Swamp of the Living Dead

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Swamp of the Living Dead
Original title Le Lac des morts vivants
Country of production France , Spain
original language French
Publishing year 1981
length 71 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Jean Rollin
script Julián Esteban
Jesus Franco
production Marius Lesoeur
Daniel J. White
music Daniel J. White
camera Max Monteillet
cut Claude Gros
María Luisa Soriano
occupation

Swamp of the Living Dead , also Zombie Lake (original title: Le Lac des morts vivants ) is a French-Spanish horror film by Eurociné (Paris) and Julian Esteban Films (Madrid) from 1981. Directed by Jean Rollin .

action

The action takes place in a small French village occupied by Nazi Germany at the time of World War II . German troops are omnipresent, but like the civilian population suffer from constant attacks by Allied low-flying aircraft. One day, a young German lieutenant , Karl, saves the life of the blond native Helena. Despite her lack of knowledge of the German language, the beauty immediately falls in love with her noble lifesaver, and a secret and tragic love affair ensues. This ends with Karl's sudden transfer.

About nine months later. While retreating, Karl marched back to the area in question with a small unit of the defeated Wehrmacht . The officer uses the opportunity to visit Helena and his newborn daughter. A little later his scattered train is ambushed by the local Resistance led by Pierre, who mercilessly murder the demoralized Germans. Immediately with the death of Karl, his lover Helena also dies as if by magic. The French resistance fighters sink the corpses of the Germans in a nearby lake that has been cursed for centuries, for fear of marauding SS units. More than 400 years ago, the still water was a sacred place of sacrifice for an unnamed sect who once worshiped their god Sortuba , the “Lord of Darkness”. In his honor the followers of the cult burned a virgin or optionally a child as a fire sacrifice in the middle of the "Lake of the Damned". With the handover of those slaughtered, a disastrous story begins, as the souls of the Wehrmacht soldiers cannot find peace. According to a legend, the deceased only get eternal rest when their ashes mix with the water.

Many years later, the partly mummified uniformed men rise from the depths of the lake to take cruel revenge on the villagers. When several people are missing, the superstitious residents turn to the mayor, who is interested in occult and who fears fear and horror. He promises the angry crowd to atone for the crimes, the context of which he does not yet know, and therefore asks time to investigate; he also contacts the police. After more people become victims of the angry living corpses, including players from a volleyball team and two police officers who have arrived, the uniformed undead march into the small village. The walking Karl discovers the young Helena, the 12-year-old daughter of his lover of the same name at the time, and gives her an amulet that he once received from his late companion. There are more murders in the vicinity of the lake. The angry villagers are shocked by the strange activities, fear the anger of the past and therefore organize a vigilante group. Pierre, the leader of the band of volunteers, tries to destroy the undead with firearms, but his plan fails miserably.

With the help of little Helena, who lures the living dead into an old mill, the Wehrmacht soldiers are finally transported to the afterlife by the mayor, a reporter who is present, along with other villagers. The solution turned out to be ancient flamethrowers left behind by the Germans . Finally, through “purifying fire” the circle closes and the revenants turn to ashes. At the end of the film, little Helena tearfully says goodbye to her boyfriend and father, who will never return.

Web links