The increasing tension that ensues involving the secrecy of smoking marijuana and the embalming as the cop stands outside pressing the doorbell every few seconds encapsulates the tension of Mortuary’s intentions—everyday casual, but scary, situations caps off from the start until the dormant bodies of the dead rises beyond the grave. Tobe Hooper’s third Gierasch/Anderson duo collaboration showcases all of the same technical achievements from Toolbox Murders that came out a year prior (a double feature bound to happen sometime in the future)—a mashup of Hopper’s trademarks and the apparent Lovecraftian horror that’s present in the final act by way of wonky CGI and zany undead characters shouting (“No more graveyard babies!” to “Shut up, punk!”) into the echoey tunnels from below the cemetery. Wildly scary in my eyes considering the ending has been lodged into my memory for almost two decades.
The increasing tension that ensues involving the secrecy of smoking marijuana and the embalming as the cop stands outside pressing the doorbell every few seconds encapsulates the tension of Mortuary’s intentions—everyday casual, but scary, situations caps off from the start until the dormant bodies of the dead rises beyond the grave. Tobe Hooper’s third Gierasch/Anderson duo collaboration showcases all of the same technical achievements from Toolbox Murders that came out a year prior (a double feature bound to happen sometime in the future)—a mashup of Hopper’s trademarks and the apparent Lovecraftian horror that’s present in the final act by way of wonky CGI and zany undead characters shouting (“No more graveyard babies!” to “Shut up, punk!”) into the echoey tunnels from below the cemetery. Wildly scary in my eyes considering the ending has been lodged into my memory for almost two decades.
