Straw Weisman’s writing and directorial debut Grave Robbers aka Deadmate aka Obitorium hits Blu-ray/DVD this week thanks to Vinegar Syndrome, and for fans of so bad it’s good cinema, you owe it to yourself to seek this title out. The film, which originally hit video store shelves back in 1988 from Prism releasing with the tagline “Don’t kiss me, I’m not dead… yet,” was the last film produced by William Mishkin’s son Lew Mishkin. William, who was probably best known to exploitation fans for producing most of Andy Milligan’s catalog, left the family business to his son Lew, who promptly ran it straight into the ground shortly after this effort. Weisman got the chance to helm his own feature after cutting his teeth with the Mishkins, writing such films as the exploitation classic Fight for Your Life (1977) and the musical comedy Pelvis (1977).
Grave Robbers begins with a garish nightmare as we see our beautiful protagonist Nora (Elizabeth Mannino) ripped to shreds in an orgy of blood and gore. We discover it’s a nightmare she has often as the now retired prostitute wakes up and once again readies for her gig waitressing on the graveyard shift. As soon as she walks in the diner door she is hit on by a condom salesman, in one of the film’s many strange AIDS-themed nods, when a limousine pulls up and out comes John Henry Cox. After about two minutes, the tall, dark, and rich stranger proposes marriage and sweeps Nora off her feet to the small town of Newbury (Get it?). Like all small towns, everyone seems to know everyone in Newbury, and it isn’t long after her vows that Nora finds out not only John was a widower, but also a third-generation mortician who runs the Cox Funeral Home, her new home. One night while investigating her husband’s late-night work habits Nora discovers her John and the town of Newbury foster a very dark secret.
The best way to describe Grave Robbers is it’s like John Waters directed Twin Peaks. You have this ex-waitress who comes to a quirky small town after the mysterious death of local homecoming queen triggers the town’s spiral into madness. Where the John Waters bit comes into play is not only the quirky dialog but the town, which is almost completely populated by necrophiliacs and motorcycle riding zombies. Nora’s new husband just happens to be the leader of this sex cult and has a weird fixation with electrocuting already dead bodies. The bizarre series of events that is passed off as a plot is something that has to be experienced to be believed. The film’s stilted dialog and uneven performances only add to the film’s awkward charm and sincerity, in stark contrast against the film’s dreamlike cinematography. It’s hard to get a bead on whether the film was meant to be campy or was a sincere horror film gone horribly awry.
The film is presented in a spotless HD transfer with a bright contrast and grain intact and per the norm with Vinegar’s releases. The film comes with a brief interview with writer/director Straw Weisman, the film’s alternate opening with the Deadmate title card, and a director’s commentary. The commentary is insightfully candid as Straw discusses how he came up with the idea for Grave Robbers and how he came to direct it for Lew. For fans of 42nd street, you will find Weisman’s stories fascinating as he discusses the scene back in the ‘70s/’80s and what his path was like to the director’s chair. While they touch on some of the film’s themes dealing with the AIDS epidemic, I could have listened to a full track alone just of Straw trying to explain lines like, “Best of all, she’s safe. It’s safe sex now because we can’t get AIDS from dead people.”
Grave Robbers was so completely batshit crazy I haven’t stopped talking about it since I saw it. It’s a gleeful piece of cinematic insanity that was reminiscent of the likes of Boardinghouse, Night of 1000 Cats, Raw Force, and Scream for Help. While some might peg if for a riff off of Necromantic from the synopsis alone, it’s so much more than that. The film’s tone alone is way too campy and comedic to take almost anything you see on screen seriously. It’s a film I can’t wait to spring on unsuspecting friends to get their take as they try to make sense of the film’s ending that had me clapping in my seat at the sheer audacity of it. Easily the single most insane cinematic experience I’ve had so far in 2018, Grave Robbers is a rare film that exceeds anything you could possibly imagine from the cover, trailer, or synopsis, giving you something that makes you really wonder why you haven’t you heard of this film before.