'Necromania': A Tale of Weird Love!

I found this movie outside of a Walmart at a tent sale back in 1995 or 1996.

It was the funniest movie I had ever seen, so I went back and bought all the copies up - $3.00 each. I gave away all of them as gifts except for one copy. One of them was given as a white elephant gift at a family Xmas get together, simply because I knew it was a really low budget movie, but it made me laugh every time I watched it. It's in a clamshell box - very cool.......if you haven't seen it - you are missing out! I loved seeing him run around in his underpants......and the props used in the house were cheap and gaudy. When I first saw this movie, I had no idea who Ed Wood was - it wasn't until years later that I read more about him and saw other movies. I am going to hunt up my copy of this movie right now and watch it again. I only wish I had it on DVD instead of VHS.

It is my sincere personal opinion that Ed Wood made some of the greatest, most imaginative, heartfelt and memorable films ever made. Ed was the original DIY filmmaker, and while he lacked technical skill, he more than made up for it with enthusiasm, plots, and especially dialog phoned in directly from Alpha Centauri.

Having said that, "Necromania" will only interest the already-converted Wood fan trying to fill in the gaps between the end of Ed's "official" filmography and the unfortunate end of his life. The casual or first-time Wood viewer should stay away from this one like the plague. For Wood fans, there are items of interest here, not least of which is Ed's (apparent) final appearance in a feature-length film. There are plot elements (and here I use the word "plot" in the most generous of senses) reminiscent of Ed's 50s classics, set pieces that recall (and may indeed have been used in) "Bride of the Monster" and "Plan 9", a way-out score, and echoes of the trademark Ed Wood dialog that to this day puts Hal Hartley and David Lynch to shame. There's also more than a little tragedy on display here; the truly sincere fan of Ed Wood (and there are about five of us) has to watch this hugely creative and tremendously life-loving soul in near total decay, ravaged by the wasting effects of too much alcohol and too little self-respect. One can't help but wish he had lived long enough to revel in the anti-hero status that was just a few years off. He would have taken the derision gleefully, knowing that somewhere out there, one viewer in a million would see his films and "get it." That's the one he was making movies for. Who knows, maybe it's you.

(Disclaimer: despite what is presented in "Necromania," there is no established scientific or medical evidence linking necromancy to increased male potency.)

I am a lover of "Trash Cinema", including some other Wood movies (i.e. Plan 9, Glen or Glenda...) but this one disappointed me. I bought the copy of the film offered by Something Weird Video with high hopes. As another review posted here said, this was supposed to be an erotic movie, but it is almost anti-erotic. The soft core sex scenes go on for way too long and not too much goes on in between them either unfortunately. It is not a complete waste of time for true trash movie fans or die hard Ed Wood fans but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it either... My rating is 5 out of 10

I like bad movies. Some of my favorite films are really awful. This film is way beyond that. If you are an Ed Wood fan like myself this final chapter in the man's life is truly heartbreaking. "Necromania" was intended to be a dirty movie, it is certainly the most anti-erotic thing I have ever seen. Like most "erotic" films the plot seems like an afterthought. Something about a necromancer curing a guy of impotence?! The video released by SWV also includes footage from another Ed Wood nudie picture called "Flesh Feast". This one, starring Ed himself, is even worse; nothing but shameless exhibitionism. (Although Ed never takes off his boxers, thank God.) Apparently shot over the course of one day, we see Ed becoming increasingly drunk as the day goes on. Most telling line: "I can't make it! How much longer can this go on?" A very sad document. See it if you must, but don't even plan on getting any laughs, it's too pathetic.

Necromania (1971)

** (out of 4)

Danny and Shirley, a young couple suffering sexual problems, shows up at the house of Madame Heles (pronounced "Heals") in hopes that the witchdoctor can cure them. The problem is a rather hard on in the fact that Danny is having a problem rising to the occasion, which has left Shirley unsatisfied and gives her thoughts of ending the relationship. The Madame won't show up until midnight but thankfully there's a few other guests on hand who will try and tackle the hard job of saving the young couple.

Necromania was shot in the matter of days (if not one day) with the budget of $7,000. The film was shot in two versions, one hardcore version (54-minutes) as well as a softcore version (51-minutes), which is the one most people has seen thanks to various bootleg markets. The three minutes difference in running times is that of hardcore sex. We get a few money shots but there really isn't that much of a difference in the two. The soft version features mostly kissing and while I'm sure it would get an NC-17 rating today, it really isn't too graphic. This new uncut version does feature an extended ending as well as some more graphic sex.

I was fairly shocked to see how well this movie was directed. Yes, it doesn't take too much talent to film sex scenes but Wood actually keeps the film at a nice pace as well as keeps the so-called story going. We don't get any of the typical Wood craziness and the cast isn't nearly as bad as those in previous Wood films. For the most part this is just a sex film but thankfully we get some tasty Wood dialogue, which is a real hoot and again, the dialogue is actually good instead of the bad stuff that usually just makes us laugh at its dumbness. The girl has some wonderfully funny insult lines thrown at her boyfriend, which are quite clever in their own way.

Other interesting moments to Wood fans will be a short cameo by Criswell's coffin, which was previous used in Night of the Ghouls. Another charming moment is a small dedication from the director to his favorite star Bela Lugosi who has his name mentioned at the start of the film. Wood, being a huge fan of Lugosi makes a nice little turn to throw his name out there, which is nice to see. The sex scenes are not erotic but we do get some very funny dubbing, which never matches up to the lip movement. I won't get into graphic detail but while one woman has her mouth full, the words coming out is rather funny. Other funny moments include various sound effects used for laughs as well as a nice music score, which helps things move along.

Necromania isn't a classic Ed Wood film but I'm sure fans of the director will want to check it out. There's enough zany moments to keep Wood fans entertained and it's also interesting to note that the film is pretty well made considering this was probably the smallest budget Wood ever worked with and that's saying a lot.