my new plaid pants: Don't Let Sleeping Corpses Lie at the Morgue

Wednesday, February 02, 2022

Don't Let Sleeping Corpses Lie at the Morgue

I've always seen Jorge Grau's 1974 zombie-classic called by its title Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, which is a fabulous title, but the film goes by several names -- including Don't Open the Window, which was Edgar Wright's inspiration for his Grindhouse trailer "Don't!" -- but Synapse Films is finally putting the movie out on blu-ray on June 7th in what looks like a splendid 4K restoration, so if they want to go by the alternate title The Living Dead At Manchester Morgue then so be it. It's certainly the most British-sounding title of the bunch and the film, despite its Spanish director, is a very British affair.

Or so I have heard -- I have never seen it! And I'll be very happy to right that wrong with this release, as it is by all accounts a serious upgrade from existing prints. Any fans out there? I love filling in the big holes (full stop?) in my horror education. You can't pre-order the film on Amazon just yet but the link is here for when you can, and I've got the entire press release after the jump...

THE DEAD RISE LIKE NEVER BEFORE WHEN SYNAPSE FILMS BRINGS THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE TO BLU-RAY JUNE 7TH!

“This is one of my favorite zombie films of them all; a genuinely chilling UK set horror...” – Edgar Wright. Director of Last Night in Soho, Baby Driver and Shaun of the Dead

"[A] still-startling nightmare creation that was years ahead of its time." - Mitch Davis, Fantasia Film Festival

"The transfer itself is quite the eye opener compared to the earlier Blu-rays and other transfers, with a gargantuan increase in detail throughout... As far as upgrades go, this is one of the most extreme in recent memory." - Mondo-Digital.com

With its revolutionary mix of shocking-for-its-time violence and sociopolitical themes, George A. Romero's 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead quickly proved to be enormously influential with filmmakers around the world, and few were able to match its power like Jorge Grau's The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue. Mixing a strong environmental statement with unforgettably terrifying set pieces, Grau's film stands on its own as a horror classic, and now it's been restored to its horrifying glory on Blu-ray by Synapse Films!

A strange twist of fate brings two young travelers, George (Ray Lovelock, The Cassandra Crossing) and Edna (Christine Galbo, The House That Screamed), to a small town where an experimental agricultural machine may be bringing the dead back to life! As zombies infest the area and attack the living, a bull-headed detective (Academy Award® nominee Arthur Kennedy, Peyton Place) thinks the couple are Satanists responsible for the local killings. George and Edna have to fight for their lives, and prove their innocence, as they try to stop the impending zombie apocalypse!

The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (aka Let Sleeping Corpses Lie and Don’t Open the Window) is a gory horror tale from Spanish director Jorge Grau and widely considered to be one of the best zombie films ever made. Beautifully restored in 4K from the original camera negative, Synapse Films presents the film on Blu-ray with the true original English theatrical mono mix and the real opening and closing credit sequences intact.

SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE:

• Exclusive new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative

• New 5.1 English stereo surround remix made exclusively for the Synapse Films release

• Two audio commentaries featuring authors and film scholars Troy Howarth, Nathaniel Thompson and Bruce Holecheck

• Restoration of the true original English language theatrical mono mix

• Jorge Grau - Catalonia’s Cult Film King (89 mins.) – This extensive feature-length documentary explores the life and films of director Jorge Grau

• The Scene of the Crime - Giannetto De Rossi in Discussion from Manchester (16 Mins.)

• Giannetto De Rossi - Q&A at the Festival of Fantastic Films, UK (43 Mins)

• Theatrical trailer, TV spots and radio spots

• Newly translated removable English SDH subtitles

This release of THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE is REGION FREE.

Director: Jorge Grau