Back from the Dead

Having lost his first wife, "Felicia" (Peggy Castle) in a tragic drowning accident 6 years earlier, "Dick Anthony" (Don Haggerty) has recently remarried. However, when his new wife, "Mandy Hazelton" (also played by Peggy Castle) suddenly becomes ill and endures a strange seizure, she subsequently becomes possessed by the soul of Felicia. We soon find out that, prior to her death, Felicia began practicing "the dark arts" and, the deeper she got, the more wicked she became. And because she is so evil, both Dick and Mandy's sister "Kate Hazelton" (Marsha Hunt) soon begin looking for a way to bring Mandy back. Unfortunately, it is soon revealed that there are other people who feel differently about this situation--and they will stop at nothing to keep Felicia here. At any rate, rather than disclose any more of the movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it, I will just say that this was a decent horror movie which managed to maintain the suspense right up until the end. Likewise, having an actress as stunning as Peggy Castle certainly didn't hurt the film either. In short, don't let the fact that this little-known picture is 57 years old or that it was filmed in black-and-white discourage you from watching it. It's a "diamond in the rough" and I recommend this movie to all of those who might appreciate a film of this nature. Slightly above average.

The first and most important thing I want to say is that this movie is directed by a great western specialist for whom it is one of the TWO horror films - with also THE UNKNOWN TERROR - besides westerns, westerns and westerns. So this is maybe not a great horror film, but because and only because it is from this western maker Charles Marquis Warren, I was so curious to see it. And I think that's not bad at all. This kind of intrigue is not my cup of tea at all, I am a bit bored, but let's be fair, there have been far worse in this scheme. It is a small budget and that's even better to work hard on a good script. But this plot would have been better made by a director such as Lewis Allen for instance, for whom it was more his stuff - THE UNINVITED, THE UNSEEN -, more than westerns.

This movie managed to pack a lot into its short length, was well acted and didn't go over-the-top, as too many horror/thriller movies tend to do, especially when part of the plot is about Satanism/devil worship/alternative religion, whatever you want to call it. That so often leads to a lot of melodrama, with black hoods and chanting, and a lot of anti-GOD remarks, but thankfully, that doesn't happen here. Instead, you get quiet remarks like, "You have your religion, I have mine", and while there are a few of those sacrificial scenes, they're part of the story, not thrown in for effect.

Peggy Castle did a great job in her dual role, never overacting, and very convincing as she transformed from one woman to the other. In fact, all the acting was good, and it makes you feel (despite the subject matter) that you're watching something from real life, happening to real people and how they deal with it.

The music was perfect, setting the tone and blending with the story, rather than overpowering it.

My only complaint is the fate of that dog, who was too wise for his own good. There was no fooling him, but why couldn't they just have had him run away??? I might have given the movie another star if they had.

I recommend this for anyone who likes the supernatural but doesn't like it overdone.

If like movies of people talking to each other, then boy this one is for you! Pretty much this whole movie is just scenes of people talking. They show a dog for a couple minutes and there's like a scene and a half where someone actually does something. This movie is worse than Manos: The Hands of Fate. This movie is about black magic and being possessed. So, if that stuff is up you alley, maybe you will like it. I don't know, not for me. (...I just wanted to write a short review, but I'm still 40 characters short of the minimum required.) Maybe you'll like it. Just my thoughts. Have a good day.

After his new wife Mandy (Peggy Castle) has a seizure, Dick Anthony (Arthur Franz) finds that she has become possessed by the spirit of his first wife Felicia, who drowned six years earlier. Dick's sister-in-law Kate (Marsha Hunt) suspects that Felicia's mother is somehow responsible and goes to occultist Maitre Renall (Otto Reichow) for help.

Back From the Dead is one of the earliest horror movies to deal with the subject of Satanic cults and of possession, sub-genres that would become much more popular in the late-'60s and early-'70s thanks to films such as Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist.

The reason this one isn't better known is that, despite its intriguing premise, the script is strictly second-rate and the pacing dreary. Director Charles Marquis Warren is clearly out of his comfort zone, his stock-in-trade being the Western, and he fails to conjure up any real atmosphere or suspense, the overly talky material not helping matters.

Castle is captivating as Mandy/Felicia, her beauty one reason to seek out the film, but this is an unremarkable movie on the whole, one that ends in a muddled and rushed manner as though even Warren had grown tired of it.