One of Universal International's comparatively minor B horror films, THE THING THAT COULDN'T DIE still has quite a bit going for it. The cast is good, there are some strong visuals, and UI production values are quite visible. Offbeat story involves a sweet young girl with a talent for water divination. She discovers not a new well, but an ancient chest buried under a rural farm field. She immediately warns her family and friends not to unearth the chest, but of course they do anyway -and even take it to the main house. A ranch hand, thinking the chest will contain gold or similar treasure, convinces his lunkhead sidekick to open the chest. The contents are actually the still-living head of a warlock executed centuries before. The head quickly overpowers those who look it in the eye, including our lovely leading lady! Soon, the head has everybody looking for his body, also buried on the property. Tales of the supernatural were hot in the mid 50's, spearheaded by the Bridey Murphy reincarnation hoax. THE THING THAT COULDN'T DIE was also one of the first (possibly very first) living head movies. Most that followed were science fiction stories, leaving the Thing one of the few supernatural ones. The film is handsome, but limited. Kept to a single setting of the family ranch, it plays at times less like a feature film and more like the strangest episode of Bonanza ever written -although the adventures of the Cartwrights often felt more like movies than a television show, so that might not be the best comparison.
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