Mortuary (2005/I)

User Rating:

3.6/10   

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writers (WGA):

Jace Anderson (written by) &
Adam Gierasch (written by)

Release Date:

2005 (Australia)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

When the dead break free all hell breaks loose

Plot:

A family moves to a small town in California where they plan on starting a new life while running a long-abandoned funeral home. The locals fear the place, which is suspected to be on haunted ground.

Plot Keywords:

Funeral Home | Small Town | Haunted | Mortuary | Death

Cast

Dan Byrd	...	Jonathan Doyle
Denise Crosby	...	Leslie Doyle
Rocky Marquette	...	Grady
Stephanie Patton	...	Jamie Doyle
Alexandra Adi	...	Liz
Courtney Peldon	...	Tina
Bug Hall	...	Cal
Tarah Paige	...	Sara
Michael Shamus Wiles	...	Sheriff Howell
Adam Gierasch	...	Mr. Barstow
Price Carson	...	Bobby Fowler
Lee Garlington	...	Rita
Greg Travis	...	Eliot Cook
Christy Johnson	...	Dottie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joe Langer	...	Coroner
Paul G. Pagnini	...	Coroner's Assistant

Also Known As:

Six Feet Under (USA) (original script title)

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence and gore, brief sexuality, nudity and language.

Runtime:

94 min | Philippines:90 min (cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Australia:MA | Germany:16 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Malaysia:18SG | Philippines:R-13 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Echo Bridge Entertainment

Trivia:

The quote carved on the vault's door, "That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange eons even death may die", is from H.P. Lovecraft's short story "The Call of Cthulhu" and "The Nameless City". It is supposedly a couplet by Abdul Alhazarred, fictional author of the Necronomicon.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Tina, Cal and Sara are desecrating the graveyard, Tina spray paints the angel. In the next scene when Cal comes back, the angel isn't spray painted. Later when Sheriff Howell is checking the graveyard the angel is spray painted again.

Quotes:

Jonathan Doyle: [after escaping the tunnels] Tina, how long were you down there?
Tina: What?
Jonathan Doyle: How long were you down there?
Tina: Get off of me!
Liz: Oh my god, she's been in the tunnels! With Cal and Sara.
Jonathan Doyle: How long were you down there, Tina?
Tina: I don't know! But I did stay away from them, ok?
Liz: Did they puke on you?
Tina: Don't even go there!

Movie Connections:

References Shallow Ground (2004)

Soundtrack:

Never Get Out Alive

Scary Atmosphere, Flawed Screenplay

The widow Leslie Doyle (Denise Crosby) has just lost her husband and moves with her teenage son Jonathan (Dan Byrd) and her young daughter Jamie (Stephani Patton) to a mortuary in a small town in California that she has bought with the intention of starting a new business, practicing her knowledge as mortician. When they arrive, Leslie realizes that she was lured by the former owner, Elliot, and that the decrepit Fowler Brothers Funeral Home was completely abandoned and with problem with the septic sewer. While Leslie tries to improve and clean the place and start embalming corpses, Jonathan is informed about the legend of Bobby Fowler, the deformed son of the Fowlers. Meanwhile a weird substance attacks people, transforming them in zombies.

Mortuary has a very scary atmosphere, with an old cemetery and a nasty and creepy house. The make-up, special effects and soundtrack are also very good. Unfortunately, the flawed screenplay spoils a promising horror movie. There are lack of explanations about Bobby Fowler and the creature that transforms the locals in zombies, and lots of mistakes. For example, in addition to the goofs listed in IMDb, the sheriff's car parked in front of the funeral house simply vanishes when he is attacked. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Mortuária" ("Mortuary")