Grave Robbers (film)
Grave Robbers (Spanish: Ladrones de tumbas) is a 1989 Mexican horror film written and directed by Rubén Galindo Jr., and co-written by Carlos Valdemar. Agustín Bernal stars as an undead Satanist who, after being accidentally awakened by grave robbers played by Erika Buenfil, Ernesto Laguardia, German Bernal, and María Rebeca, sets out to bring about Armageddon by impregnating a virgin (Edna Bolkan) with the Antichrist.[1]
| Grave Robbers | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Spanish | Ladrones de tumbas |
| Directed by | Rubén Galindo Jr. |
| Produced by | Raúl Galindo |
| Written by | Carlos Valdemar |
| Story by | Rubén Galindo Jr. |
| Starring | Fernando Almada Edna Bolkan Erika Buenfil Ernesto Laguardia María Rebeca |
| Music by | Jon Michael Bischof René Castillo Ricardo Galindo Hnos. Warner |
| Cinematography | Antonio de Anda |
| Edited by | Antonio López Zepeda |
Production company | Producciones Torrente S.A. |
| Distributed by | Televisa S.A. de C.V. |
Release date |
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Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | Mexico |
| Language | Spanish |
Plot
In the Mexican town of San Ramón, the executioner of an Inquisition-era Catholic church chooses Satan in favor of God, and attempts to rape a virgin in order to impregnate her with the Antichrist. He is caught and tortured by other members of the clergy, who demand that he renounce Satan. The executioner defies them, and is hacked in the chest with an ax by the archbishop; before he dies, the executioner declares, "Some day someone will come and wrench the ax out. Then I'll return with more power to father Satan's son in one of your descendants."
Centuries later, Olivia, the daughter of Captain Lopez and the virginal descendant of the archbishop, goes camping with three of her friends near a cemetery that has just been broken into by a group of grave robbers consisting of Manolo, his psychic girlfriend, Rebeca, and their friends Armando and Diana. The quartet unearth a shaft that leads to the ruined basement of the abandoned Catholic church, where they discover treasure (including a small Satanic figure) and the tomb of the executioner, who has the ax pulled out of his chest by Manolo. As the plunderers try to leave with their booty, their pickup truck becomes stuck in the mud, but they receive assistance from a pair of peasants named Pablo and Toño. The revived executioner reclaims the ax and uses it to kill the peasants, whose deaths are blamed on the grave robbers by a passing Lopez. The quartet profess their innocence to Lopez, and advise him to investigate the tomb where they found the ax that was used to kill Pablo and Toño.
Lopez realizes that the real killer is still on the loose when two more people are murdered, so he races out into the wilderness to warn Olivia and her friends, accompanied by Olivia's fiance, Raul. The executioner slaughters Raul and all of Olivia's friends, but is temporarily driven off by a machine gun-wielding Lopez. Lopez searches the executioner's tomb for answers, and finds an ancient book written in Latin that he brings to Father Jeronimo. At the police station, the grave robbers are broken out of their cell by their friends Andrea and Jorge. The executioner uses supernatural powers to attack Father Jeronimo, and to kill Armando and Jorge before appearing in-person to butcher Andrea and Diana.
The executioner proceeds to kill Olivia's bodyguard before abducting her, while Lopez learns from the injured Father Jeromino—who had finished translating the old Latin tome—that the executioner is empowered by Satan, and must be vanquished using the ax and the Satanic figure before he can impregnate Olivia with the Antichrist. As Father Jeronimo holds a midnight mass, Lopez works with Manolo and Rebeca to save Olivia. Rebeca rescues Olivia while Lopez steals the Satanic figure and the ax from the executioner and uses them against him, robbing the executioner of his power and allowing him to be destroyed by dynamite planted by Manolo. As the executioner burns away into nothingness, Manolo kisses Rebeca.
Cast
- Agustín Bernal as The Executioner
- Fernando Almada as The Archbishop/Captain Lopez
- Toño Infante as Officer Lalo
- Tony Bravo as Raul
- Edna Bolkan as Olivia Lopez
- Ana Graham as Monica
- Colette Payen as Fernanda
- Marianne Hallman as Viky
- Ernesto Laguardia as Manolo Andrade
- German Bernal as Armando
- Erika Buenfil as Rebeca de la Huerta
- María Rebeca as Diana Negrete
- Andrea Legaretta as Andrea
- Andres Bonfiglio as Jorge
- Aldalberto Arvizu as Pablo
- Sammy Ortiz as Toño
- Roberto Cañedo as Father Jeronimo
Reception
Ian Jane of DVD Talk felt that Grave Robber's plot and acting were a mess, but went on to say that the film was nevertheless "a fun ride" that was "plenty entertaining" and "worth seeing for the special effects."[2] DVD Review's Guido Henkel wrote, "Cemetery of Terror and Grave Robbers are not particularly good films – and neither are they exceedingly bad – but they are products of their respective times. The plots are just as simple and formulaic as anything that Fulci or de Ossorio did in their films, and both movies do have a very dense atmosphere that perfectly sets the mood for these zombie slasher horror flicks."[3] Steve Barton of Dread Central applauded the film's gore, and concluded, "though it's not as good as Cemetery of Terror, this little slice of Mexican hell still whips a serious amount of ass."[4] In a review written for CHUD.com, Wade Gum noted that while Grave Robbers was impressively gory, it was also a rather generic 1980s slasher film; he went on to say, "If you're looking for standard drive-in, B movie gore, there are worse films you could go with. However, it's not like there's any real short supply of those movies in English."[5] Glenn Kay, the author of Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide, opined that the film felt outdated and absurd, but conceded, "However, it isn't boring, and some viewers may appreciate its laugh-inducing, credibility-straining antics."[1]
References
- Glenn Kay (2008). Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide. Chicago Review Press. pp. 185–186. ISBN 9781613744222.
- Jane, Ian (8 August 2006). "Cemetery of Terror/Grave Robbers". dvdtalk.com. DVD Talk. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- Henkel, Guido (16 August 2006). "Crypt Of Terror: Cemetery of Terror/Grave Robbers". dvdreview.com. DVD Review. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- Barton, Steve (3 April 2008). "Crypt of Horror: Horror From South of the Border Vol. 1 & 2 (DVD)". dreadcentral.com. Dread Central. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- Gum, Wade (9 August 2006). "DVD Review: Cemetery of Terror & Grave Robbers". CHUD.com. Cinematic Happenings Under Development. Retrieved 13 March 2020.