Professor Ayers (Benito Barbieri) is studying some old ruins near a large mansion. He finds an ancient tablet in the crypt. When he removes the tablet from the wall, he inadvertently unleashes an ancient curse that reanimates the dead. Several zombies come out of their tombs and kill the professor.
The mansion is owned by George (Roberto Caporali). George doesn’t use that house all that much, so he allowed the professor to stay there while he is doing his research. George arrives at the behest of the professor. George is accompanied by his girlfriend, Evelyn (Mariangela Giordano), and her pervert of a son, Michael (Pietro Barzocchini). George has also invited two other couples, Mark and Janet (Gianluigi Chirizzi and Karin Well), and James and Leslie (Simone Mattioli and Antonella Antinori). Waiting to greet the visitors are the butler, Nicholas (Claudio Zucchet) and the housemaid, Kathleen (Anna Valente). Everyone settles in.
The next day, Mark and Janet go out onto the grounds to take some pictures and make-out. While they are rolling in the grass they are attacked by zombies. They try to flee but Janet gets her foot caught in a trap. James and Leslie hear Janet’s screams and run to her aid. They manage to all get away from the zombies and run to the house.
In the meantime, George is showing Evelyn and Michael around a workshop when they too are attacked by zombies. George gets killed. Evelyn and Michael are trapped until they throw some flammable liquid on the zombies and set them on fire. They then also run for the house. The remaining guests lock themselves inside. With no phone on the premises to call for help, the captives try to pass the night without being eaten. It doesn’t take long for the zombies to work their way into the house and begin picking off the guests one by one.
“Nights of Terror” AKA “Burial Ground” AKA “Le Notti del terrore” AKA “Zombi Horror” AKA “The Zombie Dead” was released in 1981 and was directed by Andrea Bianchi. It is an Italian horror movie. It may also have been billed as “Zombie 3” at one time to piggyback off of George Romero’s film “Dawn of the Dead” 1978 or Lucio Fulci’s “Zombie 2” 1979, which in itself was passed off as a sequel to Romero’s film.
The dubbing makes the film almost impossible to take seriously. The zombies aren’t fast, but they are industrious. They shuffle like regular zombies, but they can also use tools and climb stairs. The kill ratio on the film was off the charts. The movie has a body count of at least 39 deaths, both zombies and humans. As zombies go, they look almost mummified and are literally quite dusty. Each one is still individual looking and generally not bad special effects wise. With lots of gore on and off screen it proves to be a campy but nicely gruesome movie.
The twelve-year-old character of Michael was played by twenty-six-year-old midget, Pietro Barzocchini. Barzocchini is billed as Peter Bark. Barzocchini’s creepy portrayal of the weird and incestuous Michael is the most disturbing aspect of the film. The reason for using a little person instead of a child was to get around Italy’s strict laws concerning children being used in sexual or violent scenes.