*** This review may contain spoilers ***
*Plot and ending analyzed*
After finding some storage bins, I discovered this extremely rare movie again. I believe I purchased it in New York City in 1988 at the now defunct Kim's Video and Music.
The VHS copy is watchable and dubbed into English, and it also has readable subtitles. The title in the opening is "The Gate of the Hell".
An old janitor is sweeping up some school room, and then a flying skull bites his neck. How is that for an eerie opening? Not sure how it was connected to the following story though.
Then we see some young men and women driving to a place called "Devil's Mountain" to camp. They talk about ghosts, and even find a creepy hermit. What did they expect?
At night, most of the group disappears except a man and a woman. There is a heavy storm coming and they go look for the others. They find an old house with a golden crucifix on the door. That can not be a good sign.
They enter and later, some blood falls into a coffin with a skull, and a vampire is resurrected. I think the blood was from a crushed frog or mouse, as the scenes are so dark. He is stuck inside the coffin because a crucifix is on top. But a snake attacks the young man and its tail unintentionally knocks the crucifix off.
The vampire is unleashed, and chases the youths about. The vampire is played by a westerner, and his face is lit up with a green light.
He wants the couple to remove the crucifixes to other coffins, but they use one to ward him off.
There is a lot of chasing and fighting. And the young man becomes a vampire because the woman dropped the crucifix and he was bitten.
It turns out that all her friends were turned into vampires and they attempt to kill her.
She fights for her life, escapes and winds up in a hospital. A priest helps her when the vampire eventually comes to kill her. But she dies from his bite. The scene reminds me of the ending from the great little horror movie, Equinox (1970).
But no, she wakes up the next morning, and it was all just a dream! You can figure that out early on, because it's been used so many times before.
In all, this is an extremely low budget horror film, but I enjoyed it. The age of the film and the lack of lighting give it a somewhat macabre look. Some of the frights are obviously diminished by the incompetence and naivety of the young people. And the vampire is also ridiculously weak and inept.
Could have been better if they beefed up some of the scenes.
*Plot and ending analyzed*
After finding some storage bins, I discovered this extremely rare movie again. I believe I purchased it in New York City in 1988 at the now defunct Kim's Video and Music.
The VHS copy is watchable and dubbed into English, and it also has readable subtitles. The title in the opening is "The Gate of the Hell".
An old janitor is sweeping up some school room, and then a flying skull bites his neck. How is that for an eerie opening? Not sure how it was connected to the following story though.
Then we see some young men and women driving to a place called "Devil's Mountain" to camp. They talk about ghosts, and even find a creepy hermit. What did they expect?
At night, most of the group disappears except a man and a woman. There is a heavy storm coming and they go look for the others. They find an old house with a golden crucifix on the door. That can not be a good sign.
They enter and later, some blood falls into a coffin with a skull, and a vampire is resurrected. I think the blood was from a crushed frog or mouse, as the scenes are so dark. He is stuck inside the coffin because a crucifix is on top. But a snake attacks the young man and its tail unintentionally knocks the crucifix off.
The vampire is unleashed, and chases the youths about. The vampire is played by a westerner, and his face is lit up with a green light.
He wants the couple to remove the crucifixes to other coffins, but they use one to ward him off.
There is a lot of chasing and fighting. And the young man becomes a vampire because the woman dropped the crucifix and he was bitten.
It turns out that all her friends were turned into vampires and they attempt to kill her.
She fights for her life, escapes and winds up in a hospital. A priest helps her when the vampire eventually comes to kill her. But she dies from his bite. The scene reminds me of the ending from the great little horror movie, Equinox (1970).
But no, she wakes up the next morning, and it was all just a dream! You can figure that out early on, because it's been used so many times before.
In all, this is an extremely low budget horror film, but I enjoyed it. The age of the film and the lack of lighting give it a somewhat macabre look. Some of the frights are obviously diminished by the incompetence and naivety of the young people. And the vampire is also ridiculously weak and inept.
Could have been better if they beefed up some of the scenes.
