Wednesday, January 4, 2023

 

'The Frozen Dead' (1966) - Herbert J. Leder.

Herbert J. Leder's infrequently resurrected British Sci-Horror hokum is arguably one of the more enjoyably cartoonish examples of naziploitation. 'The Frozen Dead' Set 20 years after the end of WW2, an infamous German scientist, and loyal party member, Dr. Rupert Norberg (Dana Andrews) anonymously continues his macabre human experiments within the doomy basement confines of a grand country estate deeply obscured in picturesque, rural England. Dr. Norberg is tasked by a shadowy cabal of conspiratorial neo-fascists to resurrect 1,500 cryonically suspended killer krauts, but ze good doctor's sinister serums are grievously flawed, while he can certainly thaw them out, he just can't chill 'em out, as once these icy ingrates moronically awaken from their glacial tombs, they are little more than mindlessly mayhem-making corpsicles! 

Jean (Anna Palk),Dr. Norbert's nubile niece's unplanned visit to his ostentatious digs is greatly disturbed by the catastrophic meddling of her uncle's duplicitous assistant, Karl (Alan Tivern) which rather disturbingly causes things to come to a violent head! With an enjoyably fusty narrative torn from the gruesome, mildewed pages of E.C Comics, Herbert J. Leder's lurid 60s Sci-Shocker admittedly suffers from lugubrious pacing, but nevertheless has appealing qualities, a palpably strange atmosphere, decent performances, a number of 'head-turning' set-pieces, and, Don Banks's wonderful score, plus Noir-legend, Dana Andrews notably played it 'dead' straight throughout, which, for me, provided the dramatic grist to, The Frozen Dead's pleasingly pulpy B-Horror mill! While I appreciate that my pronounced enjoyment of, 'The Frozen Dead' is unlikely to be shared by all vintage horror fans, these scientifically skewed shenanigans coolly fridges the gap betwixt Hammer Films & Amicus.

'Forget those deadbeat Walking Dead stumble-bums, if you dare, watch, 'The Frozen Dead'!!! These defrosted devils will ice up your veins with frostbitten terror, as these glacial German ghouls have a head full of hate, and a subzero tolerance for the living!' - Weirdlingwolf.

 














 

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