The Curse of the Living Corpse

The film begins with a funeral for a rich old man. However, soon after the man is locked away in his crypt, family and servants are killed off or maimed and it appears as if the man is very much alive...or is he? Okay, folks,...I KNOW that this isn't a great film nor is it a great work of art. The acting by several of the "actors" is extremely poor and too many of the parts seem almost "cartoony" in their simplicity and one-dimensionality (such as the police man and the lady who gets beheaded). But despite the general cheesiness of the film and the very, very familiar plot (sort of like an "old dark house" style film), the overall effort is still fun and entertaining. Some of this is due to the good special effects but most of it is because even some of the dumb characters (such as the oldest son) are so funny and over-the-top that you can't help but watch.

Has the patriarch of a turn-of-the-century New England family actually returned from the dead to start murdering his relatives, one by one? Believe me, by the time you get to the end of this low-voltage horror film, you won't really care anymore. Of interest only as the film debut of Roy Scheider, as well as the second movie appearance by "Carnival of Souls" star Candace Hilligoss.

This is an obscure little film that is more atmospheric than anything else. It's certainly not original, in fact it's a loose remake of a much earlier film called "Secret of the Blue Room"...which, in itself, was remade as "Murder in the Blue Room". Confused yet?

Here we have a stereotypical rich megalomaniac whose death brings out the worst in his surviving relatives. He threatens to come back to life and murder each of them if they do not conform to the minute details of his burial. Of course they blatantly disregard the orders, and soon they are all being picked off as promised. Not that any of them have the sense to just leave the old manor.

This is particularly interesting for its photography, which makes excellent use of light and shadow. Faces loom out of darkness, small objects are illuminated by tiny shafts of light, and the confines of the gloomy mansion are utilized to the hilt. This takes place in an indeterminate time period, with a glaring lack of modern technology, which adds to the gothic feel of the film.

Candace Hilligoss from "Carnival Of Souls" is our heroine, which is another intriguing aspect of the movie. Truthfully, I wasn't aware that Roy Scheider was even in this film, which makes me want to go back and watch it again just out of curiosity. I musn't have been watching the credits.

If you can find this one, you may enjoy it for the aforementioned reasons, but don't expect any real chills or thrills. If you can't figure out the conclusion ahead of time, you're just not paying close enough attention.

While this film is by no means a thriller on par with anything Mario Bava directed or anything Edmond O'Brien starred in, it still is a pretty decent watch. The acting is overdone, the comic relief (if one can call it that) is so pitiful that I was seriously hoping the Constable (the "funny" character) was the next beheaded.

THe story surrounds a New England family of status and money. Their abusive and controlling father dies, leaving an inheritance for each member of the family provided they fulfill the stipulations of the will. Upon the first reading of the will, we learn that everyone has already violated the terms, wow. Way to cut out a lot of story. The murders are pretty predictable and leave little tension. The killings each pertain to said victims' fear (drowning, fire, etc) and are admittedly pretty graphic for 1963/1964. The beheading, the drowning scene, etc are very violent and there is no sparing the gore. That isn't to say that it looks completely realistic, but nonetheless at the time it must've caused quite a stir.

The murderer is allegedly the dead father returned from the grave to revenge his disobedient family. I won't spill the beans but you can probably guess the twist about a half and hour into the film.

Roy Scheider makes his screen debut and chews the scenery with vigor.

At the end of the film the explanations don't really justify the "how" and if you've scene the film, and know the character I'm talking about, his "disability" wouldn't have allowed him to do what he did.

Through and through there are points of interest, it's not complete fodder but I wish the police men had been cut from the film. They made the viewing less pleasurable for me. It's not complete fodder and OK for a double feature (as it's released with Horror of Party Beach) when you just want a bit of "fun" and non-introspective entertainment,

Set in 1892 New England, a rich patriarch leaves his fortune to the surviving members of the Sinclair family, but only if they can follow his strict, post mortem instructions. Otherwise, they will meet a grisly end. Not-too surprisingly, said family members can't seem to live up to the stringent instructions, resulting in the alleged, titular curse.

Schlock supremo director, Del Tenney's THE CURSE OF THE LIVING CORPSE isn't a bad little chiller, considering its vintage and total lack of budget. While it does get a bit tiresome due to being a few minutes overlong, it never ventures into Tenney's typical, all-out absurdity.

This is indeed Roy Scheider's debut. He is the seemingly more level-headed, less greed-driven Philip Sinclair. The lovely, enigmatic Candace Hilligoss also appears in this, the second horror film in her abbreviated career...