The Dead One (1961) User Reviews

Voodoo, zombies, and all that jazz.

[BA_Harrison · 4/10 · 5 July 2015]

The Dead One stars John McKay and Linda Carlton as newlyweds John and Linda (what inspired names!) who, after a tour of New Orleans jazz joints and girlie bars (what new wife doesn't enjoy a visit to a strip joint on her wedding night?), drive to John's ancestral plantation Kenilworth, which he is due to inherit as a result of getting married. En route, the couple stop to help exotic belly dancer Bella Bella (Darlene Myrick), whose car has broken down, and invite her to spend the night at the plantation.

On arrival, John, Linda and Bella are greeted by John's cousin Monica (Monica Davis), current owner of Kenilworth, who isn't at all happy that the property will soon be taken from her. In order to prevent the deeds from being transferred, Monica conducts a voodoo ceremony with the help of her loyal staff, resurrecting her dead brother Jonas (Clyde Kelly) and sending him on a mission to kill John's new wife. Proving that you can't trust a shuffling corpse with even the simplest of tasks, Jonas kills Bella by mistake. On discovering Bella's body, John investigates (leaving his wife alone in the house with a gun) and catches Monica in mid-ritual—but can he save Linda before Jonas carries out his mission?

Directed by Barry Mahon, who would later go on to carve himself quite a career in the 'nudie' film industry, this obscure voodoo zombie film is, like the 'dead one' of the title, a bit of a shambling mess, with unbelievably bad performances, dreadful dialogue, lacklustre direction, and obvious padding in the form of the excessive New Orleans nightlife footage (viewers are treated to two jazz performances and a couple of exotic dances) and overlong voodoo sequences. What is rather remarkable, however, is quality of the crisp, colour-rich photography, which is far better than one might imagine for such a cheap production, and the look of zombie Jonas, who is supremely creepy with his gaunt face, talon-like fingernails and long hair of death (shame that he moves so bloody slow; it detracts slightly from his scariness).

Not great, but worth a look for zombie movie completists and any time-travelling jazz fans planning a trip to 1960s New Orleans.

The Slow One

[Bezenby · 4/10 · 31 July 2012]

Now, this is one boring film! For such a short film, they sure find a lot of time for nothing to happen, which is a shame because I was looking forward to this one.

You've got your playboy jazz guy who's settling down in a plantation he's inherited, but not after taking his new bride to see some jazz, some other jazz, and a belly dancer (that must every new bride's dream honeymoon!). Boringly, his cousin, who's mental, is doing voodoo at the plantation and resurrecting her dead brother so he can kill the new bride for some reason (seems awfully complicated when a simple gunshot would do). This involves a lot, and I mean a LOT, of bongo abuse. Seriously, the guy in this film hammers those bongos so much I'd expect his fingers were the size of Arnie's biceps by the time they'd finished the film.

So, near enough the first three quarters of this film are uneventful, so by the time they have the dead guy shuffling about looking to throttle someone, you'll be sound asleep. It did dawn on me that the zombie resembled Diamond Dogs era, coke-addled Bowie, so that gave me a chuckle, as did the ending, where the hero was all like "Well, cops…that's what happened. See ya!".

You might derive fun from this. The print you can get in the UK is one of the best I've seen for such an old film.

Zombie classic

[lastliberal · 4/10 · 29 December 2007]

Writer/Director/Producer Barry Mahon, who gave us Santa and the Three Bears, started out with cheesy flicks like this one, also known as Blood of the Zombie.

Despite the low grade script by Mahon, and the Grade Z acting, this was a fascinating zombie picture, set appropriately in New Orleans.

John MacKay may be investigating fellow cops on "Law & Order" but this baby is in his early career. His wife, Linda Ormond, was probably too ashamed to make another movie, as was the zombie, Uncle Jonas (Clyde Kelly), who was the perfect zombie. he had the clothes and the walk and the movement down pat. He should be in the Zombie Hall of Fame, if there is one.

Good for a laugh and a look at the career work of Barry Mahon, an interesting character.

A lost movie, found! Now was it worth looking for?

[reptilicus · 27 March 2003]

I now know of 2 people in the world who have seen this rare movie from Barry Mahon, myself and my girlfriend. A lost movie has been found. Now we just have to ask, was it worth it? Barry Mahon is best known for his "Adults Only" films from the early 1960's. Perhaps best remembered for THE BEAST THAT KILLED WOMEN, a story about a killer gorilla loose in a nudist colony (hey I just review 'em I don't write 'em!). You cannot take any of those so-called "nudie cuties" seriously because they never took themselves seriously; they were there to enjoy and that was that. THE DEAD ONE on the other hand is . . .dare I say it? . . .deadly serious. Set in the back country of Louisiana it involves a plantation run by a woman who fears losing control to her recently married cousin. To fight losing the business she has run single handed for many years she uses voodoo to bring her dead brother back to life to kill off her relatives. Makes sense to me. The zombie, who at times resembles Alice Cooper, is very effective. The plot is very well handled, the photography is competent and the acting is . . .well . . .okay in most cases. Barry could indeed handle a serious genre entry and it was nice to re-discover this film. Sam Sherman, head of Independent International has . . .er . . .dug up the film and released a beautiful print in widescreen and colour under the title BLOOD OF THE ZOMBIE. Oh yes, the low budget shows. The film is padded with scenes of 2 hot jazz bands (one of which plays a hot version of "When The Saints Go Marching In")and a stripper called Bella-Bella; and at times the dialogue is hilarious. One classic moment occurs when the husband and wife discover a victim of the rampaging zombie. The husband grimly says "She's dead." and the wife responds with "But can't we help her?" Is THE DEAD ONE or BLOOD OF THE ZOMBIE worth seeing? Yes! You just might find yourself having fun in spite of yourself.

Extremely dull zombie horror wash-out

[Woodyanders · 3/10 · 16 June 2014]

A vengeful voodoo priestess revives a hideous rotting zombie back from the dead so it can do her evil bidding. Sound good? Well, it just ain't. Boy, does this clunker strike out something stinky in every possible way: The flat (non)direction by Barry Mahon (who also wrote the excruciatingly talky and uneventful script), the sluggish pacing, the insipid acting from a lame no-name cast (only Monica Davis brings any true vigor to her role as the bitter and bitchy Monica), an alarming dearth of tension and spooky atmosphere, a minimal body count (only two folks get killed in this flick!), the meandering narrative, the static cinematography which makes numbing overuse of cruddy master shots, and the blah limply-staged conclusion all make this one a gruelingly tedious chore to endure. On the plus side, Darlene Myrick looks mighty sexy as ditsy exotic dancer Bella Bella, there's some flavorsome footage of the French Quarter in New Orleans, and the snazzy swinging jazz group The Joe Burton Trio make a neat appearance performing in a club. A real snorefest.

"Silly superstitious nonsense!"

[zeppo-2 · 3/10 · 22 December 2006]

So says the leading man and he should know! Then again he keeps saying similar statements throughout this film, even when voodoo evidence is staring him in the face. But he isn't the sharpest tool in the box, after marrying his lovely new bride, he brings her back to the family's ancestral home and what does he do on their honeymoon? Shows her around the old slaves quarters and the burial crypts...Romantic fool or what?

This zombie film falls into the old style, where the creatures stumble around while following the will of another. Unlike the brain eating ones from 'Night of the living dead' film and onwards. At least this one here is natty dressed in a suit and bow-tie, always good to look your best when your long dead.

Reading between the lines, it looks like the producers of this film must have got some financial backing from the New Orleans tourist board as the first half hour takes in the jazz clubs and exotic dance bars of the city.

A very slight story here in itself, the new groom's cousin wants the family business for herself and enlists her dead brother through voodoo to get rid of him and his friends. Only one person is killed, the annoying exotic dancer they picked up on the way and due to her appalling acting, I wasn't that sad to see her go! After gatecrashing the voodoo ceremony and throwing the beaten drum out the window and giving his cousin a good slap, our hero saves the day. Sudden sunlight finally does for the zombie brother, seems a lack of drum beat and sunlight are things that finish off these creatures. Here's me thinking it was a good bullet in the old noggin.

At least the short running time is one thing in this film's favour but very little else. Still, I can now add to my fellow reviewer here, that there are now three (count 'em) people who have seen this film.

Or in the immortal words of New Orleans jazz club owner puts it before launching into a piano solo, "What's happening, dad?"

Er...not a lot actually....

Skip It

[Uriah43 · 3/10 · 26 January 2013]

This film (also known as "Blood of the Zombie" ) is one of those movies that could have been much better if the acting had been at least average. But it wasn't and the results speak for itself. Essentially, "John Carlton" (John McKay) is a young man who by getting married inherits a plantation as stipulated in a will. So he and his bride, "Linda Carlton" (Linda Ormand) drive into the Louisiana countryside to legally claim it. The problem is that his cousin, "Monica" (Monica Davis) has no intention of giving it up even though John Carlton offers her half of it. Realizing that the plantation will be all hers if something happens to the bride, Monica resorts to voodoo and raises a zombie to kill Linda. Anyway, rather than giving the entire story away I'll just say that this movie had a good location and decent storyline. John McKay turned in an adequate performance as did Linda Ormand and the nightclub dancer "Bella Bella" (Darlene Myrick) to a lesser degree. But what really killed this film was the acting of Monica Davis who sounded as if she was reading her lines for the very first time. In short, this film is worth a look only if you're an extreme fan of zombie films. Otherwise, just skip it.

Glossy but Tinny Zombie Flick Shot in New Orleans

[richardchatten · 3/10 · 10 June 2018]

Over thirty years ago in his eternally cherishable 'Keep Watching the Skies!' the late Bill Warren raised the fascinating and still unresolved question of the possible existence south of the Mason-Dixon line of a cottage industry producing sci-fi and horror films made and distributed only in the American South on a states' rights basis, "rarely if ever surfacing in other parts of the country, even on television". On page 867 of the revised edition of his book, 'The Dead One' - made by a company called 'Mardi Gras Productions'- is one of four titles Warren mentions by name that achieved this leap.

Remarkably glossily photographed by Mark Dennes on location in and around New Orleans in Eastmancolor and 'Ultrascope', it looks good but the tinny sound betrays its low budget; and it moves as slowly as the late cousin Jonas.

After an interminable tour of nightlife in New Orleans as it was in 1960, the action then takes until well after the halfway mark for mad cousin Monica to use voodoo drums to raise her late brother Jonas from the dead. Cousin Jonas - as an earlier reviewer observed - resembles Alice Cooper in black tie. The film's title lays its cards on the table about having just the one zombie (unlike Herschel Gordon Lewis's boastfully titled 'Two Thousand Maniacs!') who anticipates the zombies - whose sheer numbers were what made them such a formidable threat - in 'Night of the Living Dead' (not to mention Cooper's own appearance in John Carpenter's 'Prince of Darkness').

Monica Davis as the malevolent Monica gives both the worst and the most compelling performance in the film - well complemented by Margaret Johnston's vengeful old harpy in 'The Night of the Eagle' (screened under its US release title, 'Burn, Witch, Burn'), with which this was paired in a double bill in Seattle in May 1962

The cops as usual are useless - arriving late and then shooting the wrong person - but as one of them laconically observes, "How would you have explained this if we hadn't gotten here in time to see it?".

A Reel Live Dead One.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 4/10 · 4 October 2012]

Since having read a few small bits about a Jazz band called the Joe Jones band over the last few months,I was surprised to find out that the group made an appearance in a horror film that I had recently picked up on an ultra low budget DVD.Which led to me deciding to take a look at this Horror Jam.

The plot:

After celebrating their wedding by partying in a jazz bar,a young couple head for their new home.On the way,they kindly pick up a hitch-hiking musician who they had watched performed earlier in the day.Arriving at the new house,everyone settles in for the night.Suddenly,as everyone is starting to go asleep the sound of Voodoo drums begins deep in the belly of the house.

View on the film:

Although the pictures on the cover originally caused me to suspect that the film would have a real mouldy look,writer/director Barry Mahon (whose life looks like something tailor made for a screenplay) instead gives the film a nice pastel look,which helps to make even the most boring moments in the film watchable.Whilst the cast do OK with Mahon's simple screenplay,the clear stars of the show have to be the three or four Jazz groups featured in the first half of the film,who each give terrific mini performances that help the first half of the film to really fly by.

Barry's Zombie

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 28 March 2021]

The Dead One is a significant movie because it's one of the first two zombie films made in color - the other is Dr. Blood's Coffin - and it was made outside of the Hollywood system in New Orleans. It mostly played in Southern drive-ins, in Mexico and the UK before it disappeared for 41 years.

Shot in Eastmancolor and Ultrascope, a form of Cinemascope from Germany, The Dead One has a cool looking zombie and otherwise would be an unremarkable film other than the fact that it's a Barry Mahon film and stands out from the rest of his output, which is either falls into the disparate genres of nudist films, roughies, propaganda movies or childen's films.

Actually, the poster for this would like you to know just how remarkable this movie is, saying that The Dead One is "The Greatest VOODOO Film Ever Made - Filmed on Location in New Orleans Where VOODOO was introduced to the New World."

A zombie is haunting the plantation of Kenilwort and commanded by Monica Carlton (Monica Davis, who is also in Mahon's 1,000 Shapes of a Female, Rocket Attack U. S. A. And She Should Have Stayed In Bed), the mistress of the decaying plantation.

This is probably the most restrained Mahon film I've seen. It played double bills for a long time, a filler for drive-ins that would run late into the night while what happened in the steamed up cars looked a lot like the other movies Barry was known for making.

100% bona fide crap...but also good for a laugh.

[planktonrules · 1/10 · 21 October 2009]

The most amazing thing about THE DEAD ONE (aka, "Blood of a Zombie") is that this is not the worst film writer/producer/director Barry Mahon made in his less than spectacular career. No, I am not talking about the many low-budget porno films he made (by the way, for laughs, read the titles in his IMDb filmography) but such horrible dreck as SANTA AND THE ICE CREAM BUNNY--a film that makes PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and SANTA CLAUS VERSUS THE MARTIANS look like Oscar winners! Had more of Mahon's films been mainstream (and not cheap pornos) he'd be in the running for worst film maker ever. While that title has often been given to Ed Wood, I think Al Adamson should probably get that award...and Mahon at least getting an honorable mention. This film clearly shows Mahon had absolutely no idea what he was doing in the industry.

The film begins with a man getting married. Now I don't know about you, but I would NOT take my blushing bride to see strippers and then pick up a stranded stripper to take on my honeymoon!! To make things worse, the strippers keep almost all their clothes on (they wear more than women do at the beach) and the stranded stripper was NOT on hand for a three-some. This made absolutely no sense at all, nor did including several irrelevant and poor musical numbers by understandably forgotten musicians from New Orleans---except to pad out the film so it would be long enough to be considered a full-length film In fact, without these meaningless numbers at the beginning of the "movie", the entire production would have only lasted about 50 minutes.

Once the three arrive at the ancestral home that the man has just inherited, the crazy fun begins. It seems that the husband's cousin is a voodoo priestess and she is determined not to let him take possession of the "mansion" (it really looked like just a crappy old house). Then, with the powers of evil, she sends a man in a cheesy mask and yellow makeup to kill. Will the stripper, bride and/or stupid husband survive? Tune in and see.

So what's good about the film. Hmmm....let me think....NOTHING!! What is bad consists of only minor things such as acting, direction, the production, the script, horrible sound and editing as well as grade-z special effects (they weren't particularly special--most high school kids could do a lot better with little effort). Some things I particularly liked to laugh at were the first victim of the zombie who just stood there and waited and waited and waited for the monster to kill her--as he moved slower than any zombie in film history. Finally, to make it a bit easier for this "menace", the victim conveniently fainted--otherwise he never would have gotten her. Another wonderful scene involved the cops coming to save the day...sort of. They shoot the wrong person and when the zombie disintegrates in front of them, their reaction (or lack thereof) was hilarious. Other memorable scenes were the Black extras (who mostly just stood around and did nothing whatsoever--even when their priestess is being attacked), the acting of the stripper (which managed to be even worse than the overacting priestess) and the, well,...everything else!

Overall, this is a pile of crap...but still better than the other Mahon films I have seen. But, because it's so bad and so inept in every way, it makes for fun viewing. I found myself laughing time and again at just how rotten it could be.

It's cheap, nothing much happens...but I liked it anyway

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 10 June 2016]

Once a lost film, this piece of no-budget zombie hokum is a treat for lovers of B-flicks. It's shot to about the same technical standard as the early H. G. Lewis films, but with less locations and effects work; it tells of a man revived from the dead by a sinister voodoo ritual, and his subsequent rampage through a remote farmhouse. Actually, the zombie – who looks pretty effective in his rotten yellow makeup and funeral suit – just kind of wanders around for a while, causes a woman to die of fright and then disappears in a puff of smoke, but that's all right by me!

Cheese is the order of the day here, with a handful of cast members giving sometimes excruciating performances (Monica Davis is particularly appalling and it 's a wonder she had a career after this). The first half hour treats us to a show of New Orleans by night, complete with exotic dancers – the husband takes his new bride to a strip club on their honeymoon night, go figure – and plenty of musicians doing their thing. Then the action shifts to the remote farmhouse, where our central couple are joined by a dancer called Bella Bella and the black servants (slaves?) are fomenting unrest.

This zombie flick is slow paced and sometimes boring, with poor dialogue and worse acting. But I found myself liking it. It is what it is: it doesn't make the mistake of trying too hard, and at just over an hour it doesn't outstay its welcome, either. It's a good example of the horror film at the beginning of the 1960s, when things were changing for the better, and Clyde Kelly's shambolic zombie isn't far off the creations Romero brought to life in NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. So, yeah. B-movie fans should enjoy this one.

early zombie/voodoo flick

[trashgang · 3/10 · 16 August 2010]

I did it again, i mean, watching a movie from the 60's. And again it came clear to me why i am not into movies coming from the fifties and the sixties. I can watch the old classics even flicks from the silent era without a problem but the era as stated is really nothing for me. It's the time they are trying to start with effects but they are so silly. This flicks was once a lost one and it popped up but never full uncut. This is the first full uncut release to see so I did but what should be the difference between cut and uncut here, I don't know. The movie clocks in just over one hour and still some scene's are way too long. When they shown some jazz clubs they show the musicians, but too long. I'm not wanted to see the jazz, I want to see horror...But it's the importance of this flick why you should have it. it's one of the early zombie flicks just before Night Of The Living Dead. I know, there are older ones but here it's more zombie than the early zombies flicks were it's all about voodoo. Here voodoo is also important but you see the zombie coming out of the grave. The zombie itself looks scary for the time being, but the storyline isn't that strong, it takes a while before things get started but the movie really has some followers due the history and as said, the importance in the story of zombie flicks.

Too Slow for Its Own Good

[Michael_Elliott · 20 August 2016]

The Dead One (1961)

* (out of 4)

Johnny (John McKay) and his new wife Linda (Linda Carlton) travel to a property that now belongs to him but once there he notices that a voodoo priestess is bringing a man back from the dead to kill for her.

Barry Mahon was a filmmaker who dealt with a variety of subjects but the majority of his pictures were in the sexplotiation genre. He created some pretty bad movies and some rather bizarre ones but this one here is pretty darn boring from the opening scene to the closing one. With that said, it's interesting to see what he attempted to do with such an early zombie movie and one that most people haven't seen or haven't even heard of.

The film was eventually released to DVD under the "new" title of BLOOD OF THE ZOMBIE and the zombie is about the only reason to watch the picture. It's interesting seeing another zombie movie made before NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD so this one here has more in common with WHITE ZOMBIE and I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE. Once again we've got someone using voodoo to bring the dead back to life in order to do her killing.

Everything about this movie shows it's "C" grade. Everything from the performances to the direction to the way the story is told. There's really not too much that happens in the 68 minute running time and usually all of the scenes are padded to the point where you might start laughing. Just check out the scene where the zombie is climbing up a flight of steps and moving incredibly slow. How anyone would get caught by this thing is just hilarious.

A Real Time Capsule, That Offers You A Glimpse Into The Past Of New Orleans.

[meddlecore · 6/10 · 20 December 2022]

In The Dead One, we find a white voodoo priestess using a ritual to awaken and summon a zombie-vampire named Jonas, whom she can control using a voodoo doll.

Which she uses to send him to kill off her enemies.

A young newly wed couple, meanwhile, makes their way around New Orleans, taking in the sights and the sounds of the city, as the new bride gets to know her new stomping grounds.

This gives the whole film a bit of a timely travelogue vibe...as we get to take in Joe Burton at his local joint; bellydancers at The Dream Room;, and a jazz band at The Jazz Room.

One evening, the groom helps a young woman whose been stranded when her car breaks down.

Taking her in for the night.

They stay at the old Kennilworth plantation, which is known to harbour malevolent voodoo spirits.

But, being a modern man, the groom fails to heed the warnings, because he doesn't believe in voodoo himself.

Unfortunately for him, it's not a matter of belief.

For it's his cousin who is the voodoo priestess...and she has brought her dead brother back to life via necromancy.

It seems that she is at risk of losing the plantation, and will do anything it takes to protect it.

Even if it means utilizing her will, to send Jonas to kill his wife, so as to prevent their inheritance claim.

But when their guest goes missing- shortly after voodoo drumming is heard- they become suspicious and start to investigate.

Apparently, Jonas mistook the young woman for the man's wife, and killed her by mistake.

Leaving the couple to survive long enough to escape...or get help from the outside world.

Can love defeat the dark forces of voodoo?!

Or are they doomed to suffer it's deadly curse...

There's nothing particularly amazing about this low budget gem, except that it's a pretty interesting look back at some of the New Orleans haunts of the era.

Makes you realize how, even a fiction film made by friends can act as an important audio-visual document, once things have been lost to time.

6 out of 10.