Swamp of the Ravens
(Terry Becker; 1974)
(Something Weird / Image)
-Overview-
A scientist is attempting to cure death through unsanctioned research on humans in a small lab near a swamp in Ecuador, and disposing of the failed experimental subjects by having them dismembered and dumped into the swamp by his robot like henchman. Boredom ensues.
I had high expectations for this little snooze-fest for some unknown reason. The only saving grace for the film is a short scene involving some real autopsy footage and an amusing scene involving the scientist euthanizing a nubile young devotchka and having sex with her corpse. Cut the rest out and you have a decent 10 minute short film. The rest is essentially tripe. There aren’t even any zombies in the film, save for one man who is more of an automaton than a traditional zombie. I should mention in retrospect that the swamp scenes involving the living dead are amusing in that the bodies are dismembered and all you basically see are these floating heads poking out of the water and looking around, but that’s it as far as zombie action goes. A small amount of T&A that isn’t worth bothering with is present also. Rent before you buy.
-Sound-
Poor. At times it’s hard to hear the dialogue. Not that it would matter if you missed any, seeing as you’d probably be nodding off anyway.
-Picture-
Not as bad as the print for the other feature on the disc, The Thirsty Dead (see review), but not optimal picture quality to say the least.
-Special Features-
I can’t get enough of these Something Weird discs. Even if the films contained therein are complete stinkbombs, there’s much fun to be had.
- Trailers
- Double Feature with The Thirsty Dead.
- Includes “The Black Hand”, a rare episode of the Swedish television serial 13 Demon Street, hosted by Lon Chaney Jr.
-Packaging-
Standard DVD keep case.
Sound: 2
Picture: 3
Packaging: 5
(Rating scale is out of 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 the best)