The Thing That Couldn't Die Movie Review
Jessica (Carolyn Kearney) is a young lady with the power to discover buried water by using a stick from a tree--apparently she can also discover other things with this stick, as she comes across something she warns everybody not to dig up because it's evil. Of course nobody listens to her and they dig up an ancient box that holds a still alive severed head that uses the power of telepathy to take over peoples' minds, leading them to search for the head's body, which, once found, will make the 16th Century Satanist whole again and unstoppable--or--the thing that couldn't die. So in this movie we have a girl, Jessica, with really undefined powers (she somehow is able to have a flashback of the heads life), a ridiculous story that eventually leads nowhere, and a few people carrying a head around aimlessly.
What does everybody want?
There really is not a lot going for this film. The acting is extremely poor, especially Kearney, who could have taken off with a character such as Jessica but instead plays her as a mopey, uninterested teen. The movie plods along at a pace that will likely put the viewer to sleep (I have no idea how I made it through), which is sad considering the run time is only 69 minutes. To make matters worse, when the head finally meets the body, the thing that couldn't die does just that--very quickly and easily. This movie is saved a little by the head itself.
She thought there was a hat in this box...really
Though it doesn't speak, it does look rather sinister, which adds a little creepiness to the film, especially in this scene...
Peeping Head
Of course any uneasy atmosphere they attempted to create was destroyed by the horrible acting and dreadful script. It's also interesting to note that the same music from Creature From The Black Lagoon is used when the head is first revealed. Upon searching for pictures I discovered this movie was once featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000--I would recommend checking that out instead of the movie itself.
On A Scale Of One To Ten: 3
The Thing That Couldn't Die Trailer
Just saw this movie for the first time last weekend. It was not that bad, I've seen a lot worse.
ReplyDeleteI, most unfortunately, have also seen a lot worse.
ReplyDeleteThe whole thing to me was kinda fun, a prime example of 1950s B-horror, including as a representation of norms of the time. The film is at times a tad obsessed with the teen's chest, down to the last shot. The fact that the evil ranch hand who spied on her getting undressed (kinda) was the rapist from "To Kill A Mockingbird" as pretty creepy actually.
ReplyDeleteHmm think we all just watched this on Svenhgoolie lol I did not hate it is was just ok. But not as bad as 3 out of 10.
ReplyDeleteGood points Joe and Bob, I believe you are correct when it comes to our viewing habits.
ReplyDelete