Last Rites

Last Rites Remastered edition

Marie Fonda's mother Mrs Bradley dies, and Dr. A. Lucard (Gerald Fielding) agrees to take care of her funeral arrangements. However, when Marie (Patricia Lee Hammond) and husband Ted (Michael Lally) later decide to hold the wake in their home, they phone Lucard and request that he return the body. Lucard cites technicalities and legalities but Ted shows up at the mortuary the next morning to collect the body anyway. Later that day, Lucard visits the Fondas to request that they return the body for proper preparation (the real reason is that he hasn't staked it yet). The Fondas refuse. That night, while the Fondas sleep, Lucard's assistant attempts to break into their house but he falls from a window and is impaled on a fencepost. The next morning, Mrs Bradley's body is missing. Unbeknown to her daughter, Mrs Bradley has 'awakened' during the night and wandered off. The Fondas, however, believe that Lucard has stolen it. Of course, Lucard denies it. That evening, Mrs Bradley (Mimi Weddell) begins to roam in search of blood. Sick at heart, Marie takes a tranquilizer and tries to sleep while Ted searches for her mother's body. While she is asleep, Marie is attacked and killed by the town doctor. As dawn approaches, both Ted and Lucard come upon Mrs. Bradley, fangs and all. Lucard's men hold her down until the sun has risen, and she is destroyed. Ted returns home to find Marie dead. Ted sets a trap for Lucard. He sprinkles Marie's car with gasoline. When Lucard peeks in her window, Ted ignites the car. While Lucard and his assistant are stunned by the explosion, Ted stakes them both. A closing note says that Ted was ultimately found guilty on four counts of first degree murder.