The Undead

Yeah, that's right, I like the grave digger AND his incessant singing. Everyone calls him mad, MAD, I say!--but his little ballads are always right on point. He is very reminiscent of the Fool in King Lear--the observer whose supposed simple-mindedness allows him alone to comment insightfully on the madness of the others.

Also, I like movies that teach me things. Like that women in the fifties somehow had both 14" waists and, well, GIGANTIC BREASTS! Weird science, man. It's a wonder that woman didn't snap in two when she stood up.

Very entertaining concoction: in spite of its shaky sets, dresses with zippers and carriages definitely not from the 6th century (if the script is alluding to King Mark of Cornwall), verbose dialogs and a few corny performances, this Roger Corman production has the tone and feeling of a fairy tale, as performed by kids from elementary school with naiveté and spontaneity. The time-travelling premise in the script by Charles Griffith and Mark Hanna is clever and it could have benefited from a bigger budget for revisions, re-writes and higher production values. As it is, I find it funny, charming and even daring, as it somehow aspires to have values similar to literary works written in old times, about death, transcendence and the role of science in the evolution of mankind. It is also another proof of Corman's ability to turn almost anything into a pleasant time for the viewers. Recommended.

A clever, sly and witty film disguised as a B movie. I assume its low rating is due to the fact that its rarely seen

This is the story of Diana Love (Pamela Duncan), who undergoes hypnosis and recounts her past life. We are whisked away to olden times, where Diana -now known as Helene- encounters all manner of dangerous situations after being accused of witchcraft. This gets the attention of a real witch named Livia (Allison Hayes), who is none too pleased. From this skeletal storyline emerges the astonishing magnum opus known as THE UNDEAD!

Utterly absurd and completely bonkers, this movie shows what Director Roger Corman was capable of while channeling William Schlockspeare. It could be seen as the sister film of Ed Wood's GLEN OR GLENDA, or simply as a histrionic explosion, complete with nonsensical roles for Billy Barty and Dorothy Neuman. Thankfully, Corman found filler parts for Bruno VeSota and Dick Miller as well.

Extra points for Satan (Richard Devon) and his lovely graveyard dancers!

This wonderful shambles makes us weep with joy! The incomprehensible ramblings of Smolkin (Mel Welles) shall echo through our souls forever...

I have seen this weird little movie twice. The first was on MST3K and then I saw the straightforward version on AMC. I must say that this is the only movie I've seen on MST3K that did not fully deserve it's treatment. Granted there are a lot of problems with the film. The perfomers, for the most part, were mediocre. But not so bad as to make the film unwatchable.

The production values had the distinct odor of cheese to them, but what can you expect from circa 1957?

The plotline is interesting. A mad scientist hires a street hooker to be a guinea pig on his experiments on past life regession. He transports the woman to 16th century Europe where, in this incarnation, she is a witch. The woman has to make a choice of whether or not to allow her past incarnation to die so her future lives can come into being-or stay in the past to live with her lover. Of course this guy is such a twit, death might be preferable to a lifetime with him. So maybe she really had no choice, after all.

What makes this so interesting is that the whole thing had a anachronistic new-agey quasi-feminist tone that is about ten years ahead of it's time. I actually found myself ignoring Mike and the 'bots and trying to concentrate on what was going on in the film. It's the first time that had ever happened. When I saw the non-MSTie version I actually grew to like it. Check it out. You might be surprised.