The Curse of the Living Corpse, A Deadly Will

What was that famous Roy Scheider movie quote? Let's see...We're gonna need a bigger crypt? Nah...was it...we're gonna need a bigger coffin? Maybe not...perhaps it was...we're gonna need a bigger tomb? Something like that. In a tale of the dead returning and vengeance inflicted on some great looking, but deceitful, family members, we will look at 1964's "The Curse of the Living Corpse," directed by Del Tenney, and starring Roy Scheider.

Rufus Sinclair, an evil rich guy, has finally died and his wife and sons are ecstatic. The old geyser leaves a wealthy estate, but with conditions...of course. The evil fiend, who feared being buried alive, mandated that precautions be made in case he wakes up in his tomb after the funeral. The ungrateful heirs disregard these. Uh oh...the failure of his heirs to adhere to these wishes means he will rise and mete out deaths akin to their greatest fears. Bruce (Robert Mill) the oldest son, steeped in vanity is promised a death that will disfigure his face. Philip (Roy Scheider), the youngest son, is promised a choking death. Abigail (Helen Waren) the widow is promised death by fire...you get the picture.

As Bruce plots securing his inheritance, he takes the nubile and frisky maid, Letty (Linda Donovan) into his dad's tomb for pre-marital sex (I know, a hopeless romantic is he). This won't sit well with Rufus as he be-heads Letty after Bruce departs. When Letty's unattached head shows up on the breakfast platter, the family realizes Rufus may be alive. Uh oh, Philip's sultry and two-timing wife, Vivian (Margot Hartman) has a fling with Bruce and will witness the disfigurement of Bruce's handsome face. Now she knows they are all being hunted. More deaths will occur and it seems apparent that Rufus has indeed returned. Fire, quicksand, and a sword will inflict other-worldly justice on some arrogant and spoiled heirs. As the family dwindles in number, and Vivian disrobes for a gratuitous and perilous bath, Rufus, or his ghost, arrive at the manor-estate for a final attack.

Is the killer really the deceased, or thought to be deceased Rufus, or is there something else going on here? Will the sultry and adulterous Vivian suffer the same fate as the Sinclair clan, even though she is not a direct decedent? Is this film merely a thinly veiled  metaphor for the archaic and over-burdensome inheritance laws that plague those with claims at probate? This is a fun one and the handsome and beautiful will die horribly. For some classic who-done-it and why, enjoy "The Curse of the Living Corpse."