Isle of the Snake People

Snake People (La muerte viviente/ The Living Dead) a.k.a. Isle of the Snake People, is a 1968 Mexican horror film directed by Juan Ibáñez and starring Boris Karloff and Julissa. (It was filmed in May 1968, but was only released theatrically in 1971, 2 years after Karloff had died.) Snake People is one of four low-budget Mexican horror films Karloff made in a package deal with Mexican producer Luis Enrique Vergara. The others are Fear Chamber, The Incredible Invasion, and House of Evil. Karloff's scenes for all four films were directed by Jack Hill in Los Angeles in the spring of 1968. The films were then completed in Mexico. The film was produced by Juan Ibanez for Azteca Films. The film was released as La muerte viviente (The Living Dead) in Mexico and in the United States in Spanish-language theatres only. It was eventually dubbed in English but received little theatrical distribution, and was then released direct to U.S. television in 1971. The film is also known as Cult of the Dead (in Hungary) and Snake People (in the United Kingdom). Plot synopsis Captain Labische (Rafael Bertrand) arrives at a remote island, determined to crack down on the island's lawlessness, spurred by the voodoo rites practiced by the evil priest Damballah (Boris Karloff). Labische starts with local tycoon Carl van Molder and his study of the island. Van Molder warns Labische not to interfere with the local populace. Annabella (Julissa), van Molder's visiting niece, is a temperance crusader who wants her uncle to help fund the International Anti-Saloon League. She falls in love with handsome police lieutenant Andrew Wilhelm (Carlos East), despite his fondness for rum. Meanwhile, beautiful native girls are being transformed into zombies, and a sinister snake dancer named Kalea (Yolanda Montes) leads them to attack and devour any meddling policemen who get too close to their unholy rituals. In a dream, Annabella wakes up in a coffin. Another woman who looks like her is in a second coffin with a snake. The lookalike pursues and then kisses her. When Annabella is kidnapped and prepared to be the cult's latest human sacrifice, Labische and Wilhelm have to infiltrate their ranks to save her, and they finally learn the secret identity of the all-powerful Damballah.