Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

The Mortuary Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

A bloody good throwback.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III April 8, 2021

Ryan Spindell's The Mortuary Collection belongs to the perpetually uneven "horror anthology" subgenre, whose roots extend all the way back to 1919 but gained traction during the 1960s and 70s with films like Black Sabbath, The House that Dripped Blood and, of course, Tales from the Crypt. It's a flexible and often entertaining formula usually assembled from a few OK-to-great short films with a framing story linking it all together. The Mortuary Collection is no different aside from its meta-commentary, serving up four tales of terror told in the sleepy town of Raven's End in the 1980s.

After a short introduction filled with foreshadowing, the framing story kicks off at the Raven's End Mortuary with its proprietor, Montgomery Dark (Clancy Brown), presiding over the funeral of an unnamed young boy. The mortuary's "Help Wanted" sign has drawn the attention of young Sam Gibbons (Caitlin Custer), whose attraction to the macabre makes her a good enough fit despite her curious lack of experience. Eager to hear more about the building's history, Montgomery obliges Sam with a handful of tales about the town's most memorable and ghastly deaths.

• Segment 1 - Sometime in the 1950s, pickpocketing party guest Emma (Christine Kilmer) encounters a deadly creature in the bathroom. It's not particularly impressive or long enough to make any real impact.

• Segment 2: "Unprotected" - Frat boy Jake (Jacob Elordi) convinces demure freshman Sandra (Ema Horvath) to come to a party that evening. After trading in his condom for a wild night of unprotected sex, Jake awakens to find his body is going through some... interesting changes. Featuring outstanding practical effects and more than a few brutally shocking moments, it's an early standout and probably the best short of the bunch.

• Segment 3: "Till Death" - Wendell Owens (Barak Hardley), once happily married to lovely young Carol (Sarah Hay), now sits at her bedside where she's been catatonic for what could be several months... or possibly years. When the heavy stress of caring for her leads to his shady doctor's suggestion of an "accidental overdose" via painkillers, Wendell's disposal of her body proves to be a messy, insurmountable challenge.

• Segment 4: "The Babysitter Murders" - Sam spills the beans about her interest in the mortuary's earlier funeral, detailing a recent night of babysitting and her bloody encounter with a total stranger. This Halloween-y segment actually doubles as a stand-alone 2015 short film by director Ryan Spindell -- and since it ties in most directly to The Mortuary Collection's framing story, it's easy to see that most of the film has been built around it. This one's only OK, though -- its cinematography and build-up is great, but the twist is a big reach.

Overall it's a fairly solid collection of tales, with the least impressive (Segment 1) being so short that it barely has time to register. As mentioned earlier, the practical effects are great and very bloody at unexpected times, with one scene easily ranking as one of the most viscerally WTF moments I've seen in recent years. (You'll know it when you see it.) My only real criticisms are the film's somewhat patchy construction -- these stories don't tie together all that smoothly, aside from a couple of recurring characters and visual cues -- and its consecutive time periods (1950s-80s), which don't feature convincing enough production design and serve little purpose aside from explaining the absence of cell phones. But The Mortuary Collection is still better than most modern anthologies and definitely worth a run-through, especially since RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray offers great A/V specs and a surprisingly deep collection of extras.

The Mortuary Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Since The Mortuary Collection features only one director and two cinematographers (Elie Smolkin and Caleb Heymann), its frequently memorable visuals are much more consistent than most anthologies and they're served perfectly well on RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray, which features a very solid 1080p transfer. Deep shadows hold up nicely with great black levels and very few moments of crush, while colorful bursts -- reds, obviously, as will as period-specific clothing and the nicely adorned mortuary -- punch through what might otherwise be a dull and dreary affair. Skin tones and textures likewise register strongly and, while the mostly indoor scenes never get a chance to really shine under natural light, many of the compositions are excellent and scene transitions are very thoughtfully done. The Blu-ray is well-authored and runs at a very high bit rate, largely avoiding compression artifacts, banding, and other eyesores.

The Mortuary Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix is a mostly consistent affair, with more shocking moments warranting well-done jump scares and a handful weather effects -- none more prominent than in The Babysitter Murders -- make their presence known strongly. The original score by TV and film composers Mondo Boys sounds very good too, enjoying prominence during some scenes but supporting the film more subtly in others. Rear channels are mostly reserved for background noise, music cues, and a few crowded conversations and, while LFE effects are quite sparse, they kick in at a few unexpected moments as well. Overall, a fine effort that, more often than not, adds plenty of atmosphere.

Optional English (SDH), French, and Spanish subtitles are included during the main feature only.

The Mortuary Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with reversible cover art, a matching slipcover, and a promotional insert. The included bonus features unexpectedly cover a lot of ground and make this a well-rounded package.

• Audio Commentary - This feature-length track with director Ryan Spindell is casual and informative, touching upon plenty of great topics including his love of director's commentaries, in-camera effects, working around a low budget, early development and the successful Kickstarter campaign, pacing and flow, the casting process, shooting in Oregon and Los Angeles, favorite horror films, deleted scenes, and much more.

• Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes - A surprisingly deep collection of short to mid-length featurettes that touch upon nearly every aspect of The Mortuary Collection's development, from its initial 2014 Kickstarter campaign (featuring a slightly different slate of planned segments) to the original score, post-production, and practical effects work. Due to their number and self-explanatory titles, the names mostly speak for themselves.

• Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc. (13:51) - A quick tour of the legendary SFX house that contributed practical effects work to two of the film's segments, "Unprotected" and "Till Death".
• Kickstarter (1:21)
• Director (9:53)
• Actors (17:23)
• Camera (6:54)
• Costumes (4:56)
• Art Department (22:25)
• Locations (7:47)
• Props (4:41)
• Hair & Make-Up (4:10)
• Special Effects (3:09)
• Sound (8:23)
• Stunts (1:22)
• Visual Effects (6:11)

• Deleted Scenes (5:57) - A few short scenes are prefaced by a brief introduction from director Ryan Spindell, who also offers a few insert comments along the way. Most concern an unused introduction sequence starring three young children exploring the woods around Raven's End Mortuary.

• Behind-the-Scenes Photo Gallery

The Mortuary Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ryan Spindell's The Mortuary Collection is a surprisingly solid horror anthology in a sub-genre not exactly known for its consistency, which makes this debut feature-length film from the director a promising one. Although its four segments and the wraparound framing story don't blend together smoothly, almost every segment has plenty of high points and the practical effects work is outstanding during its best moments. RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray offers a perfect amount of support, including a great A/V presentation and a well-rounded collection of bonus features that cover almost every main aspect of the production. This one's recommended as a blind buy... unless you're squeamish, of course.