The Dead One

I now know of 2 people in the world who have seen this rare movie from Barry Mahon, myself and my girlfriend. A lost movie has been found. Now we just have to ask, was it worth it? Barry Mahon is best known for his "Adults Only" films from the early 1960's. Perhaps best remembered for THE BEAST THAT KILLED WOMEN, a story about a killer gorilla loose in a nudist colony (hey I just review 'em I don't write 'em!). You cannot take any of those so-called "nudie cuties" seriously because they never took themselves seriously; they were there to enjoy and that was that. THE DEAD ONE on the other hand is . . .dare I say it? . . .deadly serious. Set in the back country of Louisiana it involves a plantation run by a woman who fears losing control to her recently married cousin. To fight losing the business she has run single handed for many years she uses voodoo to bring her dead brother back to life to kill off her relatives. Makes sense to me. The zombie, who at times resembles Alice Cooper, is very effective. The plot is very well handled, the photography is competent and the acting is . . .well . . .okay in most cases. Barry could indeed handle a serious genre entry and it was nice to re-discover this film. Sam Sherman, head of Independent International has . . .er . . .dug up the film and released a beautiful print in widescreen and colour under the title BLOOD OF THE ZOMBIE. Oh yes, the low budget shows. The film is padded with scenes of 2 hot jazz bands (one of which plays a hot version of "When The Saints Go Marching In")and a stripper called Bella-Bella; and at times the dialogue is hilarious. One classic moment occurs when the husband and wife discover a victim of the rampaging zombie. The husband grimly says "She's dead." and the wife responds with "But can't we help her?" Is THE DEAD ONE or BLOOD OF THE ZOMBIE worth seeing? Yes! You just might find yourself having fun in spite of yourself.

This film (also known as "Blood of the Zombie" ) is one of those movies that could have been much better if the acting had been at least average. But it wasn't and the results speak for itself. Essentially, "John Carlton" (John McKay) is a young man who by getting married inherits a plantation as stipulated in a will. So he and his bride, "Linda Carlton" (Linda Ormand) drive into the Louisiana countryside to legally claim it. The problem is that his cousin, "Monica" (Monica Davis) has no intention of giving it up even though John Carlton offers her half of it. Realizing that the plantation will be all hers if something happens to the bride, Monica resorts to voodoo and raises a zombie to kill Linda. Anyway, rather than giving the entire story away I'll just say that this movie had a good location and decent storyline. John McKay turned in an adequate performance as did Linda Ormand and the nightclub dancer "Bella Bella" (Darlene Myrick) to a lesser degree. But what really killed this film was the acting of Monica Davis who sounded as if she was reading her lines for the very first time. In short, this film is worth a look only if you're an extreme fan of zombie films. Otherwise, just skip it.

The Dead One (1961)

* (out of 4)

Johnny (John McKay) and his new wife Linda (Linda Carlton) travel to a property that now belongs to him but once there he notices that a voodoo priestess is bringing a man back from the dead to kill for her.

Barry Mahon was a filmmaker who dealt with a variety of subjects but the majority of his pictures were in the sexplotiation genre. He created some pretty bad movies and some rather bizarre ones but this one here is pretty darn boring from the opening scene to the closing one. With that said, it's interesting to see what he attempted to do with such an early zombie movie and one that most people haven't seen or haven't even heard of.

The film was eventually released to DVD under the "new" title of BLOOD OF THE ZOMBIE and the zombie is about the only reason to watch the picture. It's interesting seeing another zombie movie made before NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD so this one here has more in common with WHITE ZOMBIE and I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE. Once again we've got someone using voodoo to bring the dead back to life in order to do her killing.

Everything about this movie shows it's "C" grade. Everything from the performances to the direction to the way the story is told. There's really not too much that happens in the 68 minute running time and usually all of the scenes are padded to the point where you might start laughing. Just check out the scene where the zombie is climbing up a flight of steps and moving incredibly slow. How anyone would get caught by this thing is just hilarious.

The Dead One stars John McKay and Linda Carlton as newlyweds John and Linda (what inspired names!) who, after a tour of New Orleans jazz joints and girlie bars (what new wife doesn't enjoy a visit to a strip joint on her wedding night?), drive to John's ancestral plantation Kenilworth, which he is due to inherit as a result of getting married. En route, the couple stop to help exotic belly dancer Bella Bella (Darlene Myrick), whose car has broken down, and invite her to spend the night at the plantation.

On arrival, John, Linda and Bella are greeted by John's cousin Monica (Monica Davis), current owner of Kenilworth, who isn't at all happy that the property will soon be taken from her. In order to prevent the deeds from being transferred, Monica conducts a voodoo ceremony with the help of her loyal staff, resurrecting her dead brother Jonas (Clyde Kelly) and sending him on a mission to kill John's new wife. Proving that you can't trust a shuffling corpse with even the simplest of tasks, Jonas kills Bella by mistake. On discovering Bella's body, John investigates (leaving his wife alone in the house with a gun) and catches Monica in mid-ritual—but can he save Linda before Jonas carries out his mission?

Directed by Barry Mahon, who would later go on to carve himself quite a career in the 'nudie' film industry, this obscure voodoo zombie film is, like the 'dead one' of the title, a bit of a shambling mess, with unbelievably bad performances, dreadful dialogue, lacklustre direction, and obvious padding in the form of the excessive New Orleans nightlife footage (viewers are treated to two jazz performances and a couple of exotic dances) and overlong voodoo sequences. What is rather remarkable, however, is quality of the crisp, colour-rich photography, which is far better than one might imagine for such a cheap production, and the look of zombie Jonas, who is supremely creepy with his gaunt face, talon-like fingernails and long hair of death (shame that he moves so bloody slow; it detracts slightly from his scariness).

Not great, but worth a look for zombie movie completists and any time-travelling jazz fans planning a trip to 1960s New Orleans.

So says the leading man and he should know! Then again he keeps saying similar statements throughout this film, even when voodoo evidence is staring him in the face. But he isn't the sharpest tool in the box, after marrying his lovely new bride, he brings her back to the family's ancestral home and what does he do on their honeymoon? Shows her around the old slaves quarters and the burial crypts...Romantic fool or what?

This zombie film falls into the old style, where the creatures stumble around while following the will of another. Unlike the brain eating ones from 'Night of the living dead' film and onwards. At least this one here is natty dressed in a suit and bow-tie, always good to look your best when your long dead.

Reading between the lines, it looks like the producers of this film must have got some financial backing from the New Orleans tourist board as the first half hour takes in the jazz clubs and exotic dance bars of the city.

A very slight story here in itself, the new groom's cousin wants the family business for herself and enlists her dead brother through voodoo to get rid of him and his friends. Only one person is killed, the annoying exotic dancer they picked up on the way and due to her appalling acting, I wasn't that sad to see her go! After gatecrashing the voodoo ceremony and throwing the beaten drum out the window and giving his cousin a good slap, our hero saves the day. Sudden sunlight finally does for the zombie brother, seems a lack of drum beat and sunlight are things that finish off these creatures. Here's me thinking it was a good bullet in the old noggin.

At least the short running time is one thing in this film's favour but very little else. Still, I can now add to my fellow reviewer here, that there are now three (count 'em) people who have seen this film.

Or in the immortal words of New Orleans jazz club owner puts it before launching into a piano solo, "What's happening, dad?"

Er...not a lot actually....