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Released by: Scorpion Releasing
Released on: 5/15/2012
Director: Howard Avedis
Cast: Mary Beth McDonough, David Wallace, Bill Paxton, Lynda Day George, Christopher George
Year: 1983
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The Movie:
Teenaged Christie Parson (Mary Beth McDonough, “Erin†from The Walton's) recently lost her father to an accident in the pool, and has nightmares about it. She is convinced her dad was murdered, but her mother Eve (70s tv star Lynda Day George) believes it all to be an accident and that her daughter is loco. Christie also claims to being followed by a man in black and even threatened by him, but again Eve thinks she's nuts. Christie's boyfriend Greg (David Wallace) believes her though. He saw her mother participating in a séance with the local mortuary owner Hank Andrews (Lynda's real-life husband Christopher George, City of the Living Dead and tons of television), which was held the same night Greg and his buddy broke into the mortuary to steal something. Also that night, Greg's buddy up and vanished into thin air as well, so he's pretty suspicious of Hank, and he and Christie try to figure out what's going on. Also in the mix is a very young-looking Bill Paxton as Paul Andrews, son of the mortuary owner and a bit of a high-school dork. He has a crush on Christie but doesn't hide it very well.
The two teen love birds continue their search for the truth, finding time for plenty of awkward and unrealistic teen romance dialogue, plus an opportunity to get romantic, naked, and have unrealistic teen sex. Once things start to unfold the truth isn't what they expected, and the old bait-and-switch trick is dusted off while the story takes it little twisty turn into a different direction. Some information comes to light about one of the characters and from there the story quickly gets to the maniacal last act, complete with a jump-scare cliff-hanger of an ending.
Labeled as a slasher movie, it may be better pigeonholed into the genre of stalker movie. It plays out as more of a psychological thriller-type picture than a go-for-the-gross-out gore flick, which why that statement was made. Only three people are killed and it's not in a random fashion, and they are all connected. Not really the slasher formula. But anyway, what a fun little piece of 80s cheese this one is. There are lots of familiar faces here, especially for fans of 70s television, and the acting is decent enough, in that Fantasy Island sort of way (the George's acted together on that show as well as on The Love Boat). And there's no shortage of dated clothes, hair, and music to ogle at. This one even has a roller disco scene. The filmmakers do a decent job with creating some tension and they make the movie look bigger than it is with some interesting camera movement. The blood flow is pretty low, but there are certainly some moments of violence involving a mortician's embalming needle, plus there's an embalming scene that's pretty effective. Also present is some full frontal female nudity to please the pervs, even though it's questionable if it really was Mary Beth McDonough and not a stunt double. Boobs, blood, and a boogeymen…that right there are some good ingredients.
By no means is Mortuary a classic, and aside from the nudity it has the feel of a made-for-tv movie, but it still manages to maintain plenty of entertaining elements to be worthy of watching. And it's Christopher George's last screen role before his life was cut short thanks to a heart attack at the age of just 54, for what that info is worth.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Scorpion Releasing brings Mortuary to DVD with a new 1.78:1 HD transfer that delivers a consistently pleasing picture. Great colors, nice clarity, and plenty of natural film grain. Some of the night scenes are at times murky, and the grain seems heavier during these moments, but said moments don't last long and really, its nothing to worry about. It's only mentioned in passing. Overall it's a really nice looking transfer. The audio is an English mono track that does its job fine. Nothing real noteworthy, but it sounds like it has a good balance and is void of any trouble.
Being part of the label's “Katarina's Nightmare Theater†line, Katarina Leigh Waters of pro-wrestling fame introduces the movie and closes it out, looking nice and saying goofy things with some tidbits of info you may find interesting. But if you don't care for the horror hostess' schtick you can choose to watch the film without it. Also along the same line, the cover is reversible so it can be displayed with or without the Nightmare Theater banner. A 15-minute interview is included, talking with the movie's music composer John Cacavas. The interview covers his work on Mortuary as well as work on other projects he worked on (lots of TV stuff, which contributes to that TV movie feel). A reel of trailers is included for other Scorpion releases: Death Ship, Don't Answer the Phone, The Return, Savage Streets, The Hearse, Terror, Satan's Slave, Double Exposure, and The Survivor. Also included on the disc is the theatrical trailer for Mortuary which is absolutely NOTHING like the movie itself. It features Michael Berryman as a gravedigger being pulled into the ground by whomever he just buried. It's pretty funny actually.
The Final Word:
Another great disc from Scorpion, Mortuary is definitely worth snagging up. It looks great, and it's a fun flick.
