Grave Robbers

Grave Robbers (Ladrones De Tumbas) (1989)

Runtime: 88 minutes

Directed by: Ruben Galindo, Jr.

Starring: Fernando Almada, Edna Bolkan, Erika Buenfil, Ernesto Laguardia, Maria Rebeca

From: Producciones Torrente S.A.

Or: this gives me an opening to discuss seeing a Mexican vehicle last week

I'll explain more at the end for those that care but when I visited Walt Disney World a few days ago I happened to park right behind a Ford Lobo; that's what they call the F-150 down in Mexico and there are only negligible differences between the F-150 & the Lobo. Nonetheless, in the past few years I've watched the other two famous Ruben Galindo, Jr. horror movies; both Don't Panic and Cemetery of Terror delighted in different ways. Grave Robbers thrilled me in yet another new way.

There indeed are titular grave robbers, and they are a quartet of teens who do so for the purpose of stealing gold from the deceased, which is rather low. They stumble upon a crypt and take an axe from the chest of a corpse. That's a problem, as the corpse is a Satan worshipper from centuries ago and this causes him to resurrect. There is a group of “good” teens (including the daughter of the town's sheriff) who is mainly there for cannon fodder. 

The important detail to know is that not only are there plenty of deaths, but they are mostly strong on the gore. It was notably more gory than Don't Panic or Cemetery of Terror. Truth be told, it doesn't always make a lot of sense, but definitely entertaining, yes it is. Besides a villain who until the final act has his appearance hidden by a period robe, most of the characters are the usual stereotypes and are fun for what they are. It at least has everything from candle-filled tombs and a submachine gun to an old Dodge pickup truck and a priest that knows Latin. It was a horror film that happened to be more fun than a barrelful of monkeys.

As for the Ford Lobo I saw last week, it was neat for a dork like me to see something you otherwise wouldn't in the United States. I'd have nerded out even harder if it would have been a vehicle from an auto maker that hasn't sold cars here in a few decades, such as Renault or Peugeot.