Night of the Seagulls, or La Noche de las gaviotas, is a return to form for the fourth and final film in the series.  It once again retells the origin of the knights and their downfall and finds them many years later, rising once again to consume the flesh of the living.  Unlike the first three films that were all fairly original in their telling’s, Return of the Blind Dead a little less so, this one offers up nothing new and because of that, is the least impressive of the bunch.  It is not a terrible film as it is still fairly creepy with the story offering up something a little bit different than before, but after writing and directing the previous three, you would think that Amando de Ossorio could come up with something better.  Whether that would include an entirely new scenario or be an honest and true sequel to The Ghost Galleon, it just needed something more.  In the end, that would have made all the difference in the world.

There are a few things going for the movie that at least rank it worth watching, mainly the direction and special effects and even the acting by Victor Petit and Maria Kosty.  The film was somewhat suspenseful and it contained enough horror and atmospheric elements to give you at least a startle every once in a while.  Ossario knows what he is doing behind the camera and the film runs quite smooth except for one single moment when he decides to film our protagonists escaping on horseback in slow motion.  For that one instance, it took you out of the picture as it was so horribly choppy, but as a whole, Ossario did a fantastic job.  It does beg the question though, why Ossario decided to just rest on his laurels with this movie?  Was this film just a contractual obligation or was he just tired of the franchise?  Whatever the case might have been, while the film did have many positive elements, it felt like watching the first couple of movies all over again.

Sometimes a movie disappoints, and it can happen in many different ways.  This film, while ultimately enjoyable if taken by itself, was a letdown for the simple fact that it wasted its potential.  There is nothing sadder than seeing something that could have been great end up being just mediocre.  It was a good mediocre, but mediocre nonetheless.  When all is said and done, it does make you wonder that if there had been a fifth film, would it have redeemed the series or deteriorated even further?  It is still a fun film to watch and you are sure to have a good time, but a little more would have been nice.

3 out of 5