Orgy of the Dead (1965)

User Rating:

2.4/10   

Director:

Stephen C. Apostolof

Writers:

Edward D. Wood Jr. (novel)
Edward D. Wood Jr. (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 June 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

A Masterpiece of Erotic Horror!

Plot:

John and his girlfriend Shirley go in search of a cemetary in order to inspire John for writing his next horror story...

Plot Keywords:

Mummy | Cult Favorite | Low Budget Film | Female Nudity | Scream

Cast

Criswell	...	The Emperor
Fawn Silver	...	The Black Ghoul
Pat Barrington	...	Shirley / Gold Girl (as Pat Barringer)
William Bates	...	Bob
Mickey Jines	...	Hawaiian Dance
Barbara Nordin	...	Skeleton Dance
Bunny Glaser	...	Indian Dance
Nadejda Klein	...	Slave Dance (as Nadejda Dobrev)
Coleen O'Brien	...	Street Walker Dance
Lorali Hart	...	Cat Dance (as Texas Starr)
Rene De Beau	...	Fluff Dance
Stephanie Jones	...	Mexican Dance
Dene Starnes	...	Zombie Dance
Louis Ojena	...	The Mummy
John Andrews	...	The Wolfman / Giant

Also Known As:

A.C. Stephen's Orgy of the Dead (USA) (complete title)
Orgy of the Vampires (USA)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1966) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:Unrated

Company:

Astra Productions

Trivia:

Most prints of the film have someone's fingerprint on the negative during the opening credits. It's visible for only a frame, so, when the credits play, it is only seen long enough to register that something went by, but not what. Frame by frame slow down and then still reveals it's, most likely, a print from a thumb.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the werewolf raises his head and howls you can see the skin of the actor's neck.

Quotes:

[first lines]
The Emperor: I am Criswell. For years, I have told the almost unbelievable, related the unreal and showed it to be more than a fact. Now I tell a tale of the threshold people, so astounding that some of you may faint. This is a story of those in the twilight time. Once human, now monsters, in a void between the living and the dead. Monsters to be pitied, monsters to be despised. A night with the ghouls, the ghouls reborn from the innermost depths of the world.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood Jr. (1996)

It grows on you. Like fungus. And the DVD is gorgeous!

Add this film to the "Looks Better On DVD Than It Has Any Right To" list. The recent DVD release reveals far better original material than the old VHS showed. We get to see every droplet in the swirling fog, every quiver of the dancers' flesh. We get to see just how dead Criswell's pan is. Every flaw is brilliantly illuminated. How can this old low-budget stuff end up looking better than many a modern film?

Sure, this movie is slow, tedious, repetitious and ultimately pointless. But it grows on you. Like fungus. It has an odd sincerity, in its utter badness. Somehow, nobody seems to really understand that they are making a bad movie -- the secret of the charm of the Ed Wood universe.

I have not only the new DVD, but also the full (including dialogue) soundtrack CD which I have listened to many times. I admit to a strange, childish pleasure to be typing away at work while listening to dialogue like, "A pussy cat was born to be whupped!"

Would-be indie filmmakers should take inspiration from this film, as it is proof that no matter how bad the dreck put to film may be, it can see distribution and perhaps even a profit. And, filmmaking lets you hang out with naked babes.

I'm working on the sequel now. Watch for it.