The Ghost Galleon is the third film in Amando de Ossorio’s Blind Dead quadrilogy, a series of tenuously linked movies showcasing zombified Satan-worshipping Knights Templar. Preceded by Tombs of the Blind Dead and Revenge of the Evil Dead, this iteration of the film finds a group of people sucked into a sort of fantastical Bermuda Triangle-esque realm after their boat runs afoul of the titular ghost galleon housing the remains of the revenants, who apparently prowl the waters hoping to happen across unsuspecting victims to become their feast. De Ossorio adds models and sea navigation to the list of things viewers should never involve themselves in lest they want to be at the mercy of the blind dead.
Much of the Blind Dead series relies on atmosphere and makeup effects for its successes, and The Ghost Galleon is no different. Like the first film Tombs of the Blind Dead, De Ossorio explores a particularly slow and plodding pace, taking over half an hour to set up the main crux of the plot: that Tucker (Jack Taylor) has intentionally stranded two models in a boat in order to create a media blitz promoting his sporting goods company, but ultimately they end up lost at sea and his crew gets sent out to find them. Both groups wind up on the ghost galleon, which drifts into view in the night with a ghastly mist draping it and no visible crew aboard; and once you’re on the vessel, the rest of civilization disappears. The idea is very Scooby-Doo-esque but it works rather well set against De Ossorio’s creepy mood-building techniques and the undeniably cool Blind Dead zombies.
But the rest of The Ghost Galleon sort of cruises on without much substance. The film takes a long time to get settled onto the boat, and once it does, it seems oddly reticent to explain anything about the Knights Templar or the connection to the other films in the series besides a very quick exposition dump from a found captain’s log. While the movie is draped in mood, taking a step back from the misty cinematography and toy model galleon shots reveals an overall weak storyline that plods to the finish, only occasionally offering victims to the Blind Dead and prolonging some of those suspenseful moments with egregiously lengthy scenes, such as a woman being spirited away screaming while barely fighting back. There are a couple of shots of shocking violence, but one is more often subjected to constant bickering between the victims.
In the end, fans of the Blind Dead series will find the same things to like here: memorable zombie makeup effects with decrepit rotting hands and a film that is almost solely focused on saturating atmosphere. But all of the same flaws in De Ossorio’s direction are also present, including the lack of a compelling plot and an almost glacial pacing at times. Still, it’s ghostly zombies on a decaying boat – it’s a cool idea, even if the execution isn’t ideal.
4K UHD
Vinegar Syndrome partner label Bizarro has released The Ghost Galleon in a 4K UHD/Blu-ray combo pack with a new 4K restoration from the original camera negative. Maintaining a medium-bodied film grain for the most part, this new transfer looks quite good with a strong amount of detail throughout. Grain occasionally fluctuates to be much heavier in certain shots, including any involving close-ups of the model galleon, and there are a couple of areas where color grading seems a bit more inconsistent – specifically late in the film, when mist effects that may be composite techniques are applied. However, this UHD handles the other practical fog elements excellently, and the HDR-10 maintains crisp black levels in this particularly dark film while also emphasizing the blue tones while on board the galleon. Overall, a very nice transfer for De Ossorio’s third Blind Dead film and a vast improvement on previous available versions.
For audio, Bizarro provides both English and Spanish tracks as DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono options; interestingly, the English version is the default despite Spanish being the original language. Both are good offerings with a minor amount of hiss audible at some points in the background, though the English dub is not that great. English subtitles are included for both options, since the English dub is slightly different from the original Spanish dialogue.
For extras, this release provides a number of new featurettes on the Blu-ray disc. The first is an appreciation by Diego López-Fernández on the film itself as well as many films in the Spanish ’70s horror sphere; here he discusses some information about the low budgets, espouses on the character actors, and quickly refers to his own fanzine of the same name. Ángel Sala provides a comprehensive overview of the importance of De Ossorio’s directorial career, particularly with The Ghost Galleon and his later horror output even into the ’80s. Film historian Antonio Garcinuño gives a look at the surviving pieces of the Templar zombies that he currently owns, including a skull and two rubber hands. Finally, a half hour archival documentary on the films and work of Amando de Ossorio compiles a nice set of interviews and appreciation for the director. An alternate English language credits sequence featuring The Ghost Galleon, as well as a completely different opening displaying an additional English title Horror of the Zombies, round out the collection.
The release features original poster artwork with a still shot on the reversible cover.
Extra Features
- 2-disc Set: 4K Ultra HD / Region A Blu-ray
- NEW Scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative
- NEW Presented in both its original Spanish language soundtrack with translated subtitles and the English dub track
- NEW A Childhood Discovery: An appreciation by Diego López-Fernández, creator of El buque maldito fanzine (1080p; 24:19)
- NEW A New Mythology in Spanish Horror: An interview with Sitges Film Festival director Ángel Sala on Amando de Ossorio’s horror career (1080p; 22:23)
- NEW Unmasking the Templars: An interview with FX artist and film historian Antonio Garcinuño (1080p; 10:48)
- Amando de Ossorio: The Last Templar — An archival documentary featuring Amando de Ossorio, Lone Fleming, Paul Naschy, and Jack Taylor, among other key figures of Spanish horror cinema (1080p; 25:59)
- Alternate English-language titles (1080p; 1:26)
- “Horror of the Zombies” credit sequence (1080i; 0:59)
- English subtitles
Verdict
While The Ghost Galleon is a relatively minor work in Amando de Ossorio’s Blind Dead tetralogy, the atmosphere and pervasive ominous elements centered around a ship make this an intriguing movie all the same. This 4K UHD release from Bizarro features an excellent transfer and a host of new extra features adding appreciation for this entry in the series, recommended for anyone collecting Spanish horror cinema or all of the Blind Dead saga.
