The Vampire's Coffin (1958)

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Am I Missing Something?

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

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.

"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!

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...

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.