Ladrones de tumbas

This late-80s supernatural thriller occupies that peculiar space where ambitious horror concepts meet the limitations of modest production values. Director Rubén Galindo Jr. Crafts a film that pulses with genuine menace in its quieter moments, yet stumbles when reaching for its more grandiose scares. The Mexican production carries an unmistakable regional flavor that distinguishes it from its American counterparts, offering glimpses of inspired filmmaking alongside stretches of uneven execution.

Fernando Almada delivers a grounded performance as the police captain, his weathered face conveying the weight of a man watching his world descend into supernatural chaos. His portrayal anchors the film's more outlandish elements with believable parental desperation. Erika Buenfil brings vulnerability to her role as the targeted daughter, though the script occasionally asks more of her than it provides in terms of character development. The supporting cast fluctuates between committed performances and moments that feel slightly disconnected from the material's darker intentions.

Galindo Jr.'s direction shows flashes of atmospheric horror mastery, particularly in the film's middle act where shadows seem to breathe with malevolent life. The practical effects, while clearly budget-constrained, achieve several genuinely unsettling moments through clever camera work and timing rather than expensive prosthetics. The film's visual language draws from both Mexican folklore traditions and American slasher conventions, creating an occasionally striking hybrid aesthetic.

The pacing suffers from an uncertain rhythm, with some sequences building tension effectively while others feel rushed or underdeveloped. When the supernatural elements take center stage, the film's ambitions sometimes exceed its technical capabilities, resulting in moments that land with less impact than intended. However, the underlying concept maintains enough intrigue to carry viewers through the rougher patches.

As a man, I know my species can be curious, yet reckless and prideful. And this movie does a great job demonstrating it. The guys should have left that axe alone.

This is like "Return of the Living Dead" mixed with "Night of the Demons' and a Mexican version of any "Evil Dead" movie (except for "Army of Darkness." It's pretty good, certainly the best from Ruben Galindo Jr. This would be a great example of a horror "hidden gem."

A bunch of teens or young adults awaken something truly evil, and everybody pays for it. While the dubbing might be off at times, and the effects occasionally appear to be too campy for modern audiences, it's a lot of fun, especially for those who feel that those traits are a postive aspect of the horror ethos.

I gotta say, the movie is far from perfect, but it must be a milestone in Mexican horror cinema. It's fun, not scary to the typical modern horror audience, but it has a lot of charm and uses some fun cinematography effects. And since this came out during an era where horror movies were unpopular in Mexico, I'd say this one was a winner and an influencer of the uprising of Mexican horror, in many ways.

I will say that from what little I've seen from director Ruben Galindo, this would be his masterpiece. It's campy, but the acting isn't bad enough to be distracting. And it's just interesting enough to be entertaining. This movie started broadcasting live on Shudder after a fantastic Joe Bob's Last Drive-In movie feature, and i just kept on watching because it kept my interest long enough. It's not groundbreaking in any way for a typical audience, but for Mexico, it obviously is.

Witness a piece of international horror cinema, do yourself a favor and watch this film. You may not like it as much as I did, but you should appreciate it to some degree.

I watched this on a Spanish language channel in Orlando, FL back in the early '90s. They did something right with "Ladrones du Tomba" since I watched the entire film and did not speak very much Spanish at the time. It has all the ingredients of an entertaining slasher: cool, low budget Indiana Jones angle with the grave robbers, foolish, reckless teenage characters, a zombie killer with a battle axe and a beautiful "last girl" that has lungs to give even Jamie Lee Curtis a run for her money. It doesn't have a big Hollywood budget and a lot of the night time scenes were dark and murky but it did not skimp on the blood and gore. The latter looks fake at times but this was not unusual for this time period for special effects. LDT is a must for B-horror movie aficionados if you are able to find it.

Ruben Galindo's "Grave Robbers" tells the tale of an undead axe-wielding Satanist brought back by young grave robbers.An undead satanic priest is released from his chains of death.And he is thirsty for blood!The gore flows freely as hatchet wielding zombie butchers his victims.Atmospheric and pulpy Mexican shocker with plenty of blood and several very gory death scenes.The hooded monk is a pretty creepy killer who truly enjoys spilling blood for example a face is shoved into a metal railing and a hand is bursting through a terrified grave robber's stomach."Grave Robbers" is a highly entertaining and fast-paced slasher flick with cob-webs,old abandoned houses and spooky graves.8 out of 10.

This movie is populated by gorgeous women, young men, extremely gory effects, good acting. I just love it. In this movie 3 grave robbers and their girlfriends steal the jewels from a serial killer/zombie and after that its nothing but mayhem as this zombie kills, kills and kills. This has a large body count and you actually see the victims getting the classic ax inthe head, head choppings, limbs chopping, guts scquashed out with a bare hand, etc... I highly reccommend this gem.