A Super Great Etruscan Zombie Horror
from The Master of the B's -
Andrea Bianchi (1925-2013)
It's trashy, wild, bizarre and funny and Andrea, often
mistakenly thought
of as a relative to C grade director Mario Bianchi,
but they were only
namesakes. Both of them made the same type of Euro Trash Cinema (with
the difference that Mario made a lot of porno movies .... and often
with
swedish actress Marina Hedman in them) so i guess others have made
the same mistake as i did. OK, they may not have been brothers but
they
were surely The Kings of Euro Trash film, The Namesake Brothers.
Eeeh, sorry, Andrea actually made some adult films too, i see now
in the
latter stages of his directing career, and with Marina Hedman in some
of
them too. So, it's perfectly understandable that one mistakes them
for
being brothers or related in some other way.

Above: The Booklet
Yes, Andrea Bianchi made the insanely Bad 1987 Nazi
Hunt action "Angel
of Death / Commando Mengele" (read more about this stinkeroo
on my
Horror Film Page 3) and also the pretty bad 1979 sleazy sex horror
"Malabimba". But he also made
a bunch of deranged B movies that I
like a lot, as:
The sleazy 1974 Eurocrime mob epic "Cry
of a Prostitute (Quelli che
contano)" with Henry Silva and Barbara Bouchet (read more about
this
one on my Gialli and Eurocrime Page 1).
Or, his 1972 co-directed "What the Peeper
Saw (Night Child)" (Gialli
and Eurocrime Page 2).
Or, the 1975 giallo sleaze bomb "Strip
Nude for Your Killer" (Gialli and
Eurocrime Page 1) and finally this 1980-1981 Etruscan zombie horror
Burial Ground (Le Notti del terrore
/ The Nights of
Terror / Zombie 3) a minor lowbudget horror masterpiece.
With this Zombie classic Andrea Bianchi manages to
create a
great atmosphere with undead etruscans home invading a villa
with weekend guests. The Host George with his wife Evelyn
(MariAngela Giordani) and her son Michael (Peter Bark) and
two couples plus the servants.
Gino de Rossi (NOT Gianetto de Rossi) supplied the grisly effects
and the zombies look great even though the budget was limited.
The Zombies (or mummies) also can co-operate, use tools, throw
knives and even climb walls. Yes, they are impressive for sure.
It's a HIGHLY ENTERTAINING watch for sure and the sweet
intimate moment of a mother connecting to her son with Maria
Angela Giordano and freak looking Peter Bark makes Horror
history. No-one forgets that breast ripping scene.
The Lovely Mariangela (or Maria Angela)
Giordano, the Euro
Trash Cult actress famous and beloved for her part in this 1981
film, was born in 1937 and acted in Italian Sword and Sandals
epics already in the 1950's. She also acted nude in Andrea's
1979 "Malabimba" as a nun seduced by a teenage girl, acted
in
another sleazy to the hilt movie - the 1980 "Patrick
vive ancora
(Patrick is Still Alive)" with that infamous iron bar/skewer
scene
that rendered her a place in The Hall of Shame of Film History,
got her breast ripped off by Peter Bark The Zombie in this film
and in 1996, almost 60 years old, she appeared nude in Jesús
Franco's "Killer Barbys" as Countess Olga Luchan Fliedermaus.

Above: Reversible sleeve
88 Films presents the film in 1.66:1 ratio and in
2.0 LPCM stereo
English or Italian audio with English subtitles. Disc one 4K UHD
Blu-ray and Disc two standard Blu-ray - Region All.
Disc One Extras:
Audio commentary with critics Nathaniel Thompson and Troy
Howarth, Eugenio Ercolani
Audio commentary with Calum Waddell and John Martin
Disc Two Extras:
Interview with Peter Bark AKA Pietro Barzocchini
at Villa Parisi (14 minutes),
Interview with Eugenio Ercolani (22 minutes)
Interview with Pierpaolo De Santis (28 minutes about soundtrack
composer Berto Pizano)
WTF? The Films of Andrea Bianchi (26 minutes)
Interview with critic Mikel Koven
35 mm Blow up print "Grindhouse version"
Deleted scenes and trims (9 minutes), Trailer, Italian credits
sequence, Original Italian Poster and a Booklet
..................................................................................................................

This Old US Shriek Show 2003 DVD edition presented
the film in
anamorphic widescreen and with english audio 2.0. I can't remember
about the extras but with some interviews i think