The Curse of the Living Corpse (1964)
Directed by Del Tenney
Starring Helen Warren, Roy Scheider, Margot Hartman, Robert Milli, Hugh Franklin, Candace Hilligoss, Dino Narizzano

It’s funny sometimes how we discover different films that have either been hidden over the years, ones that you might not have heard of, or ones that simply come out with little or no fanfare and seem to slip away into obscurity. This film is a perfect example of this. Back in 2006, Dark Sky Films released Del Tenney’s more famous title The Horror of Party Beach on DVD. One of the special features was the inclusion of this title, which was originally released on a double bill with Horror back in 1964. The film stars Roy Scheider in his first feature film appearance so you’d think it would get more attention, but not so much. To say that Curse is a better film than Horror is really comparing apples to oranges. Or maybe hot dogs to steak. But I will say that it one that needs to be seen.

The film opens up with a funeral for the head of the Sinclair family. This opening shot is like something from either a Hammer Film or one of Corman’s AIP Poe films. The Sinclair family seems like they are right out of a Poe story. That opening sequence is atmospheric, creepy, and really sets the tone for the rest of the picture. The family’s patriarch has died and is being laid to rest, but before the family can even leave the tomb, they start on how thankful they are that their torment is over. Of course, the father, who was deathly afraid of being buried alive, has some provisions in the will that must be followed for a year, like keeping the tomb’s torches lit and leaving the door unlocked, otherwise… no money. By failing to follow these instructions, not only would they not get any money, but they would also die by the way they are most frightened of. Pretty nice old, man, huh? No wonder why they were happy when he died.

Or did he really die?

Filmed in glorious black and white, I think it adds so much to the atmosphere here. From the villain coming out of the darkness, or the darkened tomb, there is plenty of well shot sequences that build the mood, including a very realistic severed head that is discovered. A very shocking moment, even for that time. There are also more than a few nods to the Italian giallo genre, with the mysterious killer moving about, his face covered up to his eyes, dressed entirely in black, including his gloves. Sure, one might question how the hell this person is moving in and out without being detected, but let’s not be too critical here. I mean, the guy made a creature feature with the monsters looking like they got a mouthful of hot dogs! 

Roy Scheider plays the youngest of the family, the drunken Philip. His older brother Bruce is played by Robert Milli, who seems to have a strong resemblance to Clark Gable. They both are about as cruel as they come, such as Bruce making a play for Philip’s wife, only to shut her down when she succumbs to his “charms”. That is, when he’s not threatening the young maid in the family’s employment to make sure she serves the new master of the house. Candice Hilligoss, star of the cult classic Carnival of Souls, appears as the lawyer’s daughter.

Other than some little humor from one of the policemen, this film is played completely straight. Although, one might find  some other humor from the very dark characters, mainly the two brothers with their cruelty.

The DVD release from Dark Sky has audio commentary with director / writer / producer Tenney, where he discusses the film in great detail, giving out a lot of information on the making and distributing of the film. While everyone (at least should know) of his monster / beach party movie, which got a Blu-ray release from Severin a few years ago, it is a shame that Curse isn’t getting more attention. Hopefully this review will cause a few of you out there to look this one up. I think you’ll find it pretty entertaining.