5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Convinced that her father's death was not accidental, a beautiful girl decides to investigate to find out the truth, aided by her boyfriend. Her sleuthing draws her to a local mortuary, where many secrets will be revealed.
Starring: Bill Paxton, Lynda Day George, Christopher George, Mary Beth McDonough, David WysockiHorror | 100% |
Mystery | 7% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
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.
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 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.
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.
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