The Mortuary Collection
The Mortuary Collection | |
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Directed by | Ryan Spindell |
Written by | Ryan Spindell |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography |
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Edited by |
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Music by | Mondo Boys |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Shudder |
Release dates |
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Running time | 108 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Mortuary Collection is a 2019 American horror anthology film written and directed by Ryan Spindell. It stars Clancy Brown, Caitlin Custer, Christine Kilmer, Jacob Elordi, Barak Hardley, Sarah Hay, Mike C. Nelson, and V Nixie.
The had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 22, 2019. It was released on Shudder on October 15, 2020.
Plot
Frame story, part 1
In the small island town of Raven's End in the 1980s, mortician Montgomery Dark manages the Raven's End
Segment 1
In the 1950s, a young woman named Emma goes to the restroom during a party to check on the wallets she's pickpocketed while attending. However, the bathroom medicine cabinet piques her curiosity, and she tries to open it but is unable to. When she pries it open, she finds a tentacled monster inside, and is killed by it. The monster drags Emma’s lifeless body into the cabinet and shuts it.
Segment 2: Unprotected
In the 1960s,
At Sandra's house, Jake is laid down on a table by Sandra's parents to help him birth his baby. Sandra is angered when Jake admits that he took his condom off, resulting in his anomalous pregnancy. She makes a phone call to another man, saying she is now free to go on a date with him, and callously leaves Jake with her parents. When Jake asks how they will get the baby out, Sandra's mother tells him that the only way the baby can come out is the same way it got in. As the baby is forcing its way out, Jake's penis explodes, ripping open his abdomen, killing him. Sandra's mother takes the monstrous baby upstairs and lays it in a crib in a room full of other monstrous children.
Segment 3: Till Death
In the 1970s, Wendell Owens is depressed and devoted to taking care of his
Wendell calls Dr. Kubler for help, but is only told to get rid of the body. He dismembers the corpse amid hallucinations of it being alive again, then packs it into a “bridal chest” and takes it to his apartment building elevator. On his way down, the elevator gets stuck and Wendell's neighbor calls the police as he hallucinates blood leaking from the chest. The elevator seems to start again and go infinitely down as Carol's body rises from the trunk in the form of a horrific ghoul and forces Wendell into a kiss. When the police arrive, they find Wendell on the floor of the elevator, repeating his wedding vows over and over with the corpse still in the box.
Frame story, part 2
Sam complains that Montgomery's stories, however true they may be, are too predictable and follow a theme of people being punished for their sins. Montgomery leads Sam down to the mortuary subbasement and prepares to cremate the child-size coffin; Sam stops him and tells him she's not here for a job - she's here for the dead child. She tells him her own story.
Segment 4: The Babysitter Murders
One evening, Sam babysits for a child named Logan Kubler. She watches a horror movie as she cooks dinner but misses a
When Logan's parents - Dr. Kubler and his wife Debra - come home, they find the dead man and recognize him as the real Sam as the broken television reveals that the woman claiming to be Sam is in fact a child murderer called the Tooth Fairy Killer who cannibalizes children and takes their deciduous teeth as trinkets, and her real name is Charlotte Gibbons. They soon find Logan's remains charred in the oven and scream in horror.
Frame story, part 3
As Charlotte finishes her story, she uses her
Montgomery sews Charlotte's body back together and replaces her blood with embalming fluid. Finally he finds himself able to leave the mortuary for the first time after several decades. However, after a moment in sunlight, he explodes into dust. Her body reanimates inside the mortuary and a final scene shows that Charlotte has now become the new mortician, as she tells a boy named Bill, who was earlier seen delivering newspapers, that she is about to start “making dinner.”
Cast
- Clancy Brown as Montgomery Dark
- Caitlin Custer as Sam/Charlotte Gibbons
- Christine Kilmer as Emma
- Jacob Elordi as Jake
- Ema Horvath as Sandra
- Barak Hardley as Wendell Owens
- Sarah Hay as Carol Owens
- Ben Hethcoat as The Killer a.k.a. "Sam"
- Mike C. Nelson as Dr. Harold Kubler
- Jennifer Irwin as Margaret
- James Bachman as Ralph
- Alison Gallaher as Mrs. Debra Kubler
- Phyllis Applegate as Mrs. Avery
- Brennan Murray as Connor
- Michael Bow as Todd
- Tristan Byon as Bill
- Bradley Bundlie as Logan Kubler
- V Nixie as Carol's body double
Production
Spindell's 22-minute short film The Babysitter Murders (2015) was featured in The Mortuary Collection, as one of the segments.[2]
Release
The film had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 22, 2019.[3] It was released on Shudder on October 15, 2020.[4]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95% based on 66 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "The rare anthology that maintains a consistently high level of quality, The Mortuary Collection is a must-see undertaking for horror fans."[5]
References
- ^ "The Mortuary Collection". Fantastic Fest. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
- ^ Zhang, Jeffrey (August 19, 2020). "Fantasia Festival 2020 Film Review: The Mortuary Collection". Strange Harbors. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ Collis, Clark (September 17, 2019). "Euphoria star Jacob Elordi is dying to meet you in teaser trailer for The Mortuary Collection". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
- ^ Squires, John (October 5, 2020). "Sam Raimi Praises Shudder's Horror Anthology 'The Mortuary Collection' in Brand New Trailer". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ "The Mortuary Collection". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
External links
- The Mortuary Collection at IMDb