The Vampire's Coffin (1958) User Reviews

Entertaining follow up to El Vampiro...

[The_Void · 6/10 · 16 January 2008]

I'm guessing that Fernando Méndez's "El Vampiro" was at least a fairly big success in its native Mexico as the director wasted no time in regrouping the main players from the cast of the aforementioned film and cobbling together this cheap sequel. Not as much care and attention has gone into this one; the film lacks the excellent atmospheric night-time shots of the original and the plot is not as well defined, but in spite of these things; The Vampire's Coffin is certainly an enjoyable romp that fans of the original should at least appreciate. The film starts off rather well with a sequence that sees a bunch of grave robbers accidentally resurrect the evil Count Karol de Lavud (an influence on Dracula 2000?) by removing the stake from his heart. The Count soon decides to turn his liberators into zombies, and proceeds to resume his mission from the first film. Naturally, it all falls down to the heroic Dr. Enrique Saldívar (Abel Salazar, returning to his role from the first film) to rescue the girl, kill the count and save the day.

This film reminded me of the Universal classics much more than the original did. As mentioned, the Gothic atmosphere does not make a comeback in this film and it's been replaced by a dose of misplaced and largely unfunny humour, which is unfortunate. The outdoor shots are really missed too; I guess it must have been cheaper to film indoors and the sets don't leave much to admire. All the main cast members from the original return and fit into their roles well. The standout is obviously Germán Robles who plays the count. My main problem with him in the first film is that he never really posed a threat; and he doesn't manage it here either, although it's not so much of a problem as the film appears to want to be taken with a pinch of salt. Abel Salazar stars opposite in the 'hero' role. He doesn't really fit the model of the hero, but he has good charisma and is at least entertaining. The plot doesn't go anywhere and doesn't really provide us with any surprises by the time the film ends. However, The Vampire's Coffin is a decent follow up in spite of its flaws and I'd recommend anyone who tracks down the original sees it; they might as well anyway since it's packed in the set with El Vampiro...

Good sequel to "The Vampire"(El Vampiro)

[vtcavuoto · 7/10 · 17 September 2008]

"The Vampire's Coffin" is a good sequel to "The Vampire". German Robles again reprises his role as Count Lavud as do the actors playing the Doctor and Martha. This film had the same Gothic settings plus a bit more suspense than the first film. The acting again is well done as is direction, music and the dubbing. The only problem as with the first film is that the wires flapping the fake bat are very noticeable. The film's scene in which a robber removes the stake from the Vampire is taken directly from "House of Frankenstein" and is well done here. The scenes in the wax museum are very good and it is here that the Aunt from the first film is killed. Overall, another fine job from south of the border.

A step backwards...

[insomniac_rod · 6/10 · 16 February 2007]

I have to be honest, I was very disappointed with "El Ataùd del Vampiro". Not even the great Germàn Robles; who is an excellent actor in movies and theater (I've seen him in his brilliant performance in "The Woman In Black"); but sadly, he can't save this movie by himself.

The movie lacks the greatness of the "El Vampiro" in all aspects. The atmosphere is no longer creepy, the acting is quite silly and naive. The performances are cartoonish; of course, except for Robles.

The effects are truly horrendous although I understand the minimal budget at the time for Mexican classic Horror.

Overall, this is an over the top Vampire flick that displays what was going on with Mexican Horror classic cinema: Kitschy dialogs, cheesy settings and situations, and a cartoonish atmosphere that is nowhere as creepy as the original.

The grave robbers plot was quite interesting but it lost credibility when they found the Vampire. Robles characterization wasn't that good.

Still, the best thing is the cinematography; specially when Mr. Robles comes in fully disguise.

Give this movie a try ONLY if you liked the original "El Vampiro" which is a creepy and beautifully done Horror movie. Among the best ones from the time. This sequel will let you expecting more but sadly, you won't get more than just the typical Horror/Comedy from Mèxico.

The Vampire's Coffin

[Scarecrow-88 · 6/10 · 25 June 2007]

When a colleague of his unearths the coffin of a vampire, Dr. Enrique Saldívar(Abel Salazar)finds his life turned upside down as the one who helped bring the corpse(..with the stake still plunged into his heart), a criminal fiend, Baraza(a brutish Yerye Beirute;perhaps not used as much as he should have been)desires for the amulet around Count Karol de Duvall's(Germán Robles)neck. In getting to the amulet, Baraza has to remove the stake lunged in the Count's heart and when he does, the vampire has free access to once again bite the necks of females for blood. As obvious in these films, the Count will command(by using the amulet, a hypnotic device he uses to control his victims)Baraza to do his bidding..especially as a watchman when he sleeps during the day. Duvall sets his sights on theater actress Marta González(Ariadna Welter), Saldívar's love-interest, desiring to make her his vampire bride. María Teresa(Alicia Montoya)knows all too well what Duvall is capable of as she's been guardian over his tomb for some time and had tried to stop Saldívar's colleague(a doctor wishing to study the cellular structure of a vampire as part of researching diseases of the blood)and Baraza from removing his coffin from it's place of rest. When Baraza and Duvall flee from the Pasteur medical clinic where the coffin was taken(..not before Duvall casts a spell on Marta and almost chomps down on a little girl's neck), Saldívar will have to somehow protect Marta against a predator he's ill-prepared for. We see that María and Saldívar's colleague face a horrifying fate when they seek to find the vampire and his coffin..in a wax museum featuring "devices of death" where in the basement both can be found. It all comes to head when the Count and his henchmen seek to kidnap Marta during a stage production as Saldívar must follow them into their wax museum lair for the ultimate stand-off.

Although the flick suffers from some embarrassing bat sequences where you can clearly see the strings controlling it, this is quite an entertaining modern Gothic vampire tale. It's your typical Mexican horror flick incorporating borrowed elements, such as the wax museum which I thought was a marvelous hiding spot for the vampire, but takes some interesting liberties such as having the Count disappear and reappear often tricking those who both know and not know he's in the building(..or room)with them. The amulet around the Count's neck is a major device he uses to control people where oftentimes a vampire can merely focus his eyes on the victim. There's an inspired sequence where an unfortunate victim finds her way into an iron maiden in the wax museum as she is trying to hide from Baraza. The one problem, besides the bat's visible strings, is the fact that Count Duvall is too much of a pushover against Saldívar. He's able to fight him a bit too easily while struggling mightily against Baraza. The chief plus of the picture is the Gothic atmosphere and lighting in a modern setting. There's a great scene where the Count opens his cape as the shadow nearly engulfs the whole picture as he pursues a victim into an alley-way. The Count's demise at the end is kind of neat and different than in a lot of vampire flicks in that he's actually in bat form when suffering a grim fate.

THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN (Fernando Mendez, 1957) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 10 November 2006]

Mondo Macabro's R2 DVD of this film's prequel, THE VAMPIRE (1957), had included stills from the follow-up excerpted from its photo-novel edition (apparently included in full as a DVD-ROM extra on Casa Negra's 2-Disc R1 Set "The Vampire Collection"); at the time, the synopsis had felt contrived and, therefore, I had anticipated that the film itself would be inferior to the original (though I'm still disappointed that there's no Audio Commentary to accompany it!). Having watched THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN now - and re-acquainted myself with its predecessor (the very first Mexican horror effort I'd seen), which didn't disappoint - I can only confirm this!

Anyway, the original was largely set at a dilapidated hacienda in a remote village - with characters dressed in old-style clothing and an overpowering foggy atmosphere - so that it was jarring to see these same characters (or who was left standing among them) transposed to modern city surroundings! Apparently, the film-makers purposely opted to make the sequel as different as possible to its predecessor - and, while that same Gothic mood is felt on occasion, the three main settings of the film, i.e. hospital, wax museum and burlesque theater, elicit their own particular ambiance with which the vampire character may not always be compatible (for instance, he appears outside a bar to stalk an aspiring young female performer incongruously dressed in his traditional cape...and, yet, she never for a moment suspects his true intentions, in fact welcomes the stranger's advances by throwing flirtatious glances at him herself)!

The music score is typically overstated (as far as I can tell replicating that of the original, where it seemed to work better!) and the special effects pretty ropey - especially the very visible wires holding the supposedly flying bat, but also the number of times that the vampire is seen reflected in a mirror when it's made clear that he shouldn't!; that said, the transition from vampire to bat is, once again, neatly enough done. The most atmospheric moments are those set in the wax museum with its numerous torture devices (though the climax is a rather awkward mess!), and the large shadows thrown by the vampire on the various buildings in the afore-mentioned stalking sequence (in fact, the film-makers seem to have liked this effect so much that the scene is absurdly extended, when the vampire could very easily have rendered himself invisible at any moment and let the girl simply fall into his clutches - as he does, eventually!). Resting largely on the shoulders of lead/producer Abel Salazar, the comic relief comes off remarkably well (particularly in scenes where he has to explain his tall tale about disappearing coffins and rampaging vampires to his superiors or the police) and, in fact, my relative disappointment with the film isn't due to any intrinsic campiness - as was the case with THE BRAINIAC (1962), for instance - though, as per reviews I've read of the English-dubbed U.S. version prepared by K. Gordon Murray (included on the DVD but which I haven't checked out), it's a different matter altogether!

As for the principal cast members, Salazar is, again, an engaging hero; likewise, Ariadne Welter is lovely throughout (even when engaged in a sleazy dance number!) - but German Robles fares less well than in the first film (where he had cut a suitably imposing figure), here tending to come off as merely nonchalant...and a veritable Elvis Costello look-alike to boot! The evidently rushed production, then, ultimately brings (perhaps unkind) comparisons - with respect to the difference in quality between the two films - to SON OF KONG (1933) when stacked up against its monumental prequel!

The Vampire's Coffin

[Spideyfan-963-246215 · 3/10 · 12 November 2016]

The Vampires Coffin(1958) Starring: Abel Salazar, Ariadna Welter, Germán Robles, Yerye Beirute, and Alicia Montoya Directed By: Fernando Méndez Review FROM THE DEPTHS OF EVIL COMES A DIABOLICAL KILLER OF BEAUTIFUL WOMEN! Hello Kiddies your pal the Crypt-Critic is back with more vampires and grave-robbers. This looked liked a good-black and white B-movie with a vampire heading it as the monster and I was right but I forgot to notice it was made in Mexico. In this film we got a doctor who is studying cellular health I guess and takes note from a story of doctors who stole a grave. Doctor Mendoza and a friend of his named Bazarra do the same thing and our asked by an old woman to stop but they do not listen. Bazarra is paid and wants to take the vampires gold necklace but in doing so takes off the stake and unleashes the vampire to finish his evil deed. The film does present some horror movie tropes and is a b-level flick, it doesn't offer much fright and you can clearly see the strings holding up the bat but the actors performances and the action do go a long way from making this a fun film to sit through. Just remember kiddies don't pull off the stake.

Count Lavud Flaps Again!

[ferbs54 · 7/10 · 15 April 2013]

In the ordinary course of things, a movie sequel begins production only after the original film has proved itself a success at the box office. This, however, was not the case with the sequel to the 1957 Mexican film "El Vampiro." Producer Abel Salazar, apparently, felt so confident that his film would be a hit--and it was; tremendously so--that he began work on that picture's follow-up even before the first one saw the light of day. That sequel, released in '58, was called "The Vampire's Coffin," and does what all good sequels should: expand on the story line and themes of the original, bring back characters from the first (four, in this case), and do its darnedest to top its predecessor. Like its more famous forebear, "The Vampire's Coffin," directed again by Fernando Mendez, must be deemed a complete success.

When we last saw the Count Duval (played here again by Spanish émigré German Robles)--revealed to actually be the vampire Lavud--in the first film, he was lying in his coffin with a stake through his heart, courtesy of the elderly Aunt Maria (Alicia Montoya). The sequel picks up days, possibly weeks, later, when Aunt Maria unsuccessfully tries to stop a pair of crypt robbers from stealing the titular coffin. The casket is coincidentally brought to the very hospital where Dr. Enrique (whose actual name, we learn in this film, is Enrique Saldivar, played again by Abel himself), the hero of the first film, works, and where his current flame, showgirl Marta (Ariadna Welter, who played the damsel in distress in film #1), is for some strange reason helping him out. Trouble looms, however, when one of the tomb raiders, Barraza, removes the stake from Lavud's chest, reanimating the undead bloodsucker and commencing all the nastiness once again....

"The Vampire's Coffin" has a very different feel than its original. Whereas that first film took place in the countryside, with an emphasis on its hacienda in the middle of nowhere, the sequel feels more urban, and transpires in what seems to be a small city. The main selling points of the first film--the remarkably dreary sets of Gunther Gerszo, the stunning B&W cinematography of Rosalio Solano, and those amazing, stationary mists--are largely absent in the second; though Gerszo also worked on the sequel, his sets here are more mundane, but fortunately, Victor Herrera's lensing is often quite remarkable. What this film can justifiably boast is some very impressive use of light and shadow, most especially in the scene where Lavud chases a young woman down a nighttime street. Still, the first film LOOKS better than the second; it is more artfully composed, with numerous scenes that you just want to freeze and admire. But the second film, if more prosaic, certainly moves quicker, and is more action oriented. Among the many exciting sequences is the one in which Aunt Maria tries to escape from Lavud and his hypnotized, thuggish henchman in a dreary wax museum, replete with fully functioning guillotine and iron maiden; the one where Enrique fights that same henchman, Barraza, on a high ladder perched atop a playhouse; and the wonderful finale, in the wax museum again, where Enrique fights it out with Lavud (as he had in the first film) whilst Maria lies nearby, in dire peril. Some truly exciting sequences in this follow-up, to be sure!

Truth to tell, when I first watched the film in question, I was somewhat appalled at how stupid Enrique was acting. In several scenes, he voices the opinion that--despite everything he had witnessed in the first film--Lavud is not a genuine vampire, but merely a normal man who likes blood! Wha? How can any reasonable man be so naive? A repeat viewing, however, made me realize that Enrique was merely trying to cover up before his coworker, Dr. Mendoza (the other tomb raider), as well as dispel Marta's fears and concerns; Enrique redeemed, and all that. Abel, as usual (I have also seen him in such wonderful Mexican films as "The Brainiac," "The Man and the Monster" and "The Curse of the Crying Woman"), is a nicely ingratiating performer, and I was relieved to realize that his character had an ulterior motive for his seeming callowness. Still, Enrique does come off a bit goofier in this film, by dint of the picture's emphasis on amusing situations, such as Enrique being unable to explain to his hospital boss just HOW that coffin has disappeared, and his failed attempts to convince the police that there IS a vampire flapping about. Fortunately, the film never devolves into silliness, and the amusing bits are kept in check. One strange inconsistency that I did notice, in what is otherwise a seamless continuation of the original, is the matter of Lavud's reflectiveness in mirrors. In the first film, he is completely invisible in a mirror--as is Marta's vampiress Aunt Eloisa, too, for that matter--but here, he appears as a skeleton in a reflecting surface; only his skin is invisible. Don't ask me to explain; maybe it has something to do with being staked and coming back? But despite this possible glitch, and despite the film's aforementioned difference in tone and feel, "The Vampire's Coffin" remains a very fine sequel; a perfect double feature, natch, when viewed following the original. And thanks to the good folks at Casa Negra, both films are currently available on great-looking, extras-packed DVDs. Not for the first time, thus, am I being compelled to say, with gratitude, "Gracias, Casa Negra!"

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

[Coventry · 4/10 · 9 February 2007]

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.

Weak Sequel

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 8 June 2023]

In Sierra Negra, two graverobbers steel the coffin of Count Karol de Lavud (Germán Robles) from the crypt, despite the resistance of María Teresa (Alicia Montoya). They head by car to a hospital, where the greedy Barraza (Yeire Beirute) sees a medallion when the coffin is opened and demands more money from his partner, Doctor Mendoza (Guillermo Orea). Meanwhile, at the same hospital, Marta González (Ariadna Welter) is working as a nurse with Dr. Enrique Saldívar (Abel Salazar) and still recovering from the events in Sicomorros. When Dr. Mendoza seeks out Dr. Enrique to tell that he has stolen the vampire coffin to study his cells, Barraza returns to the room and remove the wood stake to steal Count Lavud's medallion. The vampire returns to life and begins a crime spree in the city, hunting down Marta to marry her.

"El ataúd del vampire", a.k.a. "The Vampire's Coffin" (1958), is a weak sequel of "El vampire" (1957) using the same characters. However, on the contrary of the first movie, the locations in the hospital and in the wax museum are very poor, The character Dr. Enrique Saldívar looks like a silly man most of the time, and not a MD, and destroys the movie as the hero, or good guy that fights the vampire. María Teresa hiding inside a torture chamber is another silly moment. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Ataúde do Vampiro" ("The Vampire's Coffin")

At times, quite good, but at most others, truly awful.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 26 May 2014]

"The Vampire's Coffin" ("El Ataúd del Vampiro") is a bad horror film. However, it is not quite bad enough or silly enough for me to recommend it to bad movie buffs--though at times, it sure comes close!

When the film began, I actually thought if might be a good film. It was very atmospheric and there was nothing to complain about...at least for a while. The Mexican horror filmmakers got the look right as grave robbers stole the coffin of Count Karol de Lavud (Germán Robles). It seems that an exceptionally stupid doctor wants the body to study HOW vampires are ageless. Perhaps, he thinks, he can learn the secret and use it on others. Not at all surprisingly, some butt-head ends up pulling the stake from the vampire's chest--and soon Count Lavud is alive and the butt-head is now the Count's slave. And, again not surprisingly, the Count goes on a killing spree until he is eventually destroyed (huzzah!).

So why was this all so bad? Well, the most obvious problem is the worst use of strings I have ever seen in a vampire movie. Had the silly bat on a string been used sparingly, it might not have been that bad--but the stupid bat kept showing up and much of the end (inexplicably) has the hero battling the Count in bat form. Each and every time, the many strings holding the fake bat are VERY obvious. The same is true in a scene where you see a spear being tossed--you can see it suspended from strings! Now if I could easily see all this on a 42" TV, imagine seeing it on a big screen back in the 1950s!! And, speaking of spears, don't you think that if one of your big weaknesses as a vampire is a stake that you'd make sure your hideout does NOT have spears lying about as well as a cabinet full of spikes?! It's a lot like Superman keeping some Kryptonite in his fridge!! Apart from some dumb scenes, there also are some dull ones (such as some horribly choreographed and completely unnecessary dance numbers) and after the first 10 minutes I cannot recall anything good about the film!

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

[Thomas_J_McKeon · 8/10 · 2 April 2005]

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

Entetaining Sequel

[Michael_Elliott · 22 November 2015]

The Vampire's Coffin (1957)

*** (out of 4)

A doctor steals the corpse of vampire Count Lavud (German Robles) and soon those from the first film who destroyed him must try to do so again. Once again the Count is after Marta (Ariadna Welter) but Dr. Saldivar (Abel Salazar) is there to try and save the day.

This sequel to EL VAMPIRO is actually a lot better and manages to be one of the better vampire movies from this period. The movie fixes a lot of the problems with the first movie and manages to be a lot more entertaining thanks in large part to a nice atmosphere, a much better flow to the picture as well as some nice performances. The film kicks off with a great grave robbing sequence, which was obviously influenced by FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN but it's still a lot of fun.

From here we get a lot of very good scenes that manage to pack some nice atmosphere and of course the fog machine is on overdrive during most scenes. There's some very good stuff inside the hospital where two doctors debate on science and the idea of stealing the vampire's corpse. I thought the attack scenes were all extremely good and there's no doubt that the flow is much better here. The film manages to go by rather quickly and this certainly helps.

Another benefit is that the three leads are all very good. Robles is excellent as the vampire and manages to be quite menacing. Welter isn't given as much to do here as she did in the original but it's still nice seeing her return. Abel Salazar handles the role without any problems and makes for a memorable character. THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN, like the first film, features some bad special effects with the wires attached to the flying bat being very noticeable but it doesn't do any major harm to the picture. If you're a fan of Mexican cinema then this here is a must see.

Mexican Horror

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 6 October 2015]

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.

Dear Abel Salazar, you are an amazing actor with a great face. I wish you had been better-known to American horror audiences. Films like this, and especially "The Brainiac", have either been forgotten or became cult classics far too late.

When people speak of foreign horror, they often talk of Italian, or sometimes Japanese. These days Korean horror has become more fashionable, and the latest wave (as of 2015) is New Zealand. But who is out there blowing the trumpet for Mexico?

Vampire looking for payback

[bkoganbing · 3/10 · 30 March 2014]

Vampire's Grave is the second of two films concerning the character that German Robles played in the first film. The film is from Mexico and apparently it has a certain cult status that has thoroughly escaped me.

This is the kind of film that Universal Pictures used to do so well and I suspect had it been done there where they mastered the art of Gothic horror, it would rate a lot better from me. German Robles is no Bela Lugosi, he's not Christopher Lee either.

This vampire is dead and buried in his grave with stake plunged through his heart when some scientist decides to steal the body for experimentation. Pull out the stake and you've got troubles as Robles remembers all the people who did him in in the previous life and film. He's out for a little payback.

Universal did these so much better.

Set up a dragnet for vampires!

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 11 January 2021]

So says the local law enforcement when they are informed that a vampire is on the loose. It's actually the return of a vampire, Germán Robles, brought back to life when his casket is removed from its crypt and somehow the stake is taken out of its heart. We learn that when a mirror is placed up against a vampire in full body, the mirror penetrates the skin so all you see is its skeleton. Robles gets the man who assisted in the grave robbery under his power, a calculating man who extorted the Doctor who had him remove it from more money for keeping quiet. He also goes after the woman he loved in the previous film, "El Vampyre", made the same year as another film called "The Vampire". This sequel was released the following year.

There's more violence in this than a good majority of the classic vampire films (pre-Hammer), as well as a sultry atmosphere surrounding a Mexican cabaret which gives the viewer visuals of performance rehearsals. however, the main interest in this is the gloomy photography surrounding the rise of the living Dead and how vampire chasers go after him. There are some good segways from the vampires attacks into the nightclub sequences that have loud of drums or blasting of trumpets to increase the tension.

While the Mexican horror films of the 1950's and 60's are not as polished or eerie as the Italian horror films that followed it, they do provide a really perfect atmosphere of doom, and certainly, Robles is a sultry and seductive count, believable in his ability to get people under his spell thanks to that family crest necklace he wears. The director of photography does a really good job in keeping the viewer interested with the shadowy atmosphere that proved you didn't need to be in Transylvania to have good gothic scary landscapes.

Vampire's Coffin

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 25 June 2022]

The Vampire's Coffin is the sequel to El Vampiro, a movie that tool Universal monsters to Mexico and created a new way to see vampires.

A graverobber named Manson (Yerye Beirute) has been hired by Dr. Marion to take the coffin of Conde Karol de Lavud (German Robles) back to the hospital, the very place where Marta (Carlos Ancira), the heroine of the first movie, is being nursed back to health by her boyfriend Dr. Enrique (Abel Salazar). As she recovers, he follows her to the theater where she's working on her dance career, all with the aim of possessing her forever.

How many movies will you see where a vampire makes a wax museum his lair? This one. Beyond having a basement with functional torture implements, Conde Karol de Lavud also has time to act as this movie's Phantom of the Opera.

Beyond acting in this, Salazar wrote the script with Ramon Obon and Raul Zenteno. Director Fernando Méndez made both of this and the original film.

When this played in the U. S., there was a smiling skull-and-crossbones logo on the posters and lobby cards stating that The Vampire's Coffin was "Recommended by Young America Horror Club." This club did not exist and was invented by K. Gordon Murray in a strange shot at selling tickets.

I love the moment that someone puts a mirror up to the vampire's face, he looks into it and just sees a skull. That's cinema.

Introduced K. Gordon Murray to Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater in 1966

[kevinolzak · 5/10 · 3 October 2019]

Like Miami's Ivan Tors, K. Gordon Murray (his nickname was 'Kagey' for his initials) conducted all of his English dubbing at Florida's Soundlab studios in Coral Gables before making a mint with not just horror entries but a series of children's films such as "Rumpelstiltskin," "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Santa Claus," often performing narration himself. Universal's 1931 Spanish language "Dracula" was a huge success south of the border, but as a film industry the genre didn't truly take off until the 1950s, and while most think of masked wrestlers battling the Universal monsters 1957's "The Vampire's Coffin" and its predecessor were serious takes on the undead, though this sequel lacked the atmospheric setting of "The Vampire" ('Dracula set on a hacienda'), the first half located in a modern but deserted hospital, the rest dividing time between musical numbers in a theater and a shadowy wax museum. Mere weeks after "El Vampiro" premiered in October 1957, producer Abel Salazar was already shooting the follow up, rejoined by three more cast members for their second go round, including ingenue Adriadne Welter as Martha and Alicia Montoya as Martha's Aunt Mary, foiled by two grave robbers who steal the body of German Robles' Count Lavud, the stake still protruding from his heart, moving the coffin to the local hospital where Marion (Carlos Ancira) works with Salazar's Henry. His partner in crime (Yerye Beirute) is employed at the local wax museum, greedily sneaking back in to steal the Count's medallion, but in removing the stake restores the vampire to vengeful life, again casting a spell upon pretty Martha while also attacking a preteen girl in her hospital bed, and a streetwalker who fails to outrun the old bat. German Robles looks more comfortable in his second outing and proves ready for another shot, soon to arrive with the Nostradamus quartet. The urban milieu is no match for the isolation of "The Vampire," but at least this time Salazar actually dispatches his adversary, in bat form as well. Already typecast as thugs, Yerye Beirute would be familiar with Boris Karloff fans in both "Fear Chamber" and "Incredible Invasion," plus "Bring Me the Vampire" and Lon Chaney's "La Casa del Terror."

An inferior sequel.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 5 June 2023]

Dr. Enrique Saldivar (Abel Salazar) once again has to protect Marta González (Ariadne Welter) after evil vampire Count Karol de Lavud (Germán Robles) is brought back to life.

Director Fernando Méndez's sequel to his previous year's El Vampiro features many of the same cast playing the same characters, and yet it isn't anywhere near as successful as the first film, lacking the original's wonderful gothic atmosphere, despite beginning promisingly with a howl of a wolf and a spot of grave-robbing.

The bulk of the action takes place in a hospital and a theatre, neither location possessing the ominous vibe of the original's run-down rural hacienda with its secret passageways and creepy family crypt. Worse still, the theatre location leads to some dreadfully choreographed dance numbers with Welter looking bored and confused throughout.

Thankfully, Méndez saves the best for last, with a fun battle between Enrique and the count in what must be Mexico's worst wax museum: not only are the exhibits totally unrecognisable (they have the characters' names pinned to them so that visitors aren't left guessing), but all of the props are real and potentially lethal. This means that there are sharp axes and spears for weapons, as well as a fully functional guillotine and a 'Virgin of Nuremberg', an iron maiden filled with very sharp spikes.

After escaping being bitten by Lavud (in rubber bat form, suspended on very visible wires), Enrique eventually manages to pin the vampire to the wall with a spear, while Marta narrowly avoids having her head chopped off by the guillotine.

4.5/10, generously rounded up to 5 for IMDb.