The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? (1964)

Director:

Ray Dennis Steckler

Writers:

Gene Pollock (screenplay) &
Robert Silliphant (screenplay) ...

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

She Keeps Monsters in Cages for Pets! He Preys on Wild Go-Go Girls!

Plot:

Jerry falls in love with a stripper he meets at a carnival. Little does he know that she is the sister of a gypsy fortune teller whose predictions he had scoffed at earlier. The gypsy turns him into a zombie and he goes on a killing spree.

Plot Keywords:

Fortune Teller | Gypsy | Carnival | Dancer | Zombie

Cast

Ray Dennis Steckler	...	Jerry (as Cash Flagg)
Carolyn Brandt	...	Marge Neilson
Brett O'Hara	...	Madame Estrella
Atlas King	...	Harold
Sharon Walsh	...	Angela
Pat Kirkwood	...	Madison (as Madison Clarke)
Erina Enyo	...	Carmelita
Don Russell	...	Ortega (as Jack Brady)
Toni Camel	...	Stella
Joan Howard	...	Angela's Mother
Neil Stillman	...	Barker
Bill Ward	...	Himself
Gene Pollock	...	Night Club Manager
James Bowie	...	Night Club Comedian
Whitey Robinson	...	Drunk

Also Known As:

Diabolical Dr. Voodoo
The Incredibly Mixed Up Zombie
The Incredibly Strange Creature: Or Why I Stopped Living and Became a Mixed-up Zombie (USA) (alternative title)
The Teenage Psycho Meets Bloody Mary

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Angel's Flight Railway, Bunker Hill, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Morgan-Steckler Productions

Trivia:

According to director Ray Dennis Steckler the film's original title was 'Face of Evil'.

Goofs:

Continuity: The big wart on Madame Estrella's face keeps moving. Sometimes it's right next to her lip, other times it's below it, other times it's an inch or two above it and to the right.

Quotes:

Ortega: Must do as Madame Estrella says.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (#9.22)" (1997)

Incredible, no...strange, yes...and the only real mixed-up zombies are the audience.

Young man falls victim to a carnival gypsy who has been turning the people who offend her into disfigured zombies.

Ledgendary alone for its insane title, this camp classic from B movie director Ray Dennis Steckler is just as bad as everyone says, but it's amusing enough drive-in fodder. This cheese opera has everything one would expect from a dirt-poor B horror film - lousy acting, cheap effects, saturated color, and less-than-impressive dialog. Not to mention the fact that nearly half of the film is made up of lame side-show musical numbers! In this case, that's just what makes it semi-entertaining. Yet director Steckler (who also stars in the film) does build a true atmosphere of weirdness. There's lots of shadowy imagery, one creepy montage for the opening credits, and a royally bizarre music score.

The cast isn't very impressive, with the exception of Brett O'Hara who comes off menacing enough as the villainous gypsy.

A flawed, yet truly strange cult film that only a B movie lover could enjoy! A real late-night classic.

** 1/2 out of ****