Graveyard Disturbance (1987) – Lamberto Bava.

Following a larcenous snack raid upon a small greengrocers run by none other than Bava himself, our tepid teenaged tearaways drive their dilapidated van until it breaks down in a suitably isolated backwoods locale. Soon utterly lost, these goobers stumble upon a vast labyrinthine series of cobwebbed catacombs, which spookily provides for some hugely atmospheric, exceptionally well-executed B-Horror content. While the text is dull, doing little to enliven the generic protagonists, Graveyard Disturbance boasts truly impressive production design. This compellingly creepy netherworld is stunningly realised, the dread atmosphere of mouldering tombs, crumbing ladders descending to foul pits of malignant purulence, crepuscular serpentine passages that lead maddening back upon themselves, plus a sinisterly surrealistic tavern, plopped incongruously in the midst of this legion of ancient dead!

While the scenario is somewhat implausible, and the absence of gore belies its TV origins, for the most part, Graveyard Disturbances remains a tremendously engaging smoke-slathered, subterranean romp, providing monster fans with imaginatively designed, expertly created, eerily be-rotted ghouls, zombies, and decrepit-looking vampires. Only the most jaded viewer couldn't fine something of value in maestro Lamberto Bava's Dantean, handsomely photographed, Goonies-esque hell-scapes. Excluding the ceaselessly prosaic chattering of the bland cast, Bava's Teatime terror pic has aged remarkably well, unlike the malign innkeeper who is long overdue a deep-cleansing facemask, plus a goodly few restorative hours of sunlight! Watching the Scooby kids ambling fearfully through these madly oppressive glooms, at times, I couldn't help but recall Fulci's equally nightmarish vistas in The Beyond!