THE WOMAN WHO WOULDN’T DIE (1965) ** ½
The Woman Who Wouldn’t Die is notable for being the first film of director Gordon Hessler. He of course would go on to direct such classics as Scream and Scream Again, Pray for Death, and KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park. Even in his first film, he shows a mastery of the art as the picture is quite often nice to look at. It’s a shame that the derivative (although not bad) script can’t equal the panache of Hessler’s direction.
A crippled old rich woman gets over her bouts of intense pain by putting herself into a Zen-like trance. Her trophy husband has had enough of her domineering ways (not to mention increased sex drive) and is looking to find a way to leave her. He falls in love with her pretty niece and finally decides to stand up to the old crone. With some prodding from her male secretary, the trophy husband drowns his wife while she’s washing her hair in the sink. Days later, he can still hear the sounds of her cane thumping around the house in the middle of the night. Is the old bag really dead?
Alfred Hitchcock and Diabolique were the main influences here, and it’s a pretty good attempt to ape that sort of template. I’ve seen much worse when it comes to this type of this scenario. However, I can’t quite say it’s wholly successful.
The horror elements are done in a lower key. (The sounds of the old lady’s cane thumping around are similar to the noises heard in The Haunting.) Hessler does what he can with these sequences, but ultimately, it’s hard to ratchet up the suspense with mere sound effects. For the film to truly work, it needed a better payoff. (The ending is predictable.) Still, it’s not a bad effort.
AKA: Catacombs
The next Horror-Ween movie will be Homicidal!