Film Flashback: Curse of the Undead

If you love vampires and dig B-grade westerns then I’ve got the perfect old movie for you – Curse of the Undead. This classic came out in 1959 and was originally intended as a satire of the vampire theme, but the final version ended up being fairly serious. While this movie may not be the best quality (it was only shot in 18 days after all) it’s perfect for any old black and white horror movie night.

Curse of the Undead follows the happenings of a small western town in the 1880s. In the unnamed town, young girls are dying of some mysterious epidemic. Doc Carter (John Hoyt), his daughter Dolores (Kathleen Crowley), and her beau Preacher Dan Young (Eric Fleming) have their hands full healing the sick, but they‘re not having much luck. When a girl who appears to be making a recovery suddenly dies, Preacher Dan notices two puncture wounds on her neck.

After teasing us with this, the film drifts into a typical western story. Doc, his reasonable daughter, and his hotheaded son Tim (Jimmy Murphy) refuse to sell their land to greedy rancher Buffer (Bruce Gordon), whose men have been harassing the Carters by damning up the brook and messing with the cattle. Without proof, the town Sheriff, Bill (Edward Binns), can do nothing but warn Buffer.

Cue Drake Robey (Michael Pate) a gunslinger that had been watching the growing feud between Carter and Buffer, waiting for his moment to strike. He gets his moment and lands himself a gunfight, and even though he’s always outdrawn (and even shot), he’s always able to defeat his opponent unscathed. Later we discover that Robey has a hatred of crucifixes, likes to sleep in coffins, and that he cannot stand the sunlight. Hmmm…wonder why?

Preacher Dan, none to happy that his Dolores is interested in employing this shady man, uncovers his true identity as a vampire. Unable to convince Dolores, Dan can only watch as Robey entrances her. But fear not, Robey cannot hurt her because he has fallen in love with the sweet Dolores. Eventually this ill-fated love triangle, and the future of the town, is decided in a showdown between preacher and vampire.

– Moonlight

By Moonlight

Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to vampires. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of vampire folklore with coffee in hand. Touch her coffee and she may bite you (and not in the fun way).

3 comments

  1. Pingback: vampires
  2. Pingback: True Blood Sucker
  3. Pingback: David Blue

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: