Sound of Horror (1966)

‘You have to be patient with her. She’s only an amateur… and a woman.’

Treasure hunters exploring a cave in Greece discover an ancient mummy and a petrified egg. As the excavation progresses, one of the party is mysteriously slain and the others are chased off by a terrifying noise.

Spanish horror from the early 1960s with an unusual setting. The initial build up is pretty standard stuff; we get a little history lesson regarding the lost treasure which is finely detailed without being dull and interpersonal relationships which aren’t anything different but do have dramatic potential. Unfortunately, things fall over a bit when its revealed that the threat to our heroes is an invisible dinosaur! Apparently, it’s hatched from one of the eggs they’ve uncovered when blasting with dynamite.

The Monster. Yes, this is it.

Obviously an invisible monster is convenient from a budgetary perspective but also has genuine possibilities in the scary department. Sadly, director José Antonio Nieves Conde is not sufficiently talented to conjure any real suspense from the situation and we are left with a very flabby mid-section where the party are holed up in a nearby lodge whilst the monster prowls around outside. We do actually see it a couple of times but they are ‘blink and you miss it’ moments, which are probably for the best.

The two women in the cast both went on to have notable careers. Female lead Soledad Miranda became the protege of eurotrash auteur Jess Franco and played memorably in ‘Count Dracula’ (1970) with Christopher Lee and ‘Vampyros Lesbos’ (1971). Sadly, she was killed in a road accident at the age of 27. The other was Ingrid Pitt who went on to fame and fortune as Hammer’s Scream Queen of the 1970s. Both are dubbed here, which makes it difficult to assess their performances but Pitt does get to shake her booty and Miranda shows us her dancing audition for ‘Zorba the Greek’ (1964).

This is a reasonable time passer but it is very slow in places and drags badly. The climatic confrontation is pretty underwhelming and, in terms of credibility, the story obviously leaves a lot to be desired.

Ingrid Pitt fans will obviously want to check it out but there’s limited appeal for anyone else.

Buy ‘Sound of Horror’ here