The Ghost Galleon
1974Dir. Amando de Ossorio
AKA
Ghost Ship of the Blind Dead
Horror of the Zombies
Ship of Zombies
The Blind Dead 3
The Blind Dead return to hunt tender flesh on the high sea!
Two models are out at sea in a new speedboat as part of a publicity stunt. Don’t ask, just go with it. Their boat is surrounded by a thick fog and a seemingly abandoned ship drifts out of nowhere. Radioing for help the models soon decide to explore the vessel and, naturally enough, mysteriously disappear! Their belatedly concerned colleagues set out to find them; but not before consulting with a professor who believes that the ghostly ship contains the living-dead bodies of the Templar Knights! When our intrepid and fashionably dressed rescuers board the ominous ship, they too soon fall prey to the reanimated and blood-thirsty corpses of the Templars… Welcome aboard!
Following on from the Tombs of the Blind Dead and Return of the Evil Dead, Amando de Ossorio quickly filmed a third instalment of the Blind Dead films - The Ghost Galleon. The nefarious group of living-dead Templar Knights once again return to menace those unfortunate enough to encounter them. The Templars, medieval knights put to death centuries ago for their barbaric ways and love of all things satanic, rise from the dead as mummified skeletal beings, shrouded in their bloodied, hooded cloaks, to drink the blood of the living. As a result of having their eyes plucked from their hanging bodies by crows, they rely on sound to track their victims.
Setting this film onboard a ghost ship seemed like a stroke of genius on Ossorio’s part. The potential for creating scenes of terror and claustrophobic tension is rife and the sight of the mummified Templars shuffling around the creepy, fog enshrouded ship are disturbingly realised. Unfortunately though, the location is wasted on a rudimentary plot and the most tedious characters from the series. None are in any way sympathetic. Ridiculous dialogue is delivered in either the flattest way imaginable or in the throws of overacting, resulting in a distinct lack of tension.
Much of the running time consists of characters wandering around the vast and creaking vessel in their underwear, or delivering seemingly endless exposition. And this is all before anyone even comes to the conclusion that the ship exists in a parallel dimension (!). The bulk of the narrative consists of characters splitting up to search the ship for their friends. Like most of the victims in the Blind Dead series, this lot just can’t get to grips with basic stuff like moving out of the way, or navigating some stairs. Or closing the door and locking it. They blunder and flail and it's impossible to take them seriously. Which also adds to the fun. Scenery is chewed and the spirit of Tor Johnson well and truly conjured.
The spectral galleon itself is incredibly creepy. Many establishing shots of the ghostly ship are of a model, and Ossorio films it from obscure angles and from under water to lend it an air of mystery. One well executed aspect of the film is its sound design. The noise of the ship as it constantly moans and creaks really adds menace and a foreboding feel to proceedings. The misty and dank sets full of eerie lighting and rumbling noises, and the sight of the Templars emerging from the crates in the hull of the ship, are as nightmarish as anything in the previous films. The scenes when the Templars rise up en masse from the depths of the ship are also effectively ominous. As with Return of the Evil Dead, The Ghost Galleon also appears to have had a major influence on John Carpenter’s The Fog (1980) with its maritime spookiness - a theme Ossorio would continue in his next Blind Dead film, Night of the Seagulls.
When the remaining survivors eventually make it back to land, with the help of a plank of wood, they collapse on the beach and promptly go to sleep. Before fleeing the ship, they threw all the coffins overboard (which is as tedious as it sounds) and we are eventually treated to some magnificent shots of the blind dead emerging from the sea and lumbering onto shore; sea water streaming from their empty orbs. A striking and pretty chilling final shot ensures the film closes on a distinctly bleak note.
Arguably the weakest entry in the series, The Ghost Galleon, still has buckets of eerie atmosphere and ghoulish imagery, and could have been a truly shuddersome creeper. However, with no attention to the plot or characters to help bolster the spine-tingling visuals, or conjure tension, it's a wee bit of a let down. As dopey as it is, it's still a lot of fun, and the questionable performances and dialogue will likely elicit guffaws. Enjoy with a generous glass of wine… Or five.
