The Thing That Couldn't Die

Yes,the movie is not a piece of art but the first time I watched it I was 10 years old,my parents were out and I stayed home with my two brothers.It was May 1970(I know that because I found a note about the cycle of horror movies that one network had).It's one of the most vivid memories I have with the guys.We ended all in one bed and covered up to the head! Our very first horror movie! We kept talking about it for years and laughing about the moment.Those were horror movies.Nowadays horror movies are always the same.Or was it better when we were kids enjoying without analyzing the plot and the cast and the dialogs? Most sure it was that.But for me this is a great movie!

This 1950's B-flick falls under the "it's so bad that it's good" movie category.

I watched this picture numerous times as a kid on t.v. and hadn't seen it in years when I lucked out and caught it on American Movie Classics a few years back.

Time had not changed the cheesiness of the plot, or the terrible acting by most of the lead actors, but who cares? This movie was made in the 1950's, when cheesy horror and sci-fi movies were all the rage.

The plot revolves around a psychic young woman, Jessica, (portrayed by Carolyn Kearney, who wildly over acts in every scene she's in) who discovers an ancient chest buried on her Aunt's ranch. The chest contains the severed head of Gideon Drew (Robin Hughes), who was put to death several centuries earlier for satanism. Drew wants his head to be reunited with his body, and hey, who can blame him? There are several hilarious scenes of Drew's head being carried all over the ranch by the ranch's imbecile ranch hand Mike, as well as the head being hid in a hat box, etc. Can you stand it? They just don't make movies like this anymore.

I love everything about this movie, from start to finish! It's not scary, just fun.

Pretty scary to me when I saw it as a kid, and then I thought it was quite interesting when seen on AMC (yes, on AMC) a couple of years ago. The premise is a good one, disembodied living head of centuries old warlock is dug up and exerts mind control over all, while looking for it's body. It has quite a nice, sudden ending that reminded me of Hitchcock (not in style, only in the fact that it ended rather unexpectedly - for an example, see Family Plot again) but with a neat anticlimax, one that predates the typical anticlimax of modern fright films. I won't spoil it by telling it, but if you can see this film and remember that it was made in 1958, then you'll enjoy it. If your idea of what's scary is Alien, or anything after that, then forget it, you'll probably be bored or laugh inappropriately. Not that Alien isn't scary, but that's a whole different generation of horror.

I love this movie. Even though I rated it a "4", that's because the acting, the plot and the budget were all slated to the "B" universe even before this movie was released. But that's OK! It is an entertaining film that has a lot to offer!

I remember what Leonard Maltin said about "Plan 9 From Outer Space": a film so bad that it's great! Lacking the UFO - alien plot, The Thing the Couldn't Die relies on the supernatural (divination, a buried head looking for it's body, hypnosis, etc) to tell it's story. The acting is stilted, the camera work second class and the settings are limited, but boy! what a movie! This film is available in the bootleg market. If you find a copy, buy it!

On a California farm, folks uncover the served head of an evil colonial man which begins to possess people.

A rather inventive story makes this old B film a stand out from the other monster flicks of its day. Director Will Cowan gives this film some compact direction, making a nicely dark atmosphere for the movie, even creating some occasional eeriness and a few good shocks along the way. The music score for this film is the same spooky score used for the sci-fi classic This Island Earth (1955). The cast is pretty good, Hughes is especially good as the films non-deceased villain. Not a bad watch for those looking for a B flick that's a little different from the average rubber-monster movie.

** 1/2 out of ****