Review of The Hanging Woman

"The Hanging Woman" is a rather curious early 70's Euro-exploitation effort, but there are nevertheless many aspects that will appeal to horror fanatics. The plot seems incomprehensible and aimless for quite a long time, but the ambiance is irresistibly macabre and there are plentiful of genuinely unsettling and grisly images. Then all of a sudden, although admittedly quite a bit too late, the story begins to makes sense and even boosts a couple of original twists and "The Hanging Woman" unexpectedly becomes a modest exploitation sleeper hit. Clearly inspired by Italian Gothic horror and Hammer movies from the sixties, the film mostly benefices from its ultra-creepy set pieces and scenery, like abandoned cemeteries, sinister vaults and secret passageways in old Victorian houses. These traditional Euro-horror trademarks in combination with a couple of provocatively depraved undertones, like necrophilia and autopsies on beautiful women, make "The Hanging Woman" a peculiarly fascinating little gem. Serge Chekov, a slightly pompous young man with a weird haircut, arrives in a remote Scottish highland town to listen to the testament reading of his deceased uncle. He walks passed the cemetery and literally stumbles upon the body of a lifeless woman hanging from a tree. It's quite funny how only at this point the title appears on screen even though the film's already running for a good twelve minutes. The woman turns out to be murdered, which isn't too surprising as there are numerous of morbid occurrences and deranged inhabitants in this little town. Chekov meets with a black magic practicing aunt, an amateur scientist reviving dead frogs, blackmailing servants and a necrophiliac grave digger. Even more disturbing is the fact that the dead in this town regularly emerge from their tombs to scare the hell out of the living. "The Hanging Woman" has a fantastic atmosphere and multiple of terrific "weirdo" moments, like a surreal sex sequence and Paul Naschy fondling female cadavers in a severe state of decomposition. There also are some flashes of nail-biting suspense, most notably the séance and the exhumation of the deceased uncle. The finale is excellent and good old-fashioned horrific, with petrifying zombies and bloodshed. The make-up effects on the zombies are effectively nasty and vile, like they did it best in contemporary European horror flicks. Weirdness, sleaze, filth and a perverted Paul Naschy … What more could you wish for?