Necromania: A Tale of Weird Love (aka Necromania) is a 1971 American adult movie with a horror theme written and directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr (Plan 9 from Outer Space, Night of the Ghouls, Orgy of the Dead). The uncredited cast are Maria Arnold, porn actress Rene Bond (Please Don’t Eat My Mother, Invasion of the Bee Girls) and Ric Lutze. The Amazing Criswell‘s coffin is seen in the film, the second of Wood’s films (after Night of the Ghouls) in which it does. Criswell’s family was in the mortician business.
The plot (based on Wood’s novel The Only House in Town) involves a couple, Danny and Shirley, who visit necromancer Madame Heles for a witchcraft solution to Danny’s erectile dysfunction.
Thought lost for years, it resurfaced in edited form on Mike Vraney‘s Something Weird imprint in the late 1980s, then was re-released on DVD by Fleshbot Films in 2005. Opening titles indicate “Produced & directed by Don Miller. Our cast wish to remain anonymous.”
” … the acting is actually kind of funny from all the fringe characters, especially one girl who keeps pronouncing insatiable as “in-sash-able”. The lead girl, 70s porn star Rene Bond (who went on to do some classic b-movies like 1973′s Invasion of the Bee Girls), is cute enough and is clearly having fun making the movie despite the heat. I did enjoy seeing that Ed Woodian mind at work, his hopes and dreams pumped into 8mm film. It’s worth watching for any true fan of his.” Ken Kaba, Mondo Exploito
“Besides Criswell’s coffin, there are other Wood traits. Bond’s name is “Shirley,” which was Wood’s transvestite name. Much of the set is decorated in red, a favorite color of Wood’s. Lutz, early in the film, makes a deliberate reference to former Wood actor Bela Lugosi. According to Grey’s Nightmare of Ecstasy, Wood wanted Vampira to play Madam Heles, but she, understandably, said no. Wood’s pal John Andrews helped around the set.” Steve Stones, Plan 9 Crunch
“The title suggests sex and horror; the two elements are cacophonic, as the film is neither erotic nor frightening. This is not to say Necromania is absent of any merits, as it is enhanced by its tactless craft.” Rumsey Taylor, Not Coming
Offline reading:
Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. by Rudolph Grey (1992)
