Living Corpse, AKA Zinda Laash (1967)
Directed by Khwaja Sarfaraz
Starring Habib, Rehan, Asad, Yasmeena (!)
Mondo Macabro

"This is becoming like some sort of nightmare."

“Living Corpse” reminds me of Canada. Ever been there? Folks look pretty much the same- maybe a little healthier (and whiter) than us, but basically the same. Same language, too, unless you’re in one of their freaky French zones. Everything seems pretty normal there, really, until you try and buy a pack of Marlboros at the local store. They don’t sell Marlboros in Canada. Furthermore, the closest thing they’ve got, “Players”, not only taste like burning plastic, but they cost like, $9.00 a pack. And when you hand over the long green, they hand you back this cheesy, pastel-colored cash that looks like something out of a failed Hasbro game for change. That’s when everything starts to unravel. You notice that the street signs measure everything in something called “kilometers”. Instead of rat-infested hot dog stands, they have gleaming kiosks that peddle Belgian waffles. The radio is full of bands you’ve never heard of, playing some weird kind of neo-rock that sounds like somebody lopped the musicians' balls off before they hit the studio. Suddenly, it all becomes clear- you are someplace fuckin’ else, Jack.

That’s what this movie is like. On the surface, it looks exactly like a creaky old Universal creature feature, with cobwebbed castles and a vampire with slicked-back hair spooking a wayward traveler. Maybe a little more bare-bones than usual, but certainly in the Saturday morning monster mash milieu. Scenes drift in and out like lazy dreams, the camera captures lots of ultra-close-ups of panicked, darting eyeballs, and the soundtrack fills the night with canned, bloodcurdling screams. Check, check, and check. And then, all of a sudden, the vampire’s slightly chunky girlfriend attempts seducing Suitcase Joe with Pee Wee Herman’s biker bar dance, while dressed head to toe in what looks like a curtain and singing some melodramatic shmaltz that translates, in part, as "Tonight will be a beautiful dream, lie back and let it happen..." And then king daddy bloodsucker bursts in to cock-block, tossing what is either a dead baby or a puppy at her and bellowing “Here, feast on this!” before chasing the poor stranger around the room. Just like the Marlboros debacle, you come to the stunning realization that this is no Bela-bash at all, this is something entirely different. This is Zinda Laash, fright fans. This is the Paki-Dracky!

Filmed in black and white and in the native Urdu tongue, “Living Corpse” follows Dracula’s basic script, but tosses in a few off-kilter elements. This Dracula was not bitten by wolves or whatever it was that turned Bela into the living dead; here he’s a mad scientist that concocts a vampire potion. And I certainly don’t remember all the singing and dancing numbers in the original version, either. Oh, and heaving cleavage? Forget it, man. Far as I can tell, Pakistani women are never dressed in anything less than full, curve-obscuring silk mu-mu’s. Quite honestly, this one makes the Hammer horrors look like full-on hardcore porn. Still, even without an ounce of good ‘ol Western perversity, “Living Corpse” is pretty creepy. Maybe for all the wrong reasons, but creepy, nonetheless.

Zinda Laash, as it was known at home,  is one of the very few Pakistani horror films ever produced. At the time of it’s release in 1967, it was rated X, and caused quite a stir amongst it’s audience- reportedly, one poor woman even died of fright while watching it, and it’s vamping star, Rehan, was so anxiety stricken about portraying Dracula that he woke from a nightmare while filming, and promptly hurled himself out of the nearest window. Well, right on. Watching it today, you will have no idea what all the fuss was about, since it’s milder than even Universal’s reserved Dracula, but you’ve got to remember it’s cultural context- the horror film as we know it simply did not exist in Southeast Asian cinema at the time, and “Zinda Laash” was quite a leap of faith for it’s creators. Horror films did not catch on in the region until the mid-80’s, so this remains a compelling artifact, and for horror obscurity fans, you can’t get much more obscure- or exotic- than this.

Mondo Macabro should be applauded for the amazing job they’ve done with this weird little gem. Not only have they painstakingly restored it from the decrepit state they found it in, they’ve added some great extras to the package, including a fascinating mini-documentary on Southeast Asian horror (dig the crazy “Mythological” mish-mashes from Southern India- I seriously hope they release a few of these gonzo classics soon), a documentary on the making of “Living Corpse”, featuring interviews with it’s stars and producers, the original trailer, stills, and amusing English audio commentary. Bitchin’.

If you are looking for gutpiles, rampant nudity, and other b-movie thrills and chills, you are most definitely not looking for “Living Corpse”. But if you’re in the mood for something completely different, check this one out. Now, if I could just get those fuckin’ songs out of my head…"These are the days of youth, and times of mischievous frolic..." Yikes.

-Sleazegrinder, Bura Gadhha