Reviwed by Chris Wright, MoreHorror.com
Directed By: Jorge Grau
Written By: Juan Cobos, Sandro Continenza Marcello Coscia, Miguel Rubio
Starring: Cristina Galbo (Edna), Ray Lovelock (George) Arthur Kennedy (The Inspector), Aldo Massasso (Kinsey), Giorgio Trestini (Craig), Roberto Posse (Benson), Jose Lifante (Martin), Jeannine Mestre (Katie), Gengher Gatti (Keith), Fernando (Guthrie), Vera Drudi (Mary), Vicente Vega (Dr. Duffield), Francisco Sanz (Perkins), Paul Benson (Wood), Anita Colby (Nurse)
Let Sleeping Corpses Lie is a forgotten Spanish-Italian zombie movie from the middle 1970s that deserves more viewers in its camp. This title has so many alternate titles in its numerous releases that it can be difficult to track down. The original title is “Non si deve profanare il sonno dei morti” and the most common title that was released in America was “The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue.” It was also released in some theaters in America as “Don’t Open the Window.”
The plot begins when a cop chases two strange hippies and eventually comes upon the real problem which is the living dead! They are brought to life by a chemical pesticide used by local farmers, which brings forth their quest for human flesh. The plot sounds like a really bad and cheesy B 70s movie. Despite my initial assumption it would be a B movie, this movie is actually very well done. This is not a B movie in the slightest.
The characters are well served here. One notable character is the Sergeant who is over the cases happening in the area. Arthur Kennedy does a superb job at being a closed minded man who refuses to listen to what is happening and insists that his way is the right way. The twist at the very end of the movie comes back to bite the man entirely on how he behaved in the duration of the film. George and Edna do a fine job in their roles in trying to warn the masses of what is happening in their area.
The zombie makeup and the way they are served in this film is much different than some films around this time. They are not the typical brain dead walking corpses with no intelligence. These have some intelligence and have a clue at what they are doing. Specifically, inside the morgue, one of the zombies slowly begins to touch the bodies bringing them all back to life. I enjoyed this particular interpretation of zombies.
The best part of this movie is the atmosphere and the surrealism. When the first zombie is captured on the movie coming toward a person on a road, I almost felt like I was there and it felt creepy. It is rather difficult to capture such a moment for me but it worked. Aside from the morgue scene, the best scene is the climax in the quiet town hospital. Movies like “Zombi” from Fulci could have certainly gotten cues from what goes on in this massive blood-letting that shows the practical effects accomplished their desired result.
I highly recommend this movie to zombie enthusiasts. What a shame I don’t hear much about this one as this one is clearly in my top ten zombie films of all time. I give this movie 5 out of 5 stars for trying something new with an already established concept. This movie has a 6.8/10 on IMDB.