Okay, I’m so excited to finally put this movie on the list. This one has been a LOOOOONG time coming, and it is spectacular. Here’s the brief imdb synopsis:
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.
I’ve recounted endless times in the past how much I worship horror anthologies. In fact, I could probably do this entire list filled with nothing but them. Luckily for me, the writer/director of this film, Ryan Spindell, is also a massive horror anthology obsessive. His taste and his skill are all on display here, because this is a horror anthology made by someone who knows and loves them inside and out. Quite simply, he knows what works. Many anthologies have a weak link here or there, but honestly, The Mortuary Collection doesn’t have one. Every story is different and equally fun as hell. There are a lot of things that really stand out here, but the biggest for me is its STYLE. There is more style in 5 minutes of this movie than most have in their entirety. The look, the feel, the vibe, it’s timeless. The set design is a mix of old-fashioned and modern-day. Bold colors abound. It’s just gorgeous to look at, no matter if what you’re looking at is lovely or macabre. You’ve got an amazing mix of practical and digital effects. And to round it all out, you’ve got Clancy freakin’ Brown as your mortician! To have Kurgen as my guide brought me the biggest damn smile. I love that man. Just to quickly relate an interesting story, I met Ryan many years ago. One day while we were hanging over coffee, chatting horror films, we found out that his storyboard artist and creative development artist was the exact same person that did my graphic novel, Run Like Hell — Karl Slominski! (He’s a genius btw, check him out at www.slomotionart.com.) Anyway, I could gush forever, but I swore I’d keep these posts shorter, so I’ll stop. Just trust me, if you dig wonderfully devilish horror anthologies that have style in spades, please check out The Mortuary Collection. It’s been a long ride to get here, and it’s worth every minute.
Where to Watch: Streaming exclusively on Shudder.
Food/Drink Pairing: A roast, well done.
For fun, here’s one of Karl’s covers for the film, drawn very early in the process. Dammit, I love his style.
Musings of a Scary Horror Writer. 