The Mortuary Collection (2019)
Director (and writer): Ryan Spindell
Cast: Clancy Brown, Caitlin Custer, Christine Kilmer, Jacob Elordi, Ema Horvath, Jennifer Irwin, Jame Bachman, Barak Hardley, Sarah Hay, Ben Hethcoat, Mike C. Nelson
On the cusp of retirement, an eccentric mortician recounts several of the strangest stories he’s encountered in his long career, but things take a turn for the phantasmagorical when he learns that the final story – is his own. – IMDB
While horror anthology are far and few, they always luckily tend to pop up at Fantasia Film Festival. The Mortuary Collection is the latest offering and its one that the poster caught my eye instantaneously. The art style and color palette of it reflects in the movie itself. The Mortuary Collections tells 4 tales with the 5th one being the one that strings them together at the Raven’s End Mortuary over the span of decades starting from the 1950s all the way to the 1980s. All of them are fairly diverse but uses the different situation of people. As with many anthologies, some stories probably land a little more than others however in my opinion, they were all fairly entertaining in their own way with each other having a little bit of dark humor and increasingly creepy to watch all building up to the last tale set in the present.
The Mortuary Collection uses the conversation between mortician Montgomery Dark (Clancy Brown) and a potential hired help Sam (Caitlin Custer) as the basis as he shows her around the mortuary while fulfilling her desire to tell her stories of the dead that has passed through Raven’s End Mortuary. After each one, she will criticize them for their predictability or lack of extremity. The first tale told, set in the 50s, is rather short and gives a good taste of the style. In reality, its definitely a catchy dose whether its the color scheme or the single actress in one setting of poking their nose where they shouldn’t as she finds a creature in the medicine cabinet. I’m a big fan of creature features here so the small dose of this was exactly what made it a fun start. Of course, the 60s takes on a different term with a male lead that I recently saw in The Kissing Booth 2, Jacob Elordi plays a college boy trying to build up his count of girls he sleeps with and it all comes down to a rather scary end and warning about safe sex. Its probably not my personal favorite but the ending was slightly disturbing yet a tad creepy. If anything, this was the lesser one although it had a nice premise and had us wondering what creature this girl is that leaves a little space for the imagination to go off. The 70s one is probably the creepiest as a husband contemplates killing off his sickly wife to get out of this dead end situation. Things go horribly wrong as it usually does and it also gets incredibly creepy although to be fair, another anthology (maybe Creepshow on Netflix) might have had a similar sort of segment with a different backstory. The 80s one is titled The Babysitter Murders, told by Sam as she tells a story close to her heart. It might seem like one of the more predictable tale among all of these but in reality, it takes a rather unique twist of events.
Aside from the stories, Montgomery Brown and Sam’s conversation about stories, their greatness and lacking elements while also the lessons that it discusses all brings a lot of fun. The dynamic between the two characters works really well. Clancy Brown does a great portrayal of Montgomery Brown and Caitlin Custer is a rather engaging Sam which gives both of them some subtle depth. At the same time, Raven’s End Mortuary also seems to come alive as they go through the different rooms. There’s is fantasy-like entity to the space that almost feels like something more is just lurking around the corner.
The Mortuary Collection is a really fun anthology. Sure, not all the stories are perfect but they all have this great entertainment value that gives a nod back to series like Creepshow or Tales of the Crypt. They have their own keeper of tales and it even has this fantastic color palette that makes some colors pop in their gloomy environment. The setting and the stories spread across the decades all have their own genre and leaves a little space for mystery plus the stories all connect as supporting characters will overlap between each tale as well. Its such a well thought out anthology that brings a lot of entertainment and amps up the creepiness with each tale. Its one that I’d definitely want to watch again while also hoping that they make another of one of these to see what other stories they have to tell.
Tranquil Dreams 