A favourite from the video store days, Mortuary has been given an HD release from US label MVD as part of their Rewind series and is ripe for rediscovery.
Teens Josh (Denis Mandel) and Greg (David Wallace) have broken into the local mortuary to steal some tires in lieu of payment since Josh was sacked from helping out when he caught the mortician Mr Andrews (genre favourite Christopher George in his final role) conducting a séance. Before they can roll the tires out of the place, they spot Andrews and some robed women doing it again. Transfixed by the sinister display, Greg doesn’t notice Josh has gone missing – attacked by a robed figure.
Greg and his girlfriend Christie (former Walton Mary McDonough) try to find out why Josh disappeared and even try to quiz Andrews’ Mozart-loving son Paul (a young Bill Paxton), who works at the mortuary cleaning and embalming bodies. Meanwhile, Christie is having nightmares and is convinced a roped assailant is after her.
Mortuary manages to throw so much at the wall that some of it does indeed stick. Opening as what appears to be a supernatural-tinged thriller, it soon reveals itself to be a full-on, bat-shit crazy stalk-and-slash horror flick. The fresh-faced Paxton makes his presence known in all the wrong ways with a brilliantly Pee-wee Herman-esque portrayal of the nerdy lad who is infatuated with McDonough’s Christie. It’s likely not a performance he’ll want reminding of too often. McDonough spends much of the time sleepwalking (literally) in her nightie, unsure whether the danger she’s facing is real or imagined. Wallace is an unlikely lead but manages to shine through the fun if somewhat predictable second half.
As well as the on-screen talent, Mortuary has plenty of pedigree behind the camera. Director/co-writer Howard Avedis helmed grindhouse classics The Teacher (1974) and The Stepmother (1972), while cinematographer Gary Graver had an illustrious career working with Orson Welles and lensing some of 42nd Street’s err… best such as Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973) and The Toolbox Murders (1978). Composer Gary Graver (who is the subject of the disc’s only real extra) provides an effective score that elevates the suspense greatly.
Mortuary might not be one of the first films you think of when it comes to the ‘good old’ video store days, but it stands up remarkably well. It just needed to have made more (or at least something) of the spiritualist side, which is all but abandoned midway. It’s a shame the release doesn’t have more in the way of extra features, too.
