Burial Ground / Le notti del terrore | 1981
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| Le notti del terrore |
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| Le notti del terrore |
Burial Ground (original title: Le Notti del terrore, also known as Nights of Terror, Zombi Horror, The Zombie Dead) is an Italian exploitation zombie film directed by Andrea Bianchi. It is one of several films released under the title Zombie 3.
The plot of the film begins with a scientist researching an ancient underground tomb near a mansion, who accidentally unleashes an evil curse. This curse causes the corpses buried in the area to come back to life, and the zombies devour the scientist. Shortly after, three couples and the son of one of the women arrive at the mansion at the scientist's invitation. However, as the decaying corpses rise from their graves and begin to attack the guests, the story unfolds. The guests become trapped in the mansion, and the zombies start to besiege and attack the mansion in earnest after sunset. These zombies, in particular, display unusually high intelligence, using axes and tools to break down doors. One of the guests, George, tries to shoot the zombies but soon runs out of bullets.
The zombies eventually break into the mansion and attack the guests in the library. At this time, young Michael (Peter Bark) is experiencing immense trauma, and his mother Evelyn (Mariangela Giordano) tries to comfort him in another room. However, Michael reveals sexual feelings towards his mother, kissing her and touching her breasts. Evelyn slaps him and tries to stop him, but Michael shouts, "What's the problem? I'm your son!" and runs away. Later, Michael encounters another guest, the zombified Leslie (Antonella Antinori), but he just stares at her without reacting. Leslie, now a blood-soaked zombie, approaches him, and Michael meets his death.
The guests try to break through the zombies' siege and escape the mansion, but several casualties occur in the process. The surviving guests flee to a nearby monastery, only to find that the monks there have also turned into zombies. The monk zombies chase the remaining survivors into the forest, where they encounter the zombified Michael again. In despair, Evelyn embraces Michael and tries to nurse him, but Michael bites off her nipple and kills her.
After that, the last two survivors, Mark (Gianluigi Chirizzi) and Janet (Karin Well), are attacked by zombies in a forest workshop and ultimately meet their deaths. The final scene of the film shows the zombies placing their hands on Janet's head as she screams in terror. As the scene fades, the screen displays the message "Profecy of the Black Spider" with a misspelling, and the film ends.

