SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Uriah43 This film begins with a professor of archaeology by the name of "Jason Porter" (Alex Cord) discovering an underground chamber which turns out to be an ancient Etruscan tomb of sorts. Naturally, this delights him and his team but one local person named "Nikos Samarakis" (John Marley) is not at all pleased with the fact that Jason plans to stay in the area for an extended time to continue his research as his current wife "Myra Shelton" (Samantha Egger) used to be married to Jason and still seems to harbor feelings for him. Things become even more complicated when two lovers are killed in the tomb and their bodies are aligned to make it appear to be sacrifices to the evil Etruscan demon upon which the tomb was initially built. In any case, in my opinion this picture turned out to be more of a mystery film than a horror movie and in that regard it definitely kept my attention for the most part. I must say, however, that the plot was sometimes difficult to follow with several unappealing characters not really helping matters. Even so this wasn't a bad movie overall and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

Red-Barracuda A group of archaeologists work on excavating Etruscan tombs. A series of murders start and they seem to be connected to these ancient ruins in some way. Is this the work of the vengeful god Tuchulka? The Dead Are Alive is a giallo/horror hybrid. It follows the conventions of the former but it also incorporates a supernatural horror angle. Like many similar Italian films from the time it's a pretty convoluted affair. Its central story isn't always very well presented and the film meanders a lot of the time. Things aren't helped all that much by an uncharismatic male lead actor who doesn't exactly elicit much sympathy. His character seems to be a bit of a sex pest in fairness. There are better actors in the support roles such as Samantha Eggar - who later starred in David Cronenberg's The Brood - and Horst Frank who plays a slightly sinister homosexual eccentric similar to the role he had in Dario Argento's Cat o' Nine Tails. There is a smattering of bloody violence throughout. And the supernatural angle does offer something different for this type of picture. But overall it's doesn't make very much of a connection.Its director Armando Crispino also contributed the later Autopsy, which was another unconventional giallo. Both films deserve some credit for at least trying to bring in different things to the sub-genre but truthfully neither of them are very good. Riz Ortolani contributes another lush score that tries its best to enliven events.

Blue_Martian Just a quick note to all my fellow zombie aficionados out there.. the title of this movie is misleading. While the movie itself is not too bad, sadly there are no living dead here. This movie is actually an early 1970's murder mystery, the dialogue at times is very dry, although not bad the whole way through. The directing is o.k however the editing is really quite sketchy (you know the kind where all the sudden an actor is in a new position instantly, or they've abruptly cut to a new scene.)So if like me you planned on watching this to add another notch onto your undead movie collection belt let your search continue.

melvelvit-1 In Italy, a series of murders occur at a newly discovered Etruscan burial ground and when a tomb is opened, wall murals of sacrificial killings depict the current deaths ...but how could that possibly be? An American on the site, Professor Jason Porter (Alex Cord) -a violent alcoholic who also suffers blackouts- finds himself not only in the midst of a mystery, but a suspect as well. Was an ancient demon god unleashed when the burial grounds were disturbed -or are the murders the work of a mere (maniacal) mortal?Armando Crispino's clever and classy entry from the Golden Age of the Giallo (1968-75) has nearly all the conventions one expects from the genre: an innocent (?) American abroad somehow connected to a string of violent crimes, ineffectual police detectives, quirky suspects, nubile victims, red herrings, brutal bludgeonings, suicides, and an insane killer that may come as a surprise. There's also a shoe fetish, a homosexual, a bottle of J&B Whiskey, a wild car chase, and Riz Ortolani's score to hold viewer interest. One of my favorite gialli plot devices is used here to good effect: the protagonist had a clue to the killer's identity all along if only he had interpreted a certain event correctly. All that's missing are the ever-present black gloves -but you won't miss them. This colorful, well-made thriller, based on a short story by Bryan Edgar Wallace, was released in the U.S. as THE DEAD ARE ALIVE. Rounding out the cast are Samantha Eggar, John "Death Dream" Marley, and guest-star Nadja Tiller.