Shudder’s horror anthology The Mortuary Collection, directed by Ryan Spindell is heading to Blu-ray this April. We took a look and this is what we have to say.
A creepy old man oversees the funeral of a young boy. When the family leaves a stranger enters the mortuary, a young woman. As the two talk, she inquires about the help wanted sign outside. But before he can get into the details of the job she asks for a story. Over the film, he shares three terrifying tales filled with blood and murder. Then the young woman takes a turn, revealing a dark secret. The thing is, she has no idea who she’s talking to.
The four segments are connected with a wraparound story set in the mortuary and unfold as the two walk from room to room. The first story is about a woman who is a thief. When she goes trying to see what the party’s host is hiding in their medicine cabinet she discovers old-world terrors right out of Lovecraft’s books. The next tale gets bloody when a young man takes advantage of a young woman, only to get a truly nasty and horrific surprise in the end. In the third story, we meet a man who is tired of taking care of his ill wife. The final tale, the darkest of them all, might make you think twice about eating dinner for a while. As for the end, well, you’ll have to watch to find that out.
There’s a ton of brutal action, gore, and clever twists and features subjects like sex, cannibalism, and a lot of murder. When I say brutal and gory I mean watching a man’s penis explode brutal and gory! In other words, this movie isn’t for kids.
Clancy Brown (The Shawshank Redemption, Thor: Ragnarok) plays the role of the old mortician, Montgomery Dark, who is more than he appears to be. He’s mysterious and a little intimidating, which was great for this type of character. As for the young woman who turns out to more dangerous than her babysitter looks let on, she’s played by Caitlin Custer (“Teen Wolf,” “Swingtown”). While a bit snarky and pushy, her character Sam is an interesting one. The big twist in this movie is one hell of a surprise that you don’t see coming until the end which is nice.
The Mortuary Collection is a fun movie to vedge out to. It’s got everything a good horror movie should have, action, an interesting story, lots of gore, and the movie looks good while accomplishing it. I highly recommend that you check it out for yourself. The Mortuary Collection will be out on VOD, Digital HD, DVD, and Blu-ray on April 20, 2021, and comes with a ton of great bonus features!
Bonus features on the DVD and Blu-ray include:
- Director’s Commentary
- 14 Extensive Behind-the-Scenes Segments
- Featuring the Cinematography, Costumes, Art Department, Locations, Props, Hair & Make-Up, Special Effects, Sound, Stunts, and Visual Effects of THE MORTUARY COLLECTION
- In-Depth Conversations with Director and Writer Ryan Spindell, the Actors, and Crew of THE MORTUARY COLLECTION
- Deleted Scenes
- …and more!
