The Thing That Couldn't Die
Encyclopedia
The Thing that Couldn't Die is a 1958 American black and white horror
film
from an original screenplay by David Duncan for Universal-International Pictures, produced and directed by Will Cowan.
and her Aunt takes it back to their house. Her boyfriend, Gordon (William Reynolds
), goes for an archaeologist (who later goes on to have sexual relations with Aunt Flavia), arguing the box should be kept intact for appraisal and opening by an expert. However, the Aunt's greedy ranch foreman, anticipating treasure, secretly convinces the slow-witted handyman to break it open. Instead, the box contains the intact head of Gideon Drew (Robin Hughes
), a man executed for sorcery 400 years earlier. The head awakens and telepathically takes over the mentally vulnerable handyman.
After murdering the foreman, the head has the handyman conceal it while arranging to have a coffin retrieved containing Gideon's body. Once his head and body are joined, Gideon will be fully able to exercise his powers over all comers. The young woman is aware of the evil and is protected from the head's influence by an ancient cross she wears around her neck. But when her boyfriend removes it, convincing her that she is only a victim of superstition and magical thinking, the head takes control of her mind, leaving the handyman to die in a hail of police bullets. The young woman joins head to body and Gideon arises from his coffin but the boyfriend, aware of the error of his ways, takes the monster off guard with the cross. This forces Gideon back into the coffin and, when they drop the cross in with his body, they watch the total disintegration of his mortal remains.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
from an original screenplay by David Duncan for Universal-International Pictures, produced and directed by Will Cowan.
Plot
A young woman named Jessica Burns (Carolyn Kearney), who claims to have psychic powers, lives on a remote ranch with her Aunt Flavia (Peggy Converse). She discovers an ancient box while water-witchingDowsing
Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, gravesites, and many other objects and materials, as well as so-called currents of earth radiation , without the use of scientific apparatus...
and her Aunt takes it back to their house. Her boyfriend, Gordon (William Reynolds
William Reynolds (actor)
William Reynolds is a retired American television and film actor. He is best known for television roles in the 1960s and 1970s....
), goes for an archaeologist (who later goes on to have sexual relations with Aunt Flavia), arguing the box should be kept intact for appraisal and opening by an expert. However, the Aunt's greedy ranch foreman, anticipating treasure, secretly convinces the slow-witted handyman to break it open. Instead, the box contains the intact head of Gideon Drew (Robin Hughes
Robin Hughes
Robin Hughes was a film and television actor-Background:Robin Hughes was born June 7, 1920 in Buenos Aires, Argentina to English parents...
), a man executed for sorcery 400 years earlier. The head awakens and telepathically takes over the mentally vulnerable handyman.
After murdering the foreman, the head has the handyman conceal it while arranging to have a coffin retrieved containing Gideon's body. Once his head and body are joined, Gideon will be fully able to exercise his powers over all comers. The young woman is aware of the evil and is protected from the head's influence by an ancient cross she wears around her neck. But when her boyfriend removes it, convincing her that she is only a victim of superstition and magical thinking, the head takes control of her mind, leaving the handyman to die in a hail of police bullets. The young woman joins head to body and Gideon arises from his coffin but the boyfriend, aware of the error of his ways, takes the monster off guard with the cross. This forces Gideon back into the coffin and, when they drop the cross in with his body, they watch the total disintegration of his mortal remains.