Synopsis
The movie Night of the Seagulls (1975), also known as “La noche de las gaviotas”, “Don’t Go Out at Night”, and “Night of the Death Cult”, is a Spanish horror film written and directed by Amando de Ossorio1. This film is the fourth and final installment in the Blind Dead series, following the sequel to The Ghost Galleon (1974) [1].
The movie begins in medieval times, where a young couple is attacked by the Knights Templar [1]. The man is instantly killed, and the woman is carried away to the Templars’ castle, where she is sacrificed [1]. The story then continues in the 20th century [1].
The movie Night of the Seagulls (1975) follows Doctor Henry Stein (Víctor Petit) and his wife Joan (María Kosti) who are moving into a very primitive coastal town [1]. They are met with distrust and hatred from the locals. It does not take long before the doctor and his wife find out that the town harbors an ancient evil: Every seven years, undead Templars rise from the sea for seven consecutive nights to demand the sacrifice of a young maiden [1].
The doctor and his wife then try to save one of the maidens, Lucy (Sandra Mozarowsky), from her horrible fate, aided by the local village idiot, Teddy (José Antonio Calvo) [1].
Cast
- Víctor Petit as Dr. Henry Stein
- María Kosti as Joan Stein
- Sandra Mozarowsky as Lucy
- José Antonio Calvo as Teddy
- Julia Saly as Tilda Flanagan
- Javier de Rivera as the Doctor
- Pilar Vela as Storekeeper
- Fernando de Villena as Mr. Flanagan
- María Vidal as Mrs. Flanagan
- Oscar Phens as George
- Susana Estrada as Girl sacrificed at the beginning
- Luis Ciges
Trivia
The movie is also known as “Night of the Seagulls”. Someone printed mock DVD artwork using the title, Zombi 7: Last Rites, but the print used still bears the title, The Night Of The Seagulls [2].
Reviews
According to a review on bandsaboutmovies.com, “Your enjoyment of this film will depend on how much you buy into the Templars, who appear to a haunting theme and then slowly make their way down the beach to expose a virgin and then do away with her. Some people find this movie slow and boring. We’re not in that camp.” [4].
On coolasscinema.com, the reviewer notes that “the mood is strong as is the direction in what amounts to the most polished entry of the series even if it’s not as good as the first two films. Hampered by a limp ending, but climaxing with a fairly tense final siege by the ocular challenged zombies, Ossorio and his crew make this last evening with the Blind Dead a memorable NIGHT.” [3].
A review on Deinonychus Reviews states that, “Like the previous films, this has some serious atmosphere going on and the Blind Dead are still awesome creations–even if Blu-ray quality is not too kind to their rubber fingers. Their sheer presence is enough for me to recommend it, but details like the omnipresent spectral seagulls, the stone idol, and the horrifying scavenger crabs make this film that much more wondrous and unsettling.” [3].
Cody Meirick on November 11, 2023