The Dead Don't Die

Ralph Drake is about to be executed for the death of his wife, but he claims he's innocent and wouldn't dare harm her. His brother Don promises to find the real killer and clear his name. This leads him into an unusual world, where nothing seems quite right and he doesn't know who to really trust. The mysterious Vera LaValle warns him he's in trouble in if he digs deeper and he sees his dead brother. The only one who he can really turn to is Ralph's former employer Moss, who runs a marathon dance hall.

Traditional voodoo/occult mumbo jumbo is the source behind this quite eerie, foggy, and darkly atmospheric made for television horror fable. It's all about the mysterious story, and moody shades in what you call an old-fashion slow-burner, which throws around little edgy suspense and some knotty twists to keep the audience rather unsure if it's reality or nightmares affecting the protagonist. In that role George Hamilton gives a winning performance. The premise is penned by "Psycho (1968)" writer Robert Block and while it can drag in parts. Still the concept (like out of a crime-pulp novel) has a unique quality that goes well with the gloomy setting, 1930's time frame and some spooky set pieces that feature a prominently subtle, skin-crawling performance by Reggie Nalder. There are faults evident in the story's uncertain structure, but the dreamlike appearance helps slightly to iron out those creases. Those looking for zombie action will only get it in minor, if unspectacular doses. Director Curtis Harrington goes about things very low-key, but competently puts it together and executes a shadowy tenor. The film has that washed-out look, but the camera-work is crisply tailored and the ominous sting in the electronic music score adds to the able production. A top cast, commits highly to the production. Hamilton and Nalder are perfect. Ray Milland is boldly effective as Moss and Linda Cristal smoothly glides through her part as Vera. In admirably solid support parts are Joan Blondell, Ralph Meeker and James McEachin. Yvette Vickers also makes a colourfully quick appearance.

A delightfully decent TV chiller.

A thought provoking view of how people may or may not enter into the other side. I found this film to be a very good late night movie.

"The Dead Don't Die" is a genuinely creepy and inventive 70's made-for-TV gem that regretfully ended up in total oblivion, and this in spite of the involvement of several really highly acclaimed names in the horror industry, like writer Robert Bloch ("Psycho", "Torture Garden"), director Curtis Harrington ("Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?", "What's the Matter with Helen?") and a long series of veteran cast members (Ray Milland, George Hamilton, Ralph Meeker, Reggie Nalder, …). Even more impressive than the names is the screenplay's ability to actually evoke real frights and maintain a continuously unsettling atmosphere. This is story-driven suspense without fancy make-up effects or spectacular stunts, but definitely with a handful of unforgettable jump scenes like, for example, the electric chair execution near the beginning and a corpse emerging from its coffin somewhere halfway through the film. George Hamilton stars as a former sailor called back home to attend the execution of his brother Ralph for a murder he swears he didn't commit. Don vows to clear Ralph's name and find out who really committed the crime his brother got punished for. Searching in sinister places and encountering uncanny people, Don discovers that his brother wasn't actually framed for murder but merely 'selected' for execution by an expert in the occult who wanted Ralph to serve in his army of the undead. The plot isn't exactly plausible, but nevertheless convincingly brought by cast and crew. The events supposedly take place in the 1930's and Curtis Harrington masterfully recreates the grim atmosphere of that decade with exact period details (like vehicles and costumes) and a cheap looking type of cinematography lacking color. Then there's also a copious amount of slick details that are just plain bizarre and indescribably eerie, like a dance hall full of near dead couples and one cute lady spontaneously combusting! Ray Milland is terrific and reliable as always, while Reggie Nalder is one of the creepiest actors who ever lived. "The Dead Don't Die" comes very much recommended, if you can find a decent copy of course.

Scripted by Robert"Psycho"Bloch,the DDD is a very spooky movie indeed!George Hamilton is a man determined to find the TRUE killer of his brother's wife.He is drawn into a shadowy world where the dead won't stay dead!With creepy Reggie"Salem's Lot"Nalder as a scary dead/undead guy.Is everything George sees real or a nightmare?Ray Milland and Joan Blondel co-star.Very Spooky indeed.

Made in the heyday of the TV movie-of-the-week, "The Dead Don't Die" can be best thought of as "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" meets "Night of the Living Dead" meets "Chinatown." Written by Robert Bloch and directed by Curtis Harrington, who a couple years earlier had made a truly strange, old-fashioned horror MOW called "The Cat Creature," this film features a host of reliable Golden Age Hollywood actors in cameos, including Joan Blondell, Ralph Meeker, Milton Parsons and William Benedict. It also gives creepy Reggie Nalder a good role, and he's almost as frightening here as he was in "Salem's Lot," but without the extreme makeup. Some eerie zombie scenes and an effective score add to the film's pluses. The minuses, however, start from the top. George Hamilton is badly miscast as the hero who seeks to find out who really murdered the wife of his brother, who was tried and executed for it, but was, of course innocent. The character is supposed to be a tough sailor, but Hamilton gives more of an imitation of a hungover Bruce Dern, saying his lines with the conviction of a script girl. Ray Milland as a sleezy dance-marathon promoter, whom Hamilton manages to convince that he's sees dead people, including his brother, also phones it in. Linda Cristal as a French femme fatale with a Spanish accent at least tries. The period detail is superficial, with the men's hair styles and costumes straight out of the 1970s (as are Billy Benedict's modern eyeglasses). Given the particpation of Bloch and Harrington, the plodding, talky script and flat TV-style direction is particularly disappointing. This seems to have scared a lot of people in 1975, but now, even at 72-minutes, it seems to go on forever. And anyone who can't figure out who the villain of the piece really is must be a genuine zombie.