Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

I believe that Paul Naschy horror films are generally good because Paul himself was a big fan of horror. Plus, it helps that he scripted a lot of his own films, so what you usually get is the old classic monster movies updated to the seventies with added gore and nudity, and very little waffle. Or, you could say he takes the Hammer template and dispenses with the boring bits. One of those two. I guess in a normal world the fact that Paul blacks up for this film would be offensive, but if it was a genuine Indian person playing the role, it would be Paul Naschy! It's still much less offensive that Peter Sellers doing it, as Paul isn't sending up the Indian race at all, but merely making some sort of statement about how white folks will follow anyone claiming to be a guru, even if they also are possibly Voodoo zombie masters at the same time. Now that I've written that he's possibly playing an Indian Voodoo Guru, I think there might not be any social commentary there at all. I'm getting dizzy thinking about it.Anyway, one particular possible follower for Paul's Krishna character is Elvira, who is looking for some spiritual guidance. Her pal Yorgen (I can't remember his name) is very sceptical about it all, even following a demonstration when Krishna's assistant (who is jealous of Elvira) starts stabbing Krishna in the back without subsequence. At the same time, someone in London is draining blood from men, killing women, and bringing them back to life as zombies. When someone in a mask breaks into Elvira's house and kills her father and cousin, she runs off to the countryside to live with Krishna, which might not be the best idea. Who else is wearing that mask and a cloak with a build like that - Sandy Toksvig?This is all heading in the direction you'd expect but then Paul does throw in a couple of curveballs that take things off in different directions. What I really could have done without is the blatant beheading of a chicken for voodoo purposes. Not cool, Paul, not cool. This also happened in Boris Karloff film The Snake People, which has a similar voodoo plot. However, the Satan nightmare sequence was great! As were the Hi-de-hi 'you have been watching' style end credits, so we'll call it a draw.No point in telling anyone if this is good or bad. If you're going to watch a Paul Naschy film, you'll know what to expect anyway. Please note that the zombies here are pasty-faced women wearing black robes, and not rotting corpses.

Although definitely a bit dated this film overall isn't a bad entry into the zombie genre. Focusing on voodoo, this movie is about a man who is obsessed with vengeance on certain families who have made him pay for wrongs committed by him earlier. So he turns to voodoo and exacts his revenge by killing certain members of these families and recreating them as zombies. Admittedly, the plot is somewhat slow to develop and the acting is barely adequate. Additionally, the fight sequences are laughable and the makeup and filming technique are clearly a product of its time (late-60's and early-70's) when it comes to this particular style of horror. But I have always enjoyed horror movies from this era and this is no exception. Likewise, the addition of some sexy ladies like Carmen Romero ("Elvire Irving") and Mirta Miller ("Kala") certainly didn't hurt this picture in any way. Now, that is not to say that everyone who enjoys zombie movies will like this film. Again, sometimes it helps to have been alive during this period in order to appreciate movies of this era. That said, this is a decent films for those who can make allowances for its obvious flaws and short-comings.

And the winner for best "Death by small can" scene in a horror movie goes to "Vengeance of the Zombies." Not that there was a whole lot of competition outside of "Undead." Anyways, there have been many a times in which horror movies seem to forgo anything resembling logic in their quest to scare or entertain. Sometimes this works (The films of Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci for example), sometimes it doesn't (the films of Dante Tomaselli), and then there are goes films that aren't good and make little sense, but you find yourself enjoying them anyway. Leon Klimovsky achieved this in 1973 with the Paul Naschy vehicle "Vengeance of the Zombies." Indian Mystic Krisna (Naschy) has things going his way. He's pretty popular, the ladies love him (Yep, this is a Paul Naschy film alright!) and nothing bad seems to be happening. That is, until his girlfriend Elvire (Romy) starts having nightmares involving Satanic rites (with Naschy playing Satan), a masked killer being on the loose, and a group of vengeful female zombies roaming around. Oh, and Krisna's deformed brother (Naschy again.) There are numerous flaws to be found here (plot holes, a completely inappropriate lounge score, mediocre direction and acting), but "Vengeance of the Zombies" manages to be pretty fun for what it is: dumb exploitation made for undemanding viewers. In a way, the ultimately silly nature of the whole thing works more than it doesn't. There's just something nice about a movie that has such a "let's put on a show" attitude, and the added nudity and gore (including a nifty decapitation) adds to the experience.Another reason the thing works better than it should is because it basically throws in everything but the kitchen sink to entertain viewers. Satanic rituals? Check. Sexploitation? Check. Voodoo spells? Check. Zombies? Check. Black gloved killer? You get the point. It's like watching a smörgåsbord/greatest hits collection of Euro exploitation from the period, and it's hard not to smile at most of it. Plus, how many times to you see someone get killed with a small can in horror movies? "Vengeance of the Zombies" is anything but a good movie, and more serious minded genre aficionados will probably cringe through most of it. Those who love dumb exploitation and "so-bad-it's-good" movies will be more forgiving, and probably enjoy the stupid enterprise on display.

VENGEANCE OF THE ZOMBIES has a lot going for it: Paul Naschy, doing triple duty as a guru, the guru's doppelganger, and Satan himself (in FRONT of the camera; he also wrote it as well); a veritable plethora of unusual characters (besides the three played by Naschy); some interesting no-budget makeup fx; and some genuinely decent direction (again) by Leon Klimovsky. There are some genuinely creepy moments in this one (the appearance of one woman actually startled me) and Klimovsky once again uses slow motion to great effect. The only real problem I had with this one was the decapitation of the chicken: I tend to think of all animals as children and seeing an animal sacrificed on a celluloid altar just ain't justifiable in my book.