An ecological zombie horror that points out the zeitgeist of the 1970s with gory and bloody delight. 

• Scare factor: ★★★☆☆
• Eco vibes: ★★★★☆
• Zombie factor: ★★★★★
• Gore factor: ★★★★☆

Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, also known as The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue and Don’t Open the Window is a British eco zombie horror with a typical 1970s zeitgeist about hippies, the police, female inadequacy, a.k.a sexism, and pollution. It stars Ray Lovelock, Cristina Galbó and Arthur Kennedy and was directed by Jorge Grau. 

Duration 1 hour 35 minutes. 

Plot

George is leaving London on his motorcycle to go to Windermere. At a gas station a woman in a car hits his motorcycle and he demands she takes him to Windermere. Her name is Edna and she has to see her sister urgently in Southgate. So they make a deal. He drives her to Southgate and he then drives to Windermere and Edna will send someone for her car. 

When they stop somewhere to ask the way, Edna encounters a strange man all wet with red eyes who attacks her. When George comes back the man is gone and he doesn’t believe her. They also encounter a machine that works with ultrasonic waves to get rid of insects in stead of using chemicals. 

But they soon realize that this experimental machine causes the dead to rise and turn into aggressive flesh eating zombies. While Edna’s husband gets attacked and Edna and George also have to flee the zombies, a police inspector thinks George and Edna, two hippies are responsible for the deaths. 

It’s a race against time to save Edna’s sister and to convince people to stop the machine before it’s too late and the dead will spread over the countryside. 

Continue reading below this announcement.

Short Review

The film starts by showing a London that is polluted and filthy with decaying morality. When George drives into the countryside everything is clear and green and beautiful. They even want to stop using chemicals for a better environment, but unfortunately that backfires.

George isn’t a likable person at all. He treats Edna not very kindly, but when push comes to shove he is there for her and cares for her. Edna is a “typical” woman who cries easily and is shocked and terrified very easily not knowing what to do. It’s very 1970s sexism. The police doesn’t come off as very able either. The inspector is very narrow-minded and immediately thinks that George and Edna are hippies and even capable of murder. Encouraged by the psychiatrist they might well be satanists, because that was all the rage in that era as well.  

George and Edna are mostly running around trying to get to her sister, and trying to get to each other, while trying to save everyone and to stop the dead from coming back to life. It does feel a bit chaotic but that’s also the charm of it.

The living dead with their red eyes are slow but very effective. They kill a person in no time with brutal strength and that leads to some bloody gory scenes where intestines are pulled out of bodies and are eaten. The practical effects are gory and gross and very bright colored.

The music is mostly the sound that reminds of the ultrasonic machine and has a foreboding feel to it. There’s a constant atmosphere of dread and danger and George and Edna must get themselves out of harrowing situations each time. The shots are ominous and threatening and capture the situation in an uncanny way.

The ending is very grim and at the same time very ironic. Let Sleeping Corpses Lie is a gory zombie movie that captures social themes from the 1970s.