Horror Rises from the Tomb

In medieval France, a nobleman named Alaric de Marnac is executed for sorcery, beheaded and buried apart from his body. Centuries later, his descendant Hugo de Marnac joins friends in a séance and then travels to the old family estate to look for the sorcerer's remains. When they dig up the head, Alaric returns to life and begins possessing people around them, using his hosts to kill and to hunt for the rest of his body. The film was directed by Carlos Aured from a screenplay by star Paul Naschy, and produced by Modesto Pérez Redondo for the Spanish company Profilmes. It runs 88 minutes.

Naschy plays three roles: the executed sorcerer, his descendant Hugo, and another ancestor, Armand. Emma Cohen appears as Elvire, Víctor Barrera as Maurice and Andre Roland, Helga Liné as Mabille De Lancré, Betsabé Ruiz as Sylvia, and Luis Ciges as the thief Alain. The film was made in Spain and released in April 1973, part of a period when Naschy was writing and starring in Spanish horror productions. Its ratings sit in the middle range, at 5.6 out of 10 on IMDb from around 1,700 votes and 5.7 out of 10 on TMDB from a much smaller pool of 45. The larger IMDb sample suggests a modest, durable following rather than broad acclaim.