Death Curse of Tartu (1966)

Good idea lost in the noise

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

A group of archaeology students run afoul of powerful Seminole witch doctor Tartu (Doug Hobart in funky war paint make-up) after they make the fatal mistake of literally dancing on his burial site in the Florida Everglades. While this film suffers from sluggish pacing and uneven acting from a cast with varying degrees of competence, writer/director William Grefe nonetheless makes nice use of the breathtaking Everglades locations, delivers several tense and exciting animal attack set pieces (Tartu takes on the form of various lethal animals throughout, with the sequence involving a gigantic gator rating as a definite hair-raising highlight), builds a reasonable amount of spooky atmosphere, and stages the lively climax with thrilling aplomb. As a tasty plus, both pretty brunette Maurice Stewart and yummy redhead Mayra Gomez Kemp show off their shapely figures while wearing bikinis. The robust score by Al Jacobs does the rousing trick. Julio Chavez's vibrant cinematography provides a lush and colorful look. Enjoyable drive-in fare.

Death Curse of Tartu (1966)** (out of 4)A group of students and their teacher go out into the everglades for some archeology research. They are warned about the Indian burial ground being haunted but they decide to go anyways and soon enough they are being stalked by a curse from the Indian chief Tartu.I have a strange history with this movie. When I was around eleven or so I used to watch the horror films on TNT's Monstervision. One night I had fallen asleep but woke up around three in the morning just as this film started. I watched in rather amazement because I had never quite seen anything like this. For years I tried to track down a copy of the movie but was unlucky. I had forgotten the title and for many years I simply thought it was a dream.Well, I finally stumbled across the Something Weird Video double feature and viewing the film today I can see its various flaws but at the same time I think director William Grefe did a very good job considering the low-budget, the short shooting time and of course he at least brought out the setting in the Florida everglades. The setting is certainly a major plus here because the swamps just make for a great location and I also thought the story itself was quite good.The most memorable thing here are the death scenes, which are all done by animals you'd find in the swamps. The way they're done isn't the most memorable but they're at least entertaining. The look of Tartu's mummy is also quite good but it's a shame it wasn't used more. The biggest problem with DEATH CURSE OF TARTU is its running time, which really drags at spots and the pacing is another issue. Still, for an exploitation picture this isn't too bad.

Funny about Creature Feature movies, how they stick in your mind no matter how bad they might be.At one point in this flick, one of the scientists says, "The natives are restless."That made the movie for me!

A group of so called archaeologists desecrate the burial ground of 'Tartu' in the Florida Everglades. Dressed in the most inappropriate clothing possible the group set out to go on a 'dig'. The girls pack their bikinis so that the camera can ogle them while they dance to a couple of rock numbers penned for the movie. The music score used for the rest of the film is incredibly intrusive. After coming across several plastic skulls the six of them get the willies and sure enough Tartu rises from the tomb in various animal disguises to finish them off. The attacks with the snake and alligator are particularly hilarious and the amateurish acting doesn't help either. Eventually our leading man and woman are locked inside the tomb complete with fake cobwebs and toy spider. The body of Tartu undergoes a metamorphosis into his true native Indian self, although he wears flesh coloured tights to preserve his modesty. After an endless chase through the Everglades nature itself turns the tables on Tartu. A must for bad movie fans!