of the Living Dead (1968), they manage to find the farm of Edna’s sister Katie (Jeannine Mestre) and her photographer brother-in-law Martin (José Lifante) farm. Just in time for the dead guy to make another appearance (George and Edna drove…how did the dead guy beat them to it?; this happens a few times with various zombies).

Jeannine Mestre

Anyway, the point is that it brings the police, including a Sam Spade-meets-Dirty-Harry type of hard-bitten cliché Sergeant Inspector (American actor Arthur Kennedy on the other side of his Oscar-nominated career; d. 1990), who uses a gay slur word and bemoans the loss of being able to act violently against suspects who he deems guilty until proven innocent. You can tell by the tan trench coat.

While there are a nice number of flesh-eating zombies scattered throughout, though usually 3-4 at a clip, they indeed feed on the living, but also have quite a bit of strength (e.g., two of them pick up a grounded tombstone) as they stumble around. They also have an ulterior motive to what they are doing that is actually kind of uncommon for the genre; for that, I will happily give the filmmakers credit. One of the zombies even rises vertically stiff as a board, reminiscent of Nosferatu: eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922).

Arthur Kennedy (right)

There is a lot extrapositions used, such as obviously the living vs. the dead, but there is also the modern youth vs. the fascist elders (relatively speaking), and the strongest point may be the natural environment vs. agricultural technology that is polluting and killing the land.

The name of the film is actually a bit of a misnomer, as it doesn’t take place in Manchester (other than the opening montage), though there is a truck seen more than once with the name on it. It actually takes place (but not necessarily filmed in) the beautiful countryside near Southgate and Windermere in the U of K. This new 4K restoration of the original 35mm negative really shows off this visage. In general, this is a very good looking film, being stylish without being overly “arty,” making it more accessible, thanks to the amazing care of cinematographer Francisco Sempere (d. 1979).

The gore is plentiful when it is employed and looks great (possibly real offal and organs), and there is little nudity other than a seemingly gratuitous scene right off the bat (explanations about streaking as a political movement is given in the Blu-ray’s Extras Section). No complaints, but had me scratching me noggin.

There are tons of Extras on this Blu-ray, some may argue more than is necessary for a secondary-level release, but let’s dive in: It starts with a featurette about the director, who passed away in 2018: “Catalonia’s Cult Film King: A Documentary About Jorge Grau and His Manchester Masterpiece” (89 min.). This comprehensive coverage of the career of Grau includes a number of interviews, including Grau himself (in Spanish with subtitles) and numerous British film historians. They discuss his career, his entrance into horror, with The Female Butcher/The Legend of Blood Castle (1973) about Lady Bathory, and especially focuses on The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue. One of the writers notes that this film came out before the “zombie rules” were codified, so there are some notable differences from other general Living Dead inspired films to come. But what interested me the most is the discussion of the fact that Grau was coming out of the transition of Fascist Spain, and he represented some characters to reflect that, namely the modern and liberal (and douchey is you ask me) George, which was Grau’s leaning, and the Fascistic police inspector. Also, I was happy to hear the lone woman on this documentary, a critic, comment on the subservient and hysterical woman/strong and in-charge man stereotype. It kept me watching the entire length.

Another featurette is “The Scene of the Crime: Giannetto De Rossi in Discussion from Manchester” (16 min), which is new for this Blu-ray. De Rossi (d. 2021) is the make-up and special effects artist, who is interviewed by writer Eugenio Ercolani. This is in English, though De Rossi is subtitled due to his heavy accent. He also famously worked on a bunch of Fulci films, such as Zombie (1979) and The Beyond (1981). He discusses how he got to work on this film as well as Fulci’s, and what he feels about his accomplishments. Another Extra that also focuses on him is “Giannetto De Rossi: Q&A at the Festival of Fantastic Films, UK” (43 min.) recorded in the same year and at the same festival as the previous interview, in 2019. This is also moderated by Ercolani, and goes into more detail thanks to the larger time given. It also goes over much of the same territory as the first one, but without the video clip examples. I did a little skimming on this one.

However, the highlights are two full-length audio commentaries with film historians. The first is with Troy Howarth, an American who writes books about European Cult Cinema. Honestly, this sounds like every other historian’s commentary in every other Blu-ray for every other film. That being said, I found it interesting because I love film history and this guy is obviously more knowledgeable than I am on the topic, so give it a listen, but know what you are getting into (as the Herman’s Hermits sang in paraphrasing, “It’s into something good”). The second commentary is with film critics Nathaniel Thompson and Bruce Holecheck, who cover similar ground as the one with Howarth, but manage to cover even more material despite some overlap, and they also add some humor to their descriptions. As for other bits and pieces, there are the likes of the Original Theatrical Trailer, Original TV Spots, and “Radio Spots.”

While considered B-level in the Italian zombie giallo genre, this really should not be missed, because it has become a classic, and there are so many connections to the likes of Fulci and Argento that it certainly is now part of the storied canon. Besides, it is a hoot. Strong SFX, decent story, stirring music all combined into something eminently watchable. Enjoy. Mangiare!

IMBD Listing HERE