Above you see the double feature that was running at the Ohio Theater back on November 1, 1957: From Hell It Came and The Disembodied.
"The prince is buried in a hollow tree trunk and forgotten about until nuclear radiation reanimates him in the form of the “ Tabonga,"a scowling tree stump.”
"The monster escapes from the laboratory and kills several people, including the witch doctor, whom the Tabonga pushes down a hill to be impaled on his own crown of shark teeth. The creature cannot be stopped, burned, or trapped.
"Only when a crack rifle shot from one of the scientists drives the knife (which still protrudes from the creature's chest) all the way through its heart does it finally die and sink into the swamp.”
The Tabonga kind of reminds me of those apple trees that menaced Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.
The Disembodied is a thriller that takes place in a similar type of jungle territory as From Hell It Came.
But instead of a walking tree as the villain, however, we have the beautiful Allison Hayes as the bored wife of a doctor stationed at a remote jungle outpost. It turns out that she also moonlights as an voodoo priestess who embarks on a killing spree!
The double feature wasn’t the creative inspiration of an Ohio Theater’s booking agent; the films were released as a double bill.
Campy as they are, I’d rather see either of these two jolly jungle epics instead of the current popular zombie fare on TV.