Graverobbers

Here's another obscure and long-forgotten 80's horror flick (it never ceases to amaze me that I keep on discovering unknown gems from that decade) that certainly might appeal to fans of the genre with an interest in unorthodox and slightly deviant concepts. It looks like another dull and discouraging day for roadside diner waitress Norma Mae. She just declined the advances of a sleazy condom salesman guy when a tall dark stranger by the name of John Henry walks in and promptly asks her to marry him. Completely bedazzled but flattered, Norma Mae accepts the proposal and accompanies him to his hometown of Newville, 100 miles up the expressway. She quickly discovers that nothing is kosher in the little town where her husband works as a funeral director. The entire population shares a sick fetish for dead persons and the elite town members gather in Henry's funeral home for a series of sick and perverted rituals whenever there's a fresh cadaver. When Norma Mae witnesses a twisted ceremony on the corpse of an unfortunate cheerleader who died in a peculiar car accident, she righteously wonders herself why Henry so desperately wanted a new spouse on such a short notice. "Dead Mate" is a low-budgeted and often clumsily handled B-movie, but it nevertheless benefices from a rather macabre ambiance and the controversy around the necrophilia theme. The town members are very well cast and there are numerous delightfully demented dialogs, like "this is the only true form of safe sex. You can't get aids from dead people". The other reviewers are correct in their comparisons of this movie with the modest early 80's classic "Dead & Buried". The film has the same morbid vibes, albeit minus the suspense and shocking aftertaste. "Dead Mate" is by no means a hidden treasure or a must-see, but certainly worth a peek if you like bizarre stuff.

It's a joke. It has to be a joke. Nothing in this "movie" qualifies it to be a serious attempt at film making. The directing is so inept, half the time characters aren't doing anything until after the camera has rolled for a couple of seconds. The acting is as unemotional in some places as a wall of cinder block. The "special" effects include stage hands throwing viles of chemicals onto the floor, or skin peeling off someone on a motorcycle going 35 mph down the road. The story is lamer than a horse missing two legs. There is nothing to save this movie other than a few desperate attempts at decent camera work, but those are so few and far in between, it's not even worth mentioning.

The movie wasn't a test to watch, but it certainly wasn't what I call enjoyable. Watch at your own risk.

Scott's judgment: "Stop - making this movie. In the name of love, stop."

My review was written in January 1990 after watching the movie on Prism video cassette.

A horror film about necrophilia, "Dead Mate" tries too hard in its quest for bad taste. It's for the lowest end of the home video spectrum.

Director Straw Weisman's script lets on early its goal of black humor, but it simply isn't funny. Plot line is likewise weak, as dine waitress Elizabeth Mannino improbably accepts a proposal from weird-looking customer David Gregory and is immediately off to marry the weirdo and live with him in the small town of Newbury.

He's a mortician and she's the latest in a string of young wives he's been killing and having sex with, joined by the sickos of the town. A subplot has him using electricity to reanimate the corpses, but this supernatural element is confusingly presented by Weisman.

Pic turns sleazy in an early scene where a voluptuous beauty (Kathleen Margo, who deserves better roles) dies in a car accident and is tghen gang-raped by the amublance attendants. As if this weren't enough, when the townsfolk fondle Margo's corpse atg Gregory's mortuary, one announces "it's safe sex now 'cause we can't get AIDS from dead people". Perhaps the filmmakers are looking to stir up trouble to generate free publicity with such unfunny barbs.

Acting is weak, particularly by lead Mannino who hasn't a clue how to react to noxious plot twists (including an utterly irrelevant revelation late in the film that she's an ex-prostitute). Final plot gimmicks involving incest and "It's only a dream" are pitifully bad.

Main point of interest for genre fans is the extreme gore content provided by special effects man Arnold Gargiulo II.

I saw this on a DVD double-bill with Andy Milligan's "Monstrosity". I see where people say "Graverobbers" (a.k.a "Dead Mate") is the worst movie ever. I dunno, I kinda think "Manos: Hands of Fate" is worse, but this merely a matter of semantics; both are awful bad. But, the other film on this DVD, "Monstrosity" is certainly worse than "Graverobbers". Both films were well-pared. Both are tasteless, cheap exploitation films, and surprisingly, "Graverobbers" has the higher production values of the two. The director of "Graverobbers" had once worked with "Monstrosity" creator Andy Milligan. Imagine, both incredibleminds and their films on one disc!

The thing is, as tasteless as "Graverobbers" is, it is still more entertaining (again, semantics) than "Monstrosity". At least I was (sort of) rooting for the heroine in "Graverobbers", and well, the production values in that film were better. "Monstrosity" cannot escape its bargain-basement production values, its hideous, altering tone, and the most grating lead performance (by Haal Borske) in my long term memory.

But, that's not to say "Graverobbers" is any good. It's low-grade direct to video nonsense that is about as useful as J. Lo's nipple-tweeker. Of course, at least that guy has a skill.

The makers of "Graverobbers" display no skill that I can descern. Granted, some parts were funny (a category "Monstrosity" fails in, unintentional laughs aside), but I think even there I give "Graverobbers" too much credit.

Forget any of the praise. Just avoid that double-feature DVD disc, because the side effects of watching both films on the same day will leave you sticking your tongue in a power outlet because you can't take another minute of the pain...

Unless you enjoy the bottom-of-the-barrel bad movies...

Hey, Straw, if you read this-get this out on DVD. I love this movie! It is funny and twisted and Necrocomedies are sorely in short supply in this sad world. I have been a big fan since it first appeared in video stores almost 20 years ago. I was casually glancing through the New Releases-not expecting much-when my unbelieving eyes saw this movie. I could not believe it-finally some brave auteur made a heart warming romantic comedy starring a necrophiliac. I salute you. I own a VHS copy of this, but I want a DVD to add to my collection. Have you tried?

You all deserve to treat yourself to the joy that is "Dead Mate". You will thank me!