'The Undead' is weird and sometimes confusing horror thriller that mixes reincarnation with time travel. Prostitute Diana Love (Pamela Duncan) is put into hypnotic trance by psychic Quintus Ratcliff (Val Dufor) and sent back into her previous life as Helen who is about to beheaded as witch in the dark ages at the night of Witch Sabbath. The premise is exciting enough and the ridiculous dialogue is well acted like usually in Corman's movies. The sets built out of plywood and Styrofoam are seemingly fake. Even the winged creatures that real witch Livia (Allisson Hayes) and her evil Imp are changing themselves are reused from Corman's earlier film 'It Conquered the World'. That is how cheep he made his movies.While watching Roger Corman's movies, I occasionally think about the ideas used in his movies and what if he didn't need to rush his productions, but could allow to develop the screenplays and had a bigger budgets to use? Of course they might not be such an outrageous pieces of entertainment anymore as one immediately understands that all his inventiveness was direct result of small budgets. Oh well, one can dream sometimes.'The Undead' is undeservedly overlooked and even forgotten horror film that again is rather interesting compared to other such productions from that era.Again, I have to admit the world(cinema) would be much poorer without Roger Corman and his company of writers/actors.

***SPOILERS**** The movie "The UN or Undead" has the distinction of having the two hottest 1950's B-movie actresses together in the same film. With the sweet looking and pointy bra Pamela Duncan as both street hooker and fair maiden Diana Love & maiden Helene just after staring in "The Attack of the Crab Monsters" as well as the super sexy, Elizabeth Taylor & Marilyn Monroe step aside, heart stopper played by Allison Hayes just before her monster hit "The Attack of the 50 foot Woman" as the wicked Witch of the North Livia. All this starts in modern times-1957-when hooker Diana Love is picked up and used in an experiment by whacked out professor Quintus Rstcliff, Val Dulour, who with the help of hypnotist Prof. Ulbrecht Olinger, Maurice Manson, brings her back in time to the 13th century. That on the very day, the Witch's Sabbath, that she's to be executed for being convicted of being a witch.As it turns out Helene is innocent but has to die so she can be reincarnated, some half dozen times over the next 700 years, so she can eventually be born in the 20th century as Diana Love! This leads Helene's lover back in the 13th century knight in shining armor Pendragon,Richard Garland, with the difficult choice to either save her now, in the 13th century, and thus by doing it have her ceased to exist in the future as Diana Love! ***SPOILERS***We also get to see Satan or the Devil himself here played by a wide eyed Richard Devon who's not as bad as you would have expected him to be by giving Pendragon a chance to save Helene without selling his immortal soul in order to do it! A very mixed up story that at times doesn't seem to know where its going and even in the end has you totally confused by it outcome. As we see it turns out that not only lovely Helena ends up losing her head back in the 13th century but Quintus Radcliff, who also goes back in time, ends up losing his 700 years later in the 20th!

I saw The Undead many years ago and sad to say before writing this review I got to see it again as part of Mystery Science Theater. No doubt Roger Corman did a whole lot of Thanksgiving specials especially in his early career. But I always rather liked this paradoxical film about hypnotism and travel. And of course a scientist's curiosity which backfires on him in a most peculiar way.Pamela Duncan is the subject of hypnosis therapy by doctors Maurice Manson and Val Dufour. She's a hooker, but when we first meet her she's under and regresses back to a life in the first millenia AD where she's been condemned to be a witch and scheduled to die. Her mind goes back to that past and she escapes the headman's ax. Which creates a paradox because if her past life doesn't die it puts her future lives in jeopardy. Knight Richard Garland who's earnest, but a little thick loves the past Duncan and wants to do the knight errant thing and save her. Real witch Allison Hayes has a thing for Garland and doesn't stand a chance while she lives.Fascinated by the paradox and the drama Dufour regresses himself through hypnosis to see how it all unfolds and meets none other than a medieval Satan himself played by Richard Devon. He also is watching the drama unfold in fact he recognizes Dufour for who he is and states plainly that he is the critic and let the play continue.No doubt Roger Corman was influenced by all the publicity of the Bridey Murphy controversy and the book and film that was made about it. Of course this is shot on a dental floss budget and it shows in spots, but only rarely.I waited for years to see this again and review it and despite the MST snide comments during the film I still enjoyed it though Citizen Kane it ain't.

Brilliant.Nothing less suffice. I guess I have seen about 70 MST3K films over the years, and this has to be the best. Stuff like "Future War" and "Outlaw of Gor" came close, but the quality of the jokes - and the sheer volume of them - makes this an almost non-stop laugh. Also worth mentioning is that Mike and the bots laugh and snicker a lot more of their own gags along the way so you really get the impression that they enjoyed doing this more than others. This cannot help but make you laugh a bit more as well. Also the gags are quick to comment on the stuff that you, as a b-movie fan, spot yourself. Those are the best gags in my opinion.The movie itself is suffering from mediocre acting, lack of extras and limited sets/locations - but knowing how the movie was filmed and that the budget was so limited (see trivia about the movie) then nonetheless a good effort - but not the director's best. So on my scale with about 1400 films in the bag that would be a 4, since it at least progresses somewhat coherent and you get the overall idea. Also, only a handful of bad cuts. For the MST3K version it would be far up the other end of the scale. Go see it!