The Living Corpse

This Isn't as Bad As i thought it would be,But the fact that it's only a Pakistani version of Bram stoker's novel:Dracula,Rehan Pulls off an Amazing Performance,Though i thought it could've been better by editing out all the shocking stuff people refer to.

I don't Really Know Why Everybody Says:It's A Rip-off,Give It a chance,This Might Be because It was banned ON it's very first Premier,The first time i saw it was back in Pakistan,which I even thought It Would be awful,Due to the way how people Reacted to it in 1967,Overall,The fighting Sequences Needed to be Improved A little bit Back then.....

This was one of the films I watched over Christmas via Mondo Macabro's exemplary SE DVD. I had never heard of the film before it was announced for release but I was immediately intrigued by it, and even more so after watching the trailer which had been made available online.

Well, now that I've watched it, I'd say it's a pretty hard one to classify and even more so to recommend: it's more than just a horror film (at the time only the second ever produced in Pakistan) and, frankly, not for all tastes. It follows the basic plot line of Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' novel but obviously substituting locations, names, time periods, etc. During the Audio Commentary, Pakistani film critic Omar Khan repeatedly says that while the film-makers were doing their utmost to emulate the style of both the Universal and Hammer films – which is very fairly captured, in my opinion, via several atmospheric sequences (especially those set in the vampire's mansion) and a shock moment or two (the first screen appearance of Stoker's notorious baby-feeding scene, a lady vampire is repeatedly stabbed in the presence of a little girl), what came out of it most distinctly perhaps was their basic lack of confidence in how to tackle the material at hand.

This is clearly evident in their making the vampire a 'Professor' (shades of Jekyll & Hyde) rather than a Count, for instance, but especially in its bizarre soundtrack comprised of unauthorized lifts from James Bernard's Hammer Dracula scores, cues from popular (but, in this case, wholly inappropriate) classical and contemporary tunes and – most surprisingly (for a Western audience, at least) – musical numbers that come out of nowhere and go on for minutes at a stretch, thus effectively stopping the film dead in its tracks! The actors involved (some of whom were highly respected in their country) are adequate under the circumstances but, for obvious reasons, cannot hope to compete in the horror stakes with the more 'professional' approach of the genre stars we know so well. The final obliteration of the vampire at the climax, however, is quite nimbly made and highly effective.

The DVD transfer was as good as could be expected (the main offender is some jittering around the half-way mark). The extras are surprisingly plentiful and very interesting: we've got an Audio Commentary, a three-part Documentary on South Asian horror films (featuring excerpts from a number of unbelievably tacky and campy recent genre efforts), a shorter Documentary about the making of the film proper (comprised of interviews with surviving cast and crew), the trailer I mentioned earlier (more a promo for the DVD), a poster/stills gallery, and there's even an Easter Egg highlighting an unused song originally written for the film that we were mercifully spared from.

In the end, THE LIVING CORPSE is a goofy but agreeable – and oddly endearing – film, one of three 'revisionist' takes on the Dracula 'legend' I received on the very same day incidentally; having recently watched Jess Franco's VAMPYROS LESBOS (1970), I look forward now to checking out the last one of them – Paul Morrissey's BLOOD FOR Dracula (1974)!

I like a good vampire movie now and again, and "Zinda Laash" is easily one of the most fun and bizarre examples of the genre that I've come across.

As other commentators on this site have noted, this is very clearly based on the 1950s British film version of Dracula, which was released in the U.S. as "Horror of Dracula." At times, "Zinda Laash" is almost a scene-for-scene remake of the British film, with even some of the same music cues re-used. (I could less charitably say "stolen!") I didn't mind this derivativeness too much, though; in fact, it was like a wacky bonus sometimes.

Despite being unoriginal in terms of plot, "Zinda Laash" still feels unique because it's got very bizarre (to a U.S. viewer) touches that clearly come from the Pakistani culture. For example, several scenes are suddenly interrupted by great song-and-dance numbers. The song lyrics are often weirdly fascinating, and the dances strangely sexy. I know these musical numbers slow down the plot, but I found them to be great fun nonetheless.

It's also interesting to see a version of Dracula that's largely secular - certainly there's no Christian iconography in evidence, which is logical of course, considering that this was produced for a mostly Muslim audience.

Another weird touch I should note is that some elements come directly from Bram Stoker's novel, not "Horror of Dracula." I don't want to spoil anything, but you might notice these faithful little inclusions during the scene when Dr. Aqil meets Dracula's bride. So, the film-makers obviously read the book in addition to ripping off the British film version! I like a bit of fidelity to the source novel.

Of course, most people would laugh this stuff off the screen today for seeming hokey. But actually, the photography is moody, the locations are well-chosen, and the hokey parts really just enhance the film's charm for me. What can I say? I got a charge out of it...

This is exactly the type of stuff you expect the good people over at Mondo Macabro to release under their formidable DVD-label: Obscure, horror-themed curiosities from all over the globe! These movies aren't necessarily good, but definitely unique in some way and they at least always feature aspects that appeal to avid cult collectors. This particular oddity, for example, is a Pakistani vampire movie (how many of those do you know?) and it's one of the only horror films ever to be heavily censored not because of the horrific subject matter but because the female characters act & dress too provocatively! The Mondo Macabro DVD restores all the cut footage in which the women dance "too" sensually, although sometimes you wish it hadn't because these parts are overlong, dreary and serve absolutely no purpose. The story introduces Rehan (interesting how some of these actors have last names and others don't) as an overly ambitious scientist striving to become immortal. He develops an elixir that does the job, but the side effects involve an allergy to daylight, pointy teeth and the incontrollable hunger for human blood. In short, the poor man transforms into a vampire (although he doesn't seem to mind) and nobody in a large area around his mansion is longer safe, especially not when he sets his mind to drinking the blood of Dr. Aqil's beautiful fiancée. The first half of the story is involving and occasionally even atmospheric & suspenseful, but then it turns into a dull family drama with hardly any noteworthy moments, apart from the virulent man vs. vampire showdown in the end. The popular title "Dracula in Pakistan" is obviously the best choice for marketing purposes, but "The Living Corpse" is of course far more accurate since there's no actual blood relation between Professor Tabani and the legendary count of Bram Stoker's novel. The film does try really hard to be reminiscent to "Dracula", however. The main star, Rehan, could easily pass for Christopher Lee's brother from another (Pakistani) mother, the "brides" also look familiar and the script even bluntly copies famous quotes that are irreversibly linked to the original Dracula ("Children of the Night … What music they make"). In fact, the absolute most suitable title for this movie would be "The Pakistani Vampire Musical". There really are a LOT of musical interludes. Some of the songs are truly misfit (La Cucaracha in a horror film?), others are sexy (the bride's dance to a song that sounds like "The Shadows") and just plain goofy (the women's overlong beach song), but they practically all are redundant and exclusively added to stretch the running time. "The Living Corpse" is a curious find for people with a wide interest in global cult cinema, but not necessarily fundamental viewing for horror fanatics.

Here is an oddity if ever there was one: A 'Dracula' film from Pakistan, one of the few horror films ever attempted in the country, and certainly the first and most famous. In this variation on Stoker's novel, the count is actually a scientist (quasi-mad, perhaps) seeking the elixir of life, a potion that would defy death. But from here on, all similarities to The Fountain end, when the good doc (Professor Tabani to you, dear) not only succeeds in making the life-up soda, he proceeds to drink it himself (Hugh Jackman should have sought this guy's help)! No terminally ill wife to bother with, in fact no family or servants either, except for a full-figured lady assistant, who discovers the professor's inert body behind a sofa. For whatever improbable reason, the scientist had left a note saying that if he was to be found dead, his body should be put into the coffin down in the basement of his isolated mansion. And so it goes. Interestingly, the word Dracula is never used in the film, and people refer to the vampire as "khabees rooh", which literally translates as "evil spirit".

This was not a big-budget affair, and it is therefore quite heartening to see how much they managed to pull off on meager resources. The film retains a lot of Stoker's original plot, despite a contemporary setting, and the inclusion of some silly musical interludes. Some of the direction is…er…wooden, as is some of the acting. But there are also eerie, suspenseful scenes, and good lighting and set design, evoking a Gothic and creepy atmosphere (in black and white).

There are a couple of odd 'fade-outs' at the most inappropriate moments, but I suspect this was done at the behest of the censor board, who were initially aghast at the mere idea of a local horror film. They only passed the film after the producer-hero and director promised that they'd never ever make such a film again. And sure enough, they never did, despite the film becoming an unexpected hit. Even more surprising is that for an industry steeped in plagiarism, nobody else jumped on the bandwagon, either.

Not really scary (but not suitable for young children, either), the film is nonetheless reasonably engrossing and one of the more unique takes on the familiar tale. Horror and cult fans should definitely check it out.