The Comedy of Terrors

In New Gilead's late 19th-century town, Waldo Trumbull runs a funeral parlor he bought from Amos Hinchley. He is abusive toward his wife Amaryllis and intends to fatten the business by murdering wealthy residents. He enlists fugitive Gillie to help him, hoping the duo can maximize profits by reusing coffins.

Gillie agrees to work with Trumbull, drawn by money and opportunity. He is secretly in love with Amaryllis and makes awkward attempts to seduce her. Amaryllis remains loyal to Trumbull, resisting Gillie's advances.

Trumbull schemes to poison Hinchley by disguising the poison as medicine. He hopes Hinchley's death will fast-track the inheritance he craves through Hinchley's daughter. The plan reveals his willingness to kill to secure wealth.

Facing eviction by landlord John F. Black for overdue rent, Trumbull murders a wealthy shipping magnate to generate funeral business. The magnate's heirs seek his services, but the widow absconds with the fortune, leaving Trumbull unpaid.

After another rent demand, Trumbull sends Gillie to murder Black. Gillie finds Black awake and swinging a sword while reciting Shakespeare, and he flees in fear. Black's theatrical display heightens the danger in the plan.

Trumbull and Gillie transport Black to the mortuary, believing him dead. Amaryllis' cat Cleopatra awakens Black, allowing him to revive briefly. He suffers another heart attack; Trumbull knocks him unconscious and places him in the family crypt, the funeral proceeding as if Black were truly dead.

Trumbull revels in his profits and drinks to excess. Gillie makes another crude attempt to seduce Amaryllis, who, exhausted by the deceit, finally resolves to run away with Gillie.

Black awakens, escapes his tomb, and enters the parlor wielding an axe. He chases Trumbull and Gillie, while Amaryllis faints from the abrupt upheaval. The decayed conspiracy erupts into frantic pursuit through the house.

Gillie falls down a flight of stairs and lies unconscious. Trumbull shoots Black, who delivers a final Shakespearean monologue before dying. The house descends into chaotic silence after the fatal shot.

Amaryllis awakens, believing Gillie dead at Trumbull's hands, and threatens to call the police. Trumbull strangles her; Gillie awakens and attacks with a sword, but Trumbull ends the fight by striking him down with a poker.

Black's servant arrives, sees the carnage, and informs the police. Trumbull collapses from exhaustion, and Amaryllis and Gillie seize a chance to flee together, leaving the doomed scheme behind.

Hinchley slept through the turmoil but later tries to revive Trumbull with a vial of his own 'medicine'. Realizing it is poison, Trumbull drinks it and dies. Hinchley is left to confront the consequences of his complicity in the murders.

Cleopatra the cat approaches Black, who has an allergic reaction to her. The closing moment hints at a macabre irony amid the survivors' escape. The cat remains an uncanny witness to the night's killings and near-misses.