El ataúd del Vampiro (1958)

Director:

Fernando Méndez

Writers:

Raúl Zenteno (story)
Ramón Obón (adaptation)
(more)

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	...	Barraza (as Yeire Beirute)
Alicia Montoya	...	María Teresa
Guillermo Orea	...	Doctor Mendoza
Carlos Ancira	...	Gerente museo
Antonio Raxel	...	Director hospital
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Irma Castillón	...	Niña en hospital (uncredited)
Jesús Gómez	...	Policía (uncredited)
José Muñoz	...	Comandante policía (uncredited)
Carlos Robles Gil	...	Turista museo (uncredited)
Alicia Rodríguez	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Fernando Méndez

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ramón Obón		adaptation
Alfredo Salazar		uncredited
Raúl Zenteno		story

Produced by
Abel Salazar	....	producer

Original Music by
Gustavo César Carrión		(as Gustavo C. Carrion)

Cinematography by
Víctor Herrera

Film Editing by
Alfredo Rosas Priego

Production Design by
Gunther Gerszo

Makeup Department
Ana Guerrero	....	makeup artist
Juanita Lepe	....	hair stylist (as Juana Lepe)

Production Management
Manuel Alcayde	....	production chief
Fernando Méndez Jr.	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jaime Contreras	....	assistant director (as Jaime L. Contreras)

Sound Department
James L. Fields	....	sound supervisor
Javier Mateos	....	dialogue recordist

Special Effects by
Juan Muñoz Ravelo	....	special effects

Music Department
Galdino R. Samperio	....	music recordist (as Galdino Samperio 'Crucy')

Production Companies

• Cinematográfica ABSA

Distributors

• Alameda Films (1958) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Clasa-Mohme (1958) (USA) (theatrical) (Spanish language only)
• K. Gordon Murray Productions (1965) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Peerless Films (1968) (Canada) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• American-International Television (AIP-TV) (196?) (USA) (TV) (dubbed) (syndication)
• CasaNegra Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (199?) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Screen Time Images  DVD menus and authoring
• Screen Time Images  audio restoration
• Screen Time Images  film restoration

Also Known As:

Runtime:

80 min

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 Shiver & Shudder Show (2002) (V)

Don't hide in the medieval torture device, duh!

Imagine yourself trapped inside a museum of the dark middle Ages and a resurrected vampire and his maniacal sidekick are chasing you. Where is the absolute last place you want to hide? I'd say inside the uncanny Virgin of Nuremberg torture device, because there's a good risk you'll get brutally spiked to death. And yet, the elderly lady in this film stupidly runs into her spiked coffin. "The Vampire's Coffin" is a rather disappointing sequel, as director Fernando Méndez doesn't re-create the Gothic atmosphere of the 1957-original but puts the emphasis on comical situations and dialogs. No more ominous castles with eerie cobwebs and dark vaults, but confused doctors and clumsy assistants that provoke laughs instead of frights. The story opens inside Count de Lavud's final resting place, where an eminent doctor and a hired assistant steal the coffin in order to examine the corpse at a private clinic. Naturally the wooden stake gets removed from his heart, and the vampire count comes to live again, immediately enslaving the petty thief to do his dirty work. The vampire has his eye on a beautiful female patient at the clinic, and it's up to Dr. Enrique Saldívar to rescue her soul and to destroy the bloodsucker. "The Vampire's Coffin" uses a limited amount of locations and there's very little action. The whole film would actually be pretty boring if it weren't for a handful of memorable sequences and decent acting performances. The photography is amazing, though, with the sublime use of shadows and darkness. This is most notably during the scene in which Count de Lavud stalks a young woman through the deserted streets of little town at night. It's the only truly worthwhile scene of the whole film, the rest is fairly mediocre and déjà-vu.