Friday, December 20, 2013

The Undead (1957)

Director: Roger Corman

Writers: Charles B. Griffith, Mark Hanna

Composer: Ronald Stein

Starring: Pamela Duncan, Richard Garland, Allison Hayes, Val Dufour, Mel Welles, Dorothy Neumann, Billy Barty, Bruno VeSota, Richard Devon, Maurice Manson, Aaron Saxon, Don Garett, Dick Miller, Paul Blaisdell

More info: IMDb

Tagline: A thousand years of naked terror!

Plot: A beautiful woman is sent back in time via hypnosis to the Middle Ages where she finds she is suspected of being a witch, and subject to being executed.



My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

This is an unusual departure for Corman in that it feels like a horror-themed Shakespeare drama.  It's a good film, too.  Corman pictures are hit or miss with me but I do enjoy them more often than not.  Most of the performances are quite good.  Richard Garland (as Pendragon) is at times the weakest link in the acting chain.




I really dig the story.  Sure, it's rather silly but if you suspend your disbelief for that one concept of regression hypnosis then you'll be OK for the rest of it.  And it's got a nice atmosphere as well.  I don't know why this has such a low IMDb score but it's a much better film than it's being given credit for.  Check it out.  It's different.

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