I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

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.

This is quite a creepy TV movie, a horror story where a naval officer tries to prove the innocence of his brother, which brings him into a diabolical world.The plot is fast-paced and full of suspense from beginning to end. The acting was well done and to-the-point, none of those unnecessary fluff and sappy stuff. The horror level may be tamed by today's standards, but definitely does give you some intriguing and entertaining moments. Grade B+

A solid step ahead for director Curtis Harrington and writer Robert Bloch from their collaboration on The Cat Creature, The Dead Don't Die is a delightfully unhinged and at times surprisingly chilling supernatural mystery, hearkening this time back to the 1930's but doing rather better in capturing the anything goes pulp serial atmosphere of that time. The story has Navy man on leave Don Drake on a mission to clear his brother's name, said brother having been executed for apparently killing his wife. On the trail he gets warned off by strange beauty Vera LaValle, and comes to find that something really rather bizarre is going on. Now although it's been more than a decade since I read Bloch's original story so I can't compare writing and adaptation, but Harrington expertly captures the surreal and melodramatic night- realm of great 20th century horror. Barely any scenes take place in daylight even when the timeline seems to indicate that they should, but the film makes all this night-time scrambling seem perfectly natural, as if the film takes place in some strange, half dreamt but grimly real region where light itself is unnatural and solutions or escape fleeting. Though the story ultimately comes down to traditional zombies stretched into a slightly ill conceived conspiracy, the general atmosphere and smattering of creepy details (like skin crawling dance marathon moments) brings the film into quality disturbing psychotronic territory. The generally great performances do a great deal as well of course, George Hamilton bringing things together as a rock solid, faithful and committed man steadily harrowed by strange circumstance, Reggie Nalder giving real heft to a traditional ghoul role, Ray Milland wearing his tired, worn and corrupt character with easy style and not a little sympathy, and Linda Cristal evocative as the haunted beauty of the film. The pace is somewhat measured and the set pieces (such as they are) evenly spaced, so those seeking swift gratification will surely be disappointed, and the sadly fairly poor quality of most copies of the film currently in circulation may well put off others, but for the dedicates of this kind of cinema, The Dead Don't Die is a definite winner. It's a great example of traditional zombie horror at a time when the Romero paradigm was close to taking over, the cast is classy and the scares still resonant despite the lack of any gruesome or outré shocks. All in all a solid 7/10 from me, highly recommended to fans of this sort of thing.

"The Dead Don't Die" is a genuinely creepy and inventive 70's made-for-TV gem that regretfully ended up in total oblivion, and this in spite of the involvement of several really highly acclaimed names in the horror industry, like writer Robert Bloch ("Psycho", "Torture Garden"), director Curtis Harrington ("Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?", "What's the Matter with Helen?") and a long series of veteran cast members (Ray Milland, George Hamilton, Ralph Meeker, Reggie Nalder, …). Even more impressive than the names is the screenplay's ability to actually evoke real frights and maintain a continuously unsettling atmosphere. This is story-driven suspense without fancy make-up effects or spectacular stunts, but definitely with a handful of unforgettable jump scenes like, for example, the electric chair execution near the beginning and a corpse emerging from its coffin somewhere halfway through the film. George Hamilton stars as a former sailor called back home to attend the execution of his brother Ralph for a murder he swears he didn't commit. Don vows to clear Ralph's name and find out who really committed the crime his brother got punished for. Searching in sinister places and encountering uncanny people, Don discovers that his brother wasn't actually framed for murder but merely 'selected' for execution by an expert in the occult who wanted Ralph to serve in his army of the undead. The plot isn't exactly plausible, but nevertheless convincingly brought by cast and crew. The events supposedly take place in the 1930's and Curtis Harrington masterfully recreates the grim atmosphere of that decade with exact period details (like vehicles and costumes) and a cheap looking type of cinematography lacking color. Then there's also a copious amount of slick details that are just plain bizarre and indescribably eerie, like a dance hall full of near dead couples and one cute lady spontaneously combusting! Ray Milland is terrific and reliable as always, while Reggie Nalder is one of the creepiest actors who ever lived. "The Dead Don't Die" comes very much recommended, if you can find a decent copy of course.

A thought provoking view of how people may or may not enter into the other side. I found this film to be a very good late night movie.