THE CURSE OF THE LIVING CORPSE

"He's after us -- one by one!"

THE CURSE OF THE LIVING CORPSE (1964). Written, produced and directed by Del Tenney. 

When Rufus Sinclair, the miserable patriarch of a 19th century family finally dies, everyone remembers how he was always afraid he'd be buried alive. In spite of that, son Bruce (Robert Milli) has the funeral as soon as possible. When people start dying in gruesome ways -- the maid, Letty (Linda Donovan), winds up with her severed head on a serving platter -- and the patriarch's coffin is found empty, the assumption is that he is still alive and out for revenge. "He's after us -- one by one," exclaims his "widow," Abigail (Helen Waren). Other potential victims include son Philip (Roy Scheider of Jaws), his wife, Vivian (Margot Hartman), lawyer James Benson (Hugh Franklin), nephew Robert (Dino Narizzano) and his girlfriend Deborah (Candace Hilligoss of Carnival of Souls), and others. Who will survive? 

Roy Scheider with Helen Waren in background

The Curse of the Living Corpse reminds one a bit of those "old dark house" movies as we have a cloaked, gloved figure moving through hidden panels and the like. The acting is pretty good, with Robert Milli getting into the Gothic atmosphere of the piece a bit more than the others even if he's a little hammy at times. (He played Horatio in Richard Burton's Broadway production of Hamlet.) Scheider is amusingly  flamboyant in a role quite different from the everyman he essayed in Jaws, and Helen Waren and Hugh Franklin are perhaps the most professional in the rest of the cast, although no one is that bad. Jane Bruce is also amusing as the disapproving and horrified cook, who just wants to hand in her notice even though one boss after another is quickly murdered. George Cotton is also fun as the constable who gets drunk when he should be watching the house and its inhabitants. Margot Hartman was married to the director, Del Tenney. This is low-budget but not badly made in spite of it. 

Verdict: Fun little horror flick with some good performances and a sense of dark humor. **3/4.