The Ghost Galleon (1974)

 

 

1974's The Ghost Galleon or Horror of the Zombies as it was named on the DVD I saw is the third film in a four film series written and directed by Armando de Ossorio.  Of the four films I had only seen the last one Night of the Seagulls beforehand so I guess I'm watching the films in reverse order.  This Spanish horror film stars Jack Taylor (Pieces, The 9th Gate, and Count Dracula) as a man hired on as part of a search party funded by Maria Perschy (Man's Favorite Sport, Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll, and The Castle of Fu Manchu) who owns a modeling agency.  She sends out two of her models on a boat to be stranded in the middle of nowhere as part of a publicity stunt.            

 

 

 

 While waiting to be rescued the two models (Blanca Estrada and Margarita Merino) discover a galleon ship which appears out of nowhere bringing with it a very thick and spooky fog.  So what do you do when you discover a ghostly ship out in the middle of nowhere?  If you're these two models you decide to board the Spanish Flying Dutchman.  The search party includes Professor Gruber (portrayed by Carlos Lemos who appeared in  Estudio 1 and Curro Jimenez two well known Spanish TV shows ); not really sure what he is a professor of and Noemi (Barbara Rey who is also mostly known for Spanish TV shows as well as representing Spain in the 1971 Miss World Pageant) who has a crush on one of the models that is missing.  Before the search part arrives the two models are killed by some creepy looking hooded zombies.    

 

 

 

That's them right up there.  ^^^  Turns out the ghost galleon carries the coffins of the Knights Templar.  They are the elite fighting military of the Catholic church formed in the 12th century.  Closely tied to The Crusades their reputation became bigger than they were due to their secretive ways of initiation as well as questionable tactics.  They became legendary but were quickly ended by Pope Clement V who disbanded them under pressure from King Phillip IV of France.  The Knights Templar proves to offer some interesting Googling if you desire but anyway, back to the movie.  The search party also finds the galleon and they decide to board it as well to look for the models.  While onboard, THEIR ship disappears.  That's when the real fun starts.  Loaded with lots of creepy atmosphere due in part to the ghost ship looking so good.  The mummy ghosts look a little less convincing but are nearly as creepy so they also get the job done.  Many scenes contain little or no dialogue so the film cruises by pretty quickly.  See what I did there?  "Cruises by", I kill me!  Some people claim this is the weakest of the four films but I've only seen this and the fourth like I said.  I was entertained by The Ghost Galleon and it held my attention so that's saying something.  Three tattered sails out of five.