The Curse of the Living Corpse

Old Rufus Sinclair wasn't a nice man, so it's no surprise that when he dies, no one in his family mourns the loss. Rufus had a condition that made him appear to be clinically dead, so he was terrified of being buried alive; so much so that his will contained explicit instructions for his family to carry out--or they would each be killed by a method that frightened them the most.

Oldest son, Robert Milli, who looks like he's doing a seductive Rhett Butler imitation, is bad at gambling, but good at having his way with the maids and his brother (Roy Scheider)'s wife..he's pretty despicable..and Scheider isn't much better as the always inebriated Phillip, who thinks his dark sarcasm makes him the clever one. Rufus actually preferred his nephew, Dino Narizzano who is dull as dishwater. Scheider's wife, Margot Hartman is conniving, and Narizzano's girlfriend (Candace Hilligoss) is just plain vapid.

As promised, we see the coffin lid open...and then we see a figure in black, only his eyes visible. Rufus? Zorro? Hard to tell. The bodies stack up, and the police are called..and that's too bad. The police inspector and his assistant are comic relief in a picture where it just doesn't fit.

Is it awful? No, in fact, compared to most of the B-made for the drive-in set movies of the period, this one has some good points. It does have some thoughtful cinematography, and actually could pull off the Victorian horror if the buffoonery of the police hadn't put a halt to it. Except for a couple of actors, the performances were pretty amateurish, but I guess my low expectations were met. So so..but of course, you may be scared to death by it..don't believe me? Just watch the cheesy trailer!

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.

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...

The setting is New England in the late 19th century. A hated and feared patriarch, Rufus Sinclair, has supposedly died, and his family lays him to rest. However, the corpse rises from the grave, and proceeds to punish the heirs to the estate. This is done by killing each person in the manner that they fear most: mutilation of ones' face, drowning, fire, etc.

"The Curse of the Living Corpse" was written, produced and directed by Del Tenney, something of a cult figure even if he only made a handful of movies. His others include "The Horror of Party Beach", "Violent Midnight", and "Zombie" a.k.a. "I Eat Your Skin". His tribute to the classic "old dark house" genre of black & white horror films is actually reasonably competent, although it must be said that it's mostly pretty lighthearted and fun stuff. It's never really scary, or even that atmospheric. Still, it has its delights, such as a memorable severed-head-on-a-platter gag. Tenney's screenplay won't bear much scrutiny, but in a fairly lightweight lark like this, that might not matter too much to the prospective viewer.

The movie is very much noteworthy for being the screen debut for future star Roy Scheider, who gets the top billed role and who is obviously having fun. He hams his way through his performance as drink-loving, sardonic Philip. Robert Milli is amusing as the pompous Bruce, Linda Donovan is a real cutie as the servant Letty, and Margot Hartman (the real life Mrs. Tenney) is fine as Vivian. This can also boast the only other film appearance for Candace Hilligoss, known to horror buffs as the star of "Carnival of Souls".

The story comes complete with comedy relief cops played by Paul Haney and George Cotton, who supply us with the blatantly goofy ending.

Nothing great but it is entertaining.

Seven out of 10.

Once upon a time, The Curse of the Living Corpse was a staple of local free broadcast television horror and all-night movie slots. Gone are the days.

Entertaining for a low budget outing with fairly good cinematography, in spite of the inclusion of a bumbling "Dr.Watson-type" assisting his superior in the investigation. I say spare the unneeded "comedy relief".

The story is an old-school "Ten Little Indians" drawing-room who-dun-it, with mayhem stalking about the mansion and the nearby forest, while the style of the movie is updated (for 1964) Gothic.

Roy Scheider is very good in his first outing and, though the film is not so much scary, it is gruesome to similar effect and may disturb sensitive viewers.

A reasonable diversion for fans of indie horror.