Mortuary (2005)
Genre: Horror / Mystery
Duration: 94 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Tobe Hooper
Stars: Dan Byrd, Stephanie Patton and Denise Crosby
IMDb score:
4,2 (6.735)
Releasedate: 8 August 2005
Mortuary plot
"When the dead break free all hell breaks loose."
The Fowler family wants to start a new life and decide to move to the small town of Arkham, where they take over the Fowler Brothers funeral home. But soon the family comes to the horrifying discovery that something is alive in Arkham that isn't supposed to be alive...
Actors and actresses
Jonathan Doyle
Liz
Cal
Leslie Doyle
Rita
Grady
Eliot Cook
Tina
Sara
Dotty
Reviews & comments
Tonypulp
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- 21231 messages
- 4608 votes
I had seen it before, but never voted for it. Following the great Lifeforce (1985) I immediately popped the disc in the player to check off this Hooper's list, even though I knew exactly what to expect; some would call it a form of sadomasochism. I can say with some certainty that this is Hooper's least good, although he has made plenty of other "junk" since Body Bags (1993), his last truly good film. There's little wrong with the idea, but it's mainly the cheap and downright sloppy execution of that (simple) idea. It does sound like something Hooper could definitely do with, but the acting is all very clumsy and too soft at the moments where it should bite. Although I still have a soft spot for films from this period. I used to love going to the video store for this kind of stuff back then 
Translated from Dutch · View original
Shadowed
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- 11421 messages
- 6719 votes
Scary.
That it comes from a director like Hooper, then. From such a big name in the horror world, you'd expect anything but Mortuary, a film that ultimately turned out to be a complete mess. Perhaps Hooper had simply outgrown directing, but nonetheless, there's no excuse for this film's mediocrity.
Now, I'll admit that I've personally seen very few of Hooper's works, only his truly well-known work. This Mortuary, for example, flew relatively under the radar, but after seeing the final product, that's not surprising. This film colors as safely within the lines as possible, and is also just plain boringly directed.
From its bleak, stark look to its messy content, Mortuary offers the viewer little of value beyond a few characters who aren't overly annoying and a pacing that's just right. When it comes to horror, there's absolutely nothing to be happy about. Its 94 minutes are filled with incredibly dull threats and a suspenseless narrative completely devoid of logic.
The pace is still quite brisk and the film doesn't drag on for long, so watching it isn't a particularly tiring task. However, it lacks a real flow and suffers from a significant lack of creativity. Some characters are passable, but others, like Crosby, are simply unbearable. The acting is terribly emotionless, simply embarrassing.
This film is a predictable, messy, and mediocre experience. I see little of Hooper's talent in it. The structure is mediocre, the horror colorless, and the progression as safe as can be. Essentially, this film does nothing to distinguish itself from similar horror films. Because it wasn't particularly hard to watch, I'm giving it a 1.5*; otherwise, it scores very little.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Lovelyboy
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- 3953 messages
- 2955 votes
Saturday evening, after a few visits, I started working on this Mortuary, which I'd picked up at the thrift store a few weeks ago and mainly because of the name Tobe Hooper. And as other comments have mentioned, the director's name is a nice lure, and while he did direct, the end result is awful.
The story revolves around the family that moves near the mortuary because of their mother's work, and it quickly becomes clear that something isn't quite right under the house or in the cemetery. Naturally, there's a certain curiosity about what's going on and what exactly is going to happen. The setting and decor seem okay; the house and the mortuary are also quite well-styled, the soundtrack is also quite good, and we have something quite enjoyable to watch in the form of Courtney Peldon and especially Alexandra Adi.
But that's about it in a film that can only be described as utterly worthless. It never gets exciting, it's sometimes even too bland for words, the acting is often incredibly poor, the first half hour to forty-five minutes are far too long, and absolutely nothing happens there. There are also some incredibly annoying characters, like the owner who waits for the family at the beginning of the film, and at a certain point, the film just can't end fast enough for me. In short, worthless, a waste of time, and I quickly move on to something else.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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