Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Grave Robbers / Ladrones de Tumbas / Mexico / 1990

For all intents and purposes, Grave Robbers is a technically sophisticated reworking of director Rubén Galindo Jr.’s earlier Cemetery of Terror. Once again we have two groups of youngsters (one on the prowl for kicks, the other passing time in a cemetery), a mystical book containing vital info on defeating evil, and a Satan-possessed corpse roaming the countryside in search of teenage blood. However, instead of Cemetery’s hazily defined killer, paucity of production values, and haphazard narrative, Grave Robbers features a well-articulated nemesis, creative make-up and effects, and a straightforward plot featuring an ageless demon vessel seeking to sire the antichrist.

Unfortunately, for Galindo, with better effects and greater narrative coherence comes less lighthearted horror fun. Unlike Cemetery, which offers ample opportunity to get to know the characters—and watch them act like fools—before they’re running for their lives, here a tedious prologue detailing both how this monster came to be, and what his plans are, dominates the early portion of the story. The film’s lighter, pre-slaughter moments are limited to a few scenes of the titular grave robbers at their seditious hobby, and a glimpse of some campout hijinks. In addition, by placing such emphasis on the evildoer’s history and agenda, Galindo undermines much of the tension in the horror that follows. When we know what a monster wants, and how he plans to get it, nothing that follows can really come as a surprise.

by Thomas Scalzo | Source: BCI Eclipse DVD
28 Feb 2008 4:03 PM | Submit Comment