source: Valley of the Zombies

Moviecut—Valley of the Zombies

Valley of the Zombies

This strange little movie loses its route, when it goes for silly laughs and a final car chase, and ignores the basic elements of its subject. Perhaps if it had been titled as "Valley of the Living Dead" it could have had a better chance. As it is, it sounds as a Tarzan movie in a fake valley and fake jungle, and zombified slaves carrying baskets full of diamonds to the highlands. Its premise and the first minutes promised scares and thrills, but in the end it did not deliver.

No valley and no zombies, at least not in the traditional sense. Instead we get a creepy character (played by an actor who doesn't look very different from Boris Karloff) called Ormand Murks. He had been committed to a lunatic asylum several years beforehand and had died there. However he comes back from the dead, but rather as a zombie he is a non neck biting vampire who needs blood to stay "alive". He is quite good value, skulking around in his top hat and cape, looking more like a phantom. There are a few good spooky scenes but the film also plays for laughs. There is a lot of wit in the dialogue, for example when two cops investigate some night time grave digging one cop asks "What do you suppose he was doing?", his colleague replies "Well he wasn't digging for potatoes!" At just under an hour Valley makes a fairly enjoyable watch for those who enjoy old black and white B movies.

Despite some atmospheric moments here and there, this is a rather dull chiller. There are no zombies to be seen, just a creepy guy keeping himself alive through blood transfusions. Ian Keith is the creepy guy and he's easily the best part of the picture. Everyone else is forgettable. It's one for classic horror fans to cross of their list but don't expect a hidden gem.

Not bad mid-40's black-and-white thriller. A mental patient, thought to be dead comes back from wherever, after having some weird procedure performed on him that keeps him alive as long as he consumes continuous amounts of blood. When he can't make a withdrawal at a blood bank, no problem, he just kills someone, drains them, and embalms them. Why the embalming I don't know. Ian Keith as the blood consumer is certainly creepy. Near the beginning of the film a local tower clock bongs incessantly and gives a gloomy air. A young doctor and his nurse girlfriend give some light-hearted moments. The film is under one hour so the story moves right along. I obtained a DVD-R and though the quality is not the greatest it is watchable. I wish a re-mastered version would be released very soon. I recommend this film, a nice time passer on a Saturday afternoon.

VALLEY OF THE ZOMBIES has Dr. Ormand Murks (Ian Keith) use voodoo to rise from the dead. He's now in need of human blood and will acquire it by any means necessary. Murks' victims are found drained of blood and filled with embalming fluid. While the police are baffled, a young doctor and nurse set out to solve the series of bizarre murders. Keith is fantastic as the ghoulish Murks. His gaunt face, bulging eyes, hat, and cape are the perfect combination. This character could / should have been seen in other such films. Deserves to be rediscovered...

This is not your traditional zombie film - they do not mean "zombie" in the way we think film them in films. I won't tell for it would ruin the film. With this film think Jack the Ripper is a Vampire in a way... this one is really hard to describe, you would just have to see it for yourself. Ian Keith as Ormand Murks is super! He reminds me a lot of Boris Karloff as Cabman John Gray in "The Body Snatcher (1945)" and, as I said, Jack the Ripper. Ormand Murks is right up there with them - he is a madman. This is a really good late at night film - great atmosphere: graveyard, a madman on the loose, talk of an asylum, embalming... if you like the classic films with these things then you should enjoy this "Valley of the Zombies". 8/10

If you approach this looking for zombies, especially an whole valley full of 'em, you'll be sadly disappointed yet I can't help it...I like this short little movie just the same. Maybe it's the wonderful atmosphere this film has what with mysterious going ons in the night, graveyards and tombs figuring into the plot. Or maybe it's the old fashioned villain who truly looks like a fiendish fellow...Ian Keith as the thought to be dead Ormond Murks, who now needs the blood of the living to stay alive. And while there may be a number of outdated stereotypes (by today's standards) at work here especially in terms of the frantic female Nurse Susan Drake who is easily spooked and frightened leaning upon the always steady and sure male Dr. Terrance Evans..still there's a certain innocence to this style of Horror which makes it fun...kind of hard to explain really. It's only being an hour long doesn't hurt either.