Old Rufus Sinclair wasn't a nice man, so it's no surprise that when he dies, no one in his family mourns the loss. Rufus had a condition that made him appear to be clinically dead, so he was terrified of being buried alive; so much so that his will contained explicit instructions for his family to carry out--or they would each be killed by a method that frightened them the most.
Oldest son, Robert Milli, who looks like he's doing a seductive Rhett Butler imitation, is bad at gambling, but good at having his way with the maids and his brother (Roy Scheider)'s wife..he's pretty despicable..and Scheider isn't much better as the always inebriated Phillip, who thinks his dark sarcasm makes him the clever one. Rufus actually preferred his nephew, Dino Narizzano who is dull as dishwater. Scheider's wife, Margot Hartman is conniving, and Narizzano's girlfriend (Candace Hilligoss) is just plain vapid.
As promised, we see the coffin lid open...and then we see a figure in black, only his eyes visible. Rufus? Zorro? Hard to tell. The bodies stack up, and the police are called..and that's too bad. The police inspector and his assistant are comic relief in a picture where it just doesn't fit.
Is it awful? No, in fact, compared to most of the B-made for the drive-in set movies of the period, this one has some good points. It does have some thoughtful cinematography, and actually could pull off the Victorian horror if the buffoonery of the police hadn't put a halt to it. Except for a couple of actors, the performances were pretty amateurish, but I guess my low expectations were met. So so..but of course, you may be scared to death by it..don't believe me? Just watch the cheesy trailer!
