This week in the crypt we take a look at the 2020 Shudder Exclusive, The Mortuary Collection.
by Adam Holtzapfel
Written and directed by Ryan Spindell, The Mortuary Collection gives viewers four tales of terror in a little under two hours.
Starring Clancy Brown as Montgomery Dark, a funeral parlor director that guides us on our journey. His character fits more the classic Amicus anthology guides (Tales From The Crypt, Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors) than he does modern anthologies. This works well for the setting.
The cast is rounded out by Caitlin Custer (Teen Wolf, The Babysitter Murders), Jennifer Irwin (The Goldbergs, The Gate), Jacob Elordi (The Kissing Booth, Euphoria), and a lot of familiar faces from Spindell’s short The Babysitter Murders.
The tales vary in length and tone, but they work well together.
The first is a twisted tale of a netherworld hidden inside a bathroom. Mr. Dark’s tale does not phase Sam (Custer). From there each tale one ups the previous one building to a gripping finish. During the wrap around segment Sam seems unimpressed and very tongue in cheek states the predictability of them.
What works for this is it has a classic feel without trying to beat in your head that it’s set in a previous era. While some parts have a 70s feel, which was when anthology films were at their peak (seriously google Amicus Productions, anthologies were their bread and butter). The casting works and the stories are fun. The setting of the wraparound story also works as they move through the funeral parlor in between tales you keep waiting to see something happen. This is well shot and well paced. The soundtrack by Mondo Boys works well too.
While the run time seems a little long there are some twists and payoffs for genre fans. I do love that Spindell’s 2015 short The Babysitter Murders was included in this set. I had caught the short at 2016’s Nightmares Film Festival and had been hoping for wide release of it since. Some may not get into it, but the stories also take place in different decades. I thought this was a neat take and a good way to break up the monotony of same decade tales.
One thing viewers will notice too is the tales deal with consequences, some women characters are empowered and this film kind of takes the tired old tropes and flips them.
Using a letter grading system, this gets an A. I would say this is a must for Halloween season viewing (while I was late to it this year, it’ll get added to the rotation). I’d also pair this with Tales From The Crypt, Vault Of Horror, Dr. Terror’s House Of Horrors, Creepshow, and Tales From The Darkside to make a weekend of bone chilling anthology films. Run don’t walk to check this out.
And remember kids, if you feel a chill…that’s not the cold. You’re in the crypt!
