Let Sleeping Corpses Lie AKA Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue is definitely one of the better, as well as lesser known entries in the "living dead" sub-genre in the world of horror. Brought to life simply because of the success of other zombie films (including the granddaddy of them all, Night of the Living Dead), Spanish born Director Jorge Grau was able to create something a bit different and in turn all the more special. If you haven't visited with Sleeping Corpses or are interested in revisiting, this DVD courtesy of Anchor Bay is the only way to do so.

Through an unlikely introduction Edna (Christine Galbo who has an unassuming, girl next door kind of beauty) and George (Ray Lovelock) wind up on a road trip through England together. George is just looking to get away from it all and Edna is en route to visit her sister, who is about to be put away because of her drug addiction. In the mean time there is an experimental pesticide (no chemicals, just high frequency sound waves) that may be raising the dead. The film starts out slow, and the first zombie doesn't come into the picture for about 15 minutes, but it isn't long before there is a full-scale zombie attack that can rival the best of Ôem. Part of the appeal of Let Sleeping Corpses Lie is its unconventional take on the zombie sub-genre, at first there is a criminal investigation into the murders. We know that there are zombies, but the law needs to be convinced. The audience is given a lot to digest and before we know it, the whole town is over-run by zombies, and the blood bath begins. Let Sleeping Corpses Lie broke the "blood barrier" back in the day, and still remains quite shocking even by today's standards. Not to say that there hadn't been this level of gore on screen previously because there had. What Sleeping Corpses was able to do was take the element of "disturbing" gore to the next level. This type of disturbing gore that became commonplace in euro-horror of the late 70's into the glorious blood drenched 80's shocked many an audience upon the films initial release.

Definitely not for the squeamish, Sleeping Corpses does deliver the goods. This film excels in nearly every department, and is never a disappointment. Acting, writing, direction, and beautiful photography all come together to form an extremely entertaining end result. Presented uncut on DVD from Anchor Bay, I can honestly say that this film has never looked this good. There is some minor print damage (a few specs here and there) but for the most part the image fares very well. Colors are about as sharp as one could ask for and the dark scenes (there are plenty of them) exhibit solid black levels and not even a hint of digital artifacting. Sound is presented in both Dolby 2.0 surround and a new 5.1 mix. Both audio tracks are fairly comparable, but I give the edge to the 2.0 track. The 5.1 remix sounds a bit artificial and may be a bit too much. Either way, dialogue is clear and music and effects are stable and never overpowering. Surround is kept to a minimum with much of the activity coming from the 3 front speakers.

Extras include a 20-minute interview with director Jorge Grau (with or without subtitles) that is both informative and entertaining. We're also given a trailer, radio spots (set to poster art), and a brief still gallery. Look for some informative liner notes on the flip side of the cover as well. All in all, a solid presentation of a lesser-known zombie-thon that is pretty much essential viewing for fans of the living dead, in any form.