'Necromania': A Tale of Weird Love!

I saw the uncut version, and I must confirm that it is a sad experience. The movie I saw contains the rated scenes, including the successful sexual treatment that the witch gives to the protagonist, and that's where the movie abruptly ends. There's definitely more than kissing and licking to it than in the "clean" one. The lack of plot, the ridiculous soundtrack and the awful direction of the cast are the unmistakable Ed Wood's signature for this disaster. The difference from the past is due to the use of colours and the explicit sex scenes, but above all what's totally missing here is at least that genuine cinematic effort, that could be observed in the old movies like Bride of the Monster or Plan 9. See it only if you must, it is far from being entertaining under any point of view.

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.)

As most Ed Wood fans know, he made sex movies during his final days. It was the only way he could get work (he also wrote sex novels), which is truly sad. NECROMANIA is unlike TAKE IT OUT IN TRADE (another "lost" Wood sleazy) in that it actually resembles a completed feature. All that's missing from the videotape are the hardcore sex scenes that were originally in the movie. As with most movies of this type, I didn't catch the plot. Basically there's a couple who visit a weird old house for some kind of "sex therapy". They switch partners a couple times, and the sex scenes are pretty much a lot of licking and kissing (but nothing x-rated). I'm not certain what NECROMANIA has to do with the story, but a woman dances with a skull in one scene, and there's a part where they stuff a living man in a coffin. It never manages to be scary, funny, or sexy. It only serves as a document of the unfortunate last years of a mad genius's life.

My life isn't much better nor worse having watched Necromania, it simply is (maybe a little weirder, till I go to bed). This starts off promisingly as the couple comes into this Madam Heles establishment and gets settled in, with some of the terrifically hackneyed and sub-par/awfully delivered dialog and performances you want from Wood Jr, mostly from the sometimes snarky and sometimes hapless male lead.

However (having watched the XXX version), a lot of the movie is spent watching the other lovers at this Madam Heles (like Heels and also "Heels" natche). One particular highlight, in knowing who the filmmaker was, is seeing the one other male character screw and how he lasts about five or six seconds and picturing the director on set ala the Bride of the Monster Lobo scene from Ed Wood 94 ("No, no it's real... you know, in every day life, this would happen to him every day"), though that's my own personal amusement.

The mostly un-erotic sex (a couple of the ladies have fine curves) and an occasional line or moment where a drowsy woman gets to have a doozy of a line leads to a casket scene that finally brings somewhat to a head the horror of the title, and it all comes down the male lead getting it up at last... which would be more impactful if we didn't already see him have a jump in the hay like ten minutes before (!) Unless if that isn't the point and it's just about having a good time in a casket (courtesy if Criswell, seriously).

This ultimately is not all that memorable from this iconic director - having a 7 grand budget, which was pennies compared to even Monster or Plan 9 - and if it didn't have his reputation I'm sure it would have remained obscure if not lost. I guess I'm glad I could see it once and laugh a few times, but it is also a kind of quintessential rental choice from Kim's Video at Alamo, which is how I saw it, as it was special enough to check out but not anywhere near quality to own.