Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.0

Mortuary Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 6, 2021

Just a couple of months ago, a film called Morgue crossed my review queue, and when the film currently under discussion arrived in the mail, I momentarily thought that re-releases were suddenly coming out with very little time in between them. Later, this momentary if hilarious confusion become even funnier when I realized years ago I had reviewed another film called Mortuary, which had also been released on Blu-ray by MVD. This particular Mortuary is a good deal cheekier than Morgue, and its 1983 genesis makes it considerably older than the much more recent entry from Paraguay. Mortuary is not just older, it's decidedly more "old school" as well in a couple of ways, hinting at being a so-called "slasher" without ever really going there, as well as offering a different kind of "twist" than the sort I discussed in our Morgue Blu-ray review. A lot of films, especially those made in the wake of what I might call the M. Night Shyamalan phenomenon, love to set things up for the viewer with representations that later turn out to have at least partially pulled the wool over the audience's eyes, forcing a reexamination of everything that's gone before. Mortuary isn't that clever (if that's even the right word), simply offering a number of "clues" in the early plotting revolving around the mysterious death of the father of a principal character while introducing a glut of supporting characters, only to suddenly lurch into an ostensible sidebar which turns out to be the main plot element. It's all slightly amateurish at times, but Mortuary has one of those "classic" casts, if one chooses to ascribe that term to a coterie of actors who, with one notable exception, might be best remembered for some of their television work.

There's a subgenre of horror which frequently offers females in distress who are absolutely sure something bad is going on around them, though they find no one, or next to no one, to support them in their dilemma. The paradigmatic example of this is probably Rosemary's Baby, and in that regard it's interesting to note that Polanski's film adaptation hints at nefarious activities surrounding Rosemary without ever totally revealing them until the chilling denouement. Mortuary begins with an overt presentation of the murder of a guy who is pummeled and then left to drown in a pool, and so the fact that the guy's daughter, Christie Parson (Mary Beth McDonough, just coming off of her long run in The Waltons when this film was shot), insists he was attacked seems to obviously be based in "fact". Despite that, she is of course pooh-poohed by people, notably her own mother, Eve (Lynda Day George), who is set up initially to be a kind of harridan figure, but who just kind of magically morphs into a caring, nurturing parent later on.

Luckily, Christie's boyfriend Greg Stevens (David Wysocki, billed as David Wallace) is at least willing to entertain Christie's fears about her father's death as well as the fact that she's certain someone in a mysterious black cloak is stalking her. Greg is already a little concerned with some shenanigans going on in his town, notably at the local mortuary, where the owner, Hank Andrews (Christopher George), likes to hold what Greg describes as "seances" in a hidden underground antechamber, but which look considerably more coven-like. The fact that Eve is part of this group also seems to hint rather broadly that there is indeed some kind of "Rosemary" like conspiracy going on involving people surrounding a helpless focal lass. The whole coven aspect has all been documented in a scene showing Greg and buddy Josh (Denis Mandel) breaking into the mortuary to witness some kind of a pagan ceremony, which is followed by Josh then "mysteriously" (at least to Greg) disappearing. But again, the film clearly depicts Josh being, well, slashed by a spooky black cloaked figure, so it seems that any supposed "ambiguity" about what Christie is seeing and/or feeling is not all that ambiguous. It's especially notable in this regard that if you look closely enough, you can clearly make out who the culprit is who offs Josh, rather amazingly early into the story, and this same villain is revealed overtly long before the film's climax, as if to emphasize that this isn't any kind of a "whodunit".

When the film introduces Hank's nerdy son Paul (Bill Paxton) things begin their decided detour. Paul has had a traumatic childhood, with the other local kids sharing stories about how Hank used to lock Paul up in the mortuary as a child. The "adult" (more like a man child) Paul seems well intentioned enough, though he's obviously a little nuts for Christie, and has some patently odd ways of showing it (Paxton's "skipping" scene in a cemetery is one of the film's gonzo highlights). Suffice it to say that while the first part of Mortuary has at least hinted at supernatural phenomena and things like witchcraft, the "truth" turns out to be considerably more pedestrian. The film goes for a bit of Grand Guignol gusto in its final act, with a freeze frame "sting" that is probably meant to deliver at least a minimal jolt of adrenaline, but while kind of goofily enjoyable on its own smaller scale merits, Mortuary never really delivers any significant chills.

Mortuary Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mortuary is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of the MVD Rewind Collection, an imprint of MVD Visual, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The best part of this presentation is arguably its vivid palette, one which is especially expressive in its uses of red (note how Christie's bedtime nightmares feature her perfectly made up, including blood red lipstick). That said, there are some variances in suffusion and densities, seemingly not dependent on filming conditions or locations (e.g., some of the deficits can be spotted in both indoor and outdoor material). Detail levels tend to fare best in the brighter lit moments, but clarity and fine detail in particular tend to ebb and flow, as can perhaps be made out in some of the screenshots accompanying this review. Grain is generally organic looking, but there are definitely some rough patches on display, including "usual suspects" like the optically printed opening credits sequence and some later nighttime material where things are pretty mottled and even slightly pixellated looking.

Mortuary Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mortuary features an LPCM 2.0 Mono track that supports the film's somewhat tamped down sound design perfectly adequately. John Cacavos' score is almost serene at times, and plays as a nice counterpoint to some of the more hyperbolic on screen goings on, and sounds fine and distortion free. Dialogue is also presented cleanly and clearly, without any problems. Optional English subtitles are available.

Mortuary Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Composer John Cacavas (SD: 15:02) is an enjoyable piece moderated by Nathaniel Thompson. Cacavas freely admits he doesn't remember much about aspects of the film.


• Trailers includes Mortuary (HD; 2:30), along with trailers for other releases from the MVD Rewind Collection (including the 2005 Tobe Hooper Mortuary linked to above).

Additionally, a folded mini-poster is included in the keepcase.

Mortuary Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I have to say that for me personally the sight of Bill Paxton skipping merrily through a cemetery was worth the price of admission here, though Mortuary is pretty rote and predictable otherwise. It's kind of interesting to see such willful misdirection which turns out not to be any magical cinematic sleight of hand, but more like "nothing to see here, move on". Video encounters occasional hurdles, but audio is fine and the Cacavas interview kind of charming, for those who are interested in making a purchase.