| Sound of Horror | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | José Antonio Nieves Conde |
| Produced by | Gregorio Sacristán de Hoyos (producer) |
| Written by | Sam X. Abarbanel (screenplay) Sam X. Abarbanel (story) José Antonio Nieves Conde (writer) Gregorio Sacristán de Hoyos (writer) Gregg C. Tallas (writer) |
| Starring | See below |
| Music by | Luis de Pablo |
| Cinematography | Manuel Berenguer |
| Editing by | Margarita de Ochoa |
| Running time | 91 minutes 90 minutes (American English dubbed version) |
| Country | Spain |
| Language | Spanish |
Sound of Horror (Spanish: El sonido de la muerte) is a 1964 Spanish film directed by José Antonio Nieves Conde.
Contents |
On a Greece countryside, two men; Archaeologist Dr. Pete Asilov and Professor Andre attempt to detonate dynamite in an old abandoned mountain cave, uncovering nothing more than petrified eggs in their blasts, taking one they fail to notice another had rolled off and hatched open, releasing some reptilian creature that adapts to its environment and vanishes. Andre lives in a nearby villa with his orphaned niece Maria and their superstitious and wise Greek housekeeper Calliope who warns Andre of the dangers of monsters and angry spirits in the mountain, which Andre ignores.
Later in the day, as Prof. Andre is investigating his half of an ancient map that tells him there is over a million dollars worth of gold hidden in the cave, his business partner Dorman arrives with his associates Stravos, Andre his driver and his girlfriend Sofia carrying with them the other half of the map which tells them where to dig for the treasure. Further ominous clues, such as the decaying body of an ancient neanderthal woman further enforce Calliope's warnings, but the men are determined to find their treasure and split it into thirds (Between Prof. Andre, Asilov and Dorman) which they will use to take care of their respective parties. They discover the bones of a man who was likely buried to keep from divulging the secret of the treasure while the women and Andre head out to sunbathe, a hint of their discovery lures the men out, leaving Stravos alone who is investigating the mummified corpse and he is killed when the creature stalks up unseen and slashes him to death with its claws. Shaken by its horrific scream, the men resolve to return to the cave for the treasure, thinking it and Stravos' death being the doing of would-be thieves from the nearby village. They are proven wrong and are chased back to the villa and in the process Dorman is injured. Terrified of what might be hunting them, they decide to forget the treasure and to work up a plan to escape. While fetching water for coffee, Calliope is killed by the creature and the humans barricade themselves in the villa
Professor Andre, determined to see his niece safe entrusts her with Pete who shares an affection with her and sneaks back to the cave in order to seal it up. He is attacked, but not before he detonates the dynamite and blows the cave entrance shut. The next morning, believing themselves to be safe, the remainder of the group boards Andre's car he dubbed "Diana" and they try to leave, but the engine floods and as they are trying to start it, the creature returns, forcing them back into the house. they are attacked by the creature who had snuck into the villa and they are barely able to trick it outside, Andre notices a trail of clawprints leading from the kitchen and using the flour to help track the creature, they are able to trick it and injure it with hatchets and it flees. They return to Diana and are able to start her, enroute however, the creature reveals itself to be on top of the car which forces them to pull over and escape. Dorman ignites the fuel reserves in the back of the jeep, destroying himself and the creature in a massive ball of fire. The creature dead and the four remaining survivors safe, they start their journey back to town on foot.