Ataúd del Vampiro, El (1958)

Director:

Fernando Méndez

Writers:

Ramón Obón (adaptation)
Raúl Zenteno (story)
(more)

Release Date:

1958 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller | Horror

Tagline:

From the depths of Evil comes a diabolical killer of beautiful women!

Plot:

Graverobbers stumble upon the tomb of a vampire, who turns them into zombies to do his bidding, which is to stalk and capture beautiful women. |

Plot Keywords:

Sequel | Vampire

Cast

Abel Salazar	...	Dr. Enrique Saldívar
Ariadna Welter	...	Marta González
Germán Robles	...	Count Karol de Lavud
Yerye Beirute	...	Baraza (as Yeire Beirute)
Alicia Montoya	...	María Teresa
Guillermo Orea
Carlos Ancira	...	Dr. Marion
Antonio Raxel
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alicia Rodríguez	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Fernando Méndez

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ramón Obón		adaptation
Alfredo Salazar		uncredited
Raúl Zenteno		story

Produced by
Abel Salazar	....	producer

Original Music by
Gustavo César Carrión		(as Gustavo C. Carrion)

Cinematography by
Víctor Herrera

Film Editing by
Alfredo Rosas Priego

Production Design by
Gunther Gerszo

Makeup Department
Ana Guerrero	....	makeup artist
Juanita Lepe	....	hair stylist (as Juana Lepe)

Production Management
Manuel Alcayde	....	production chief
Fernando Méndez Jr.	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jaime Contreras	....	assistant director (as Jaime L. Contreras)

Sound Department
James L. Fields	....	sound supervisor
Javier Mateos	....	dialogue recordist

Special Effects by
Juan Muñoz Ravelo	....	special effects

Music Department
Galdino R. Samperio	....	music recordist (as Galdino Samperio 'Crucy')

Production Companies

• Cinematográfica ABSA

Distributors

• Alameda Films (1958) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Clasa-Mohme (1958) (USA) (theatrical) (Spanish language only)
• K. Gordon Murray Productions Inc. (1965) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Peerless Films (1968) (Canada) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• American-International Television (AIP-TV) (196?) (USA) (TV) (dubbed) (syndication)
• CasaNegra Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (199?) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Screen Time Images  DVD menus and authoring
• Screen Time Images  audio restoration
• Screen Time Images  film restoration

Also Known As:

The Vampire's Coffin

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Company:

Cinematográfica ABSA

Trivia:

There is a smiling skull-and-crossbones insignia on the posters and lobby cards, with the words "Recommended by Young America Horror Club". There was no such organization; it was an invention of producer K. Gordon Murray to boost ticket sales.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Shiver & Shudder Show (2002) (V)

THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN (Fernando Mendez, 1957) **1/2

Mondo Macabro's R2 DVD of this film's prequel, THE VAMPIRE (1957), had included stills from the follow-up excerpted from its photo-novel edition (apparently included in full as a DVD-ROM extra on Casa Negra's 2-Disc R1 Set "The Vampire Collection"); at the time, the synopsis had felt contrived and, therefore, I had anticipated that the film itself would be inferior to the original (though I'm still disappointed that there's no Audio Commentary to accompany it!). Having watched THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN now - and re-acquainted myself with its predecessor (the very first Mexican horror effort I'd seen), which didn't disappoint - I can only confirm this!

Anyway, the original was largely set at a dilapidated hacienda in a remote village - with characters dressed in old-style clothing and an overpowering foggy atmosphere - so that it was jarring to see these same characters (or who was left standing among them) transposed to modern city surroundings! Apparently, the film-makers purposely opted to make the sequel as different as possible to its predecessor - and, while that same Gothic mood is felt on occasion, the three main settings of the film, i.e. hospital, wax museum and burlesque theater, elicit their own particular ambiance with which the vampire character may not always be compatible (for instance, he appears outside a bar to stalk an aspiring young female performer incongruously dressed in his traditional cape...and, yet, she never for a moment suspects his true intentions, in fact welcomes the stranger's advances by throwing flirtatious glances at him herself)!

The music score is typically overstated (as far as I can tell replicating that of the original, where it seemed to work better!) and the special effects pretty ropey - especially the very visible wires holding the supposedly flying bat, but also the number of times that the vampire is seen reflected in a mirror when it's made clear that he shouldn't!; that said, the transition from vampire to bat is, once again, neatly enough done. The most atmospheric moments are those set in the wax museum with its numerous torture devices (though the climax is a rather awkward mess!), and the large shadows thrown by the vampire on the various buildings in the afore-mentioned stalking sequence (in fact, the film-makers seem to have liked this effect so much that the scene is absurdly extended, when the vampire could very easily have rendered himself invisible at any moment and let the girl simply fall into his clutches - as he does, eventually!). Resting largely on the shoulders of lead/producer Abel Salazar, the comic relief comes off remarkably well (particularly in scenes where he has to explain his tall tale about disappearing coffins and rampaging vampires to his superiors or the police) and, in fact, my relative disappointment with the film isn't due to any intrinsic campiness - as was the case with THE BRAINIAC (1962), for instance - though, as per reviews I've read of the English-dubbed U.S. version prepared by K. Gordon Murray (included on the DVD but which I haven't checked out), it's a different matter altogether!

As for the principal cast members, Salazar is, again, an engaging hero; likewise, Ariadne Welter is lovely throughout (even when engaged in a sleazy dance number!) - but German Robles fares less well than in the first film (where he had cut a suitably imposing figure), here tending to come off as merely nonchalant...and a veritable Elvis Costello look-alike to boot! The evidently rushed production, then, ultimately brings (perhaps unkind) comparisons - with respect to the difference in quality between the two films - to SON OF KONG (1933) when stacked up against its monumental prequel!