Death Curse of Tartu

Death Curse of Tartu (1966)

** (out of 4)

A group of students and their teacher go out into the everglades for some archeology research. They are warned about the Indian burial ground being haunted but they decide to go anyways and soon enough they are being stalked by a curse from the Indian chief Tartu.

I have a strange history with this movie. When I was around eleven or so I used to watch the horror films on TNT's Monstervision. One night I had fallen asleep but woke up around three in the morning just as this film started. I watched in rather amazement because I had never quite seen anything like this. For years I tried to track down a copy of the movie but was unlucky. I had forgotten the title and for many years I simply thought it was a dream.

Well, I finally stumbled across the Something Weird Video double feature and viewing the film today I can see its various flaws but at the same time I think director William Grefe did a very good job considering the low-budget, the short shooting time and of course he at least brought out the setting in the Florida everglades. The setting is certainly a major plus here because the swamps just make for a great location and I also thought the story itself was quite good.

The most memorable thing here are the death scenes, which are all done by animals you'd find in the swamps. The way they're done isn't the most memorable but they're at least entertaining. The look of Tartu's mummy is also quite good but it's a shame it wasn't used more. The biggest problem with DEATH CURSE OF TARTU is its running time, which really drags at spots and the pacing is another issue. Still, for an exploitation picture this isn't too bad.

1966's "Death Curse of Tartu" was a staple of late night insomniacs in the pre-cable days of television, along with other no budget wonders such as "They Saved Hitler's Brain," "Women of the Prehistoric Planet," and "Zontar the Thing from Venus." Although the plot dredges up the overworked 'Mummy vowing vengeance against all those who desecrate his tomb' from the Universal WW2 days, other aspects of this feature point toward the 'nature horror' cycle of the 1970s ("Frogs" or "Kingdom of the Spiders") and the 'teenagers in peril' subgenre of horror in the 80's. Yes, the acting is awful, there's little in the way of suspense, and the teens are required to do dumb and stupid things, but you still have to admire Miami-born writer/director William Grefe, already a veteran of four features (including DVD co-feature "Sting of Death"), but may be better remembered for later films such as "Impulse" (William Shatner), "Mako:The Jaws of Death" (Richard Jaeckel), and the ever popular "Stanley" (Chris Robinson). Like the Florida-lensed "Frogs," we are witness to a repetitive series of killings perpetrated by animals, despite the impressive image of Tartu's mummy, which unfortunately is only seen in its sarcophagus. The two bikini-clad lovelies get a real workout gyrating for the ogling cameraman like a 'Beach Party' movie, and one idiot falls prey to a shark while his girlfriend watches without once trying to exit the water! (she gets it too). No doubt the swamp scenes were shot not far from the famous Ivan Tors studios in North Miami (the site of the TV series FLIPPER), which also served as the main location for Chris Robinson's deserted cabin in "Stanley" (the only interiors filmed were of Tartu's tomb). At 84 minutes, my VHS print appears to be missing some footage, as I never saw any spiders, though the web fronting Tartu's tomb gave me hope. No matter how bad this film may be, its frequent showings have earned it a kind of respect that only horror fans can bestow, and those who weren't familiar with it from the late 70s may be immune from its charms. Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater aired it twice, July 2 1977 (preceding 1944's "The Invisible Man's Revenge"), and March 11 1978 (following 1968's "The Hand of Power").

An archaeologist and his students go looking for Indian artifacts at a burial mound in the Florida Everglades. Unfortunately for them, this mound belongs to Tartu, a long-dead medicine man who has the power to shape-shift into various animals from beyond the grave.

Inventive and quite entertaining film with convincing animal attacks and an appealingly unique setting in the weedy depths of the Everglades. There's also some unintentional humor to be had, such as one of the idiotic students dancing with a wooden branch as if it were a cane. Naturally, he looks like a total moron in the process. The film sports a solid ending involving quicksand, and a scene of Tartu rising out of his tomb makes for a particularly striking image.

Worth a look, though it's far from great.

A real B-movie, with its intentions being that much bigger than its miniscule budget, DEATH CURSE OF TARTU is a fun flick to watch. It's not inept enough to be considered a PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE kind of movie but there are so many moments when it almost reaches the point of PLAN 9 that those who love really bad movies will like watching this one. For instance, the crocodile (or is it an alligator?) running after the screaming bimbo, who runs for several miles, only to have the croc right behind her. I didn't know crocs could run that fast. The living Tartu walking around with skin colored tights has to be seen to be believed. And the acting is uniformly bad. Hearing the drums every time Tartu started his killings reminded me of Gilligan's Island, which, in an odd way, sorta befits this unintentional comedy.

DEATH CURSE OF TARTU is available on Something Weird DVD and makes a great double feature with STING OF DEATH.

The "Something Weird" DVD edition of "Death Curse Of Tartu" is almost impossible to over recommend. Along with the second feature(Sting of Death) you get some truly hilarious commentary between director William Grefe and Frank Hendenlotter. Plus some great extras. The best "Something Weird" has to offer.