Distraught physician Peter Tompson (Brook Williams) writes his mentor, Sir James Forbes (AndrĆ© Morell) a rambling letter about deaths with no natural explanation in a rural village. Forbesās daughter (Diane Clare), interested in seeing her friend Alice (Jacqueline Pearce) who happens to be Tompsonās wife, convinces her father to take train and coach to visit the Tompsons. Once there, they find things worse than implied, with empty coffins, a violent upper-class, and Alice exhibiting the symptoms of the recently dead.
Pre-Night of the Living Dead zombie films failed far more often than they succeeded, so it is nice to find one that works. The Plague of the ZombiesĀ is tense and a bit nasty, as it should be. It has two scenes that every zombie fan must see and plenty more worth the time. Add in solid, if unexceptional performances, and a plot that holds together, and you have a satisfying zombie film.
Made in the tarnished gold period of Hammer Horror (yup, some gold tarnishes, particularly when it was never really gold), Hammer was looking desperately for a hit, and a cheaply made one. What they got was a pretty good movie, cheaply made. Score for art if not for finances. Part of the cost savings was that director John Gilling made this back to back with The Reptile, using the same sets and some cast overlap. And even if the town doesnāt have enough streets, the ones it has are nice.
Hammer was notorious for plot holesāor just plot nonsenseāand The Plague of the Zombies has a few (Why are the hot women being turned into zombies? Potential sex toys is the obvious answer, but then the āzombieā side of things messes that up unless someone has an unstated fetish. So why? It would make far more sense to create a few more bulked up zombies for the task they are given), but very few comparatively. People have reasons for what they do, both good and evil, and the fears and superstitions make sense. The big answer to it all is particularly rewarding and contains a strong message about the problems of class divisions and the cruel way the working class is treated. This is nice to see from Hammer, which had a habit of supporting class distinctions while other film companies were specifically working against them.
No one will list The Plague of the Zombies on any ābest ofā lists, besides āBest of Hammer Horror,” but it is creepy fun.