El ataúd del Vampiro (1958)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Fernando Méndez

Writers:

Ramón Obón (adaptation)
Raúl Zenteno (story)

Release Date:

1958 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller | Horror

Tagline:

From the depths of Evil comes a diabolical killer of beautiful women!

Plot:

Graverobbers stumble upon the tomb of a vampire, who turns them into zombies to do his bidding, which is to stalk and capture beautiful women. |

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Sequel

Cast

Abel Salazar	...	Dr. Enrique Saldívar
Ariadna Welter	...	Marta González
Germán Robles	...	Count Karol de Lavud
Yerye Beirute	...	Baraza (as Yeire Beirute)
Alicia Montoya	...	María Teresa
Guillermo Orea
Carlos Ancira	...	Dr. Marion
Antonio Raxel

Also Known As:

The Vampire's Coffin

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Company:

Cinematográfica ABSA

Trivia:

There is a smiling skull-and-crossbones insignia on the posters and lobby cards, with the words "Recommended by Young America Horror Club". There was no such organization; it was an invention of producer K. Gordon Murray to boost ticket sales.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Horrible Horror (1986) (V)

Ataúd del Vampiro, El (1958) not a fitting sequel to El Vampiro though good in restored Casa Negra version.

EL Ataúd del Vampiro(1958), The Vampire's Coffin, is not a fitting sequel to El Vampiro,both featuring German Robles as aristocratic vampire Count Lavud. This sequel seems like a quickie followup. Most of the film is filmed inside modern buildings or building sets. It lacks the beautiful foreboding night fog scenes of the former. However, when I first wrote this review I had only seen the K. Gordon Murray dubbed version. I expressed thoughts that the Spanish version might be better. I have now seen the Casa Negra restored version in which the beautiful photography and music are quite apparent. The restored version DVD has both Spanish with and without English subtitles as well as the inferior K. Gordon Murray dubbed English version.

German Robles's acting is fine; he is quite the natty-charming-aristocratic-menacing-sensual vampire seeking Martha (Ariadna Welter) from the first movie. There is also an interesting scene in which he picks up a woman in a bar. He returns to this life?? thanks to a thief who becomes an assistant and acquires that status while attempting to steal the Count's large pendant and in the process pulling out the stake and thus bringing the Vampire back from the nether place to which he had been consigned in El Vampiro. The Count does not punish him but acknowledges his appreciation and makes him his assistant. (This is somewhat a precursor to Leo (Manver) the beguiling, willing hunchback assistant in the later Nostradamus films).

The Spanish restored Casa Negra version is part of a two DVD set with El Vampiro in both Spanish with and without English subtitles and dubbed English. The movie does now stand on its own and is worth seeing IN Spanish with or without English subtitles. I would now give it a 7.5 or 8 rating for its genre. IMDb will not allow any modification of my review of El Vampiro so I am unable to mention the quality of the Casa Negra restored version of El Vampiro; it is outstanding. I would add to my earlier review of that film that the photographic and sound quality are magnificent in the Casa Negra restored DVD.

Thomas J McKeon Indianapolis