Scott LeBrun "Mortuary" is a basically adequate slasher, with strong echoes of "Happy Birthday to Me" at times, that gets by thanks to some of its acting. Mary Beth McDonough of 'The Waltons' stars as Christie, a college age young woman who lost her father to an "accident" in the family pool. Other characters occasionally bite the dust as Christie gets terrorized by a cloaked and white faced figure who follows her around. Eventually, all is made clear at the mortuary run by a Mr. Andrews (the late, always solid Christopher George in what was sadly his final film role). Now, it's far from hard to figure out whodunit, especially after a red herring has been dealt with, but making this work as a murder mystery may never have been paramount for director Howard Avedis, who wrote and produced the film with his actress wife Marlene Schmidt (who plays the mother of male lead David Wallace, whom you might remember from the Canadian horror favourite "Humongous"). Avedis, a veteran in exploitation, had also been behind such films as "The Teacher" and "The Fifth Floor", and spices up his film with a bit of sex and nudity (although almost certainly not enough to satisfy some tastes); use of graphic violence is very minimal. McDonough is definitely appealing in the central role and her character is the sort for whom you *do* want to root. George's lovely wife Lynda Day George has one of the other major roles as Christie's mother, whom we have our doubts about. And, as often in some of these low budget offerings, there is one breakout star, and that's the always extravagant Bill Paxton, who's a total hoot as the pathetic Paul, a classical music lover who also loves Christie. One extended sequence stands out as poor Christie, who's a sleepwalker, gets stalked and spooked. One element that is also quite effective is the music score by John Cacavas, as it's very sinister throughout. There isn't too much, overall, that's especially noteworthy about the film, other than some of its principal actors, but it's not bad at all, either, and may fit the bill for die hard genre lovers. The U.S. trailer features a sequence with actor Michael Berryman that, needless to say, didn't make the final cut of the film. Six out of 10.

Dagon ARC, Artists Releasing Corporation, stands behind yet another film from the early '80's as a distribution company. These were the same guys responsible for releasing 1981's Incubus followed up by another Slasher in 1982 entitled Pieces (aka Mil gritos tiene la noche). This title falls in line with the familiar Slasher recipe, one of which you've seen quite often.The story opens with two friends, Greg and Josh, that travel to the local mortuary; a point of employment before Josh was unexpectedly fired. While breaking and entering, the two men notice a strange ritual taking place in the lower levels of the establishment. The two are eventually separated long enough for Josh to be brutally murdered by the hands of a black-hooded fiend who dons white facial powder and black makeup. Greg quickly escapes and notices his van, which is parked outside, drive off; causing him to believe that Josh left without him. He manages to escape with the help of his girlfriend, Christie Parson, who is still mourning the supposed accidental death of her father. The young couple attempt to fit the pieces of the puzzle together by inspecting overlooked details. Periodically they are met by the mortuary owner's son, Paul Andrews (a 28-year-old Bill Paxton). Paul has an obvious crush on Christie but due to his awkward disposition and banal persona he is denied outright. With various clues to throw you off the beaten path you are left to decide the identity of the killer along with his modus operandi.In my opinion, there are two different types of Slasher films. The first and most common would be the "whodunit" film where the murderer plays a role in the group that's methodically killed during the course of the story. Usually the audience is led down false channels to divert their attention of who the killer really is. The motive is usually jealousy or rejection but almost always caused by psychotic tendencies. The second type of Slasher film involves more of a rudimentary approach; a crazed, anonymous individual is on the loose, savagely butchering the "fish in the barrel" as it were, until finally a plot detail is uncovered and some connection can be drawn. Of all the Slasher films I've seen (I've seen over 25 from the 1980's alone), these formulas, sometimes even a combination of the two, are almost always represented in some way or another. Mortuary adheres to the first equation I mentioned: a group of actors are introduced, certain characters show up at convenient times, and the true villain is revealed.One of the biggest problems with Mortuary is that it starts off well enough by building a dash of suspense and intrigue; a well done approach and clever contrivance that'll serve as a platform for merriment rather than sensory detainment. Okay...so why is this a problem? Well, it's not long before the film starts loosing momentum and the competent devices aforementioned start abandoning ship faster than the crew of a sinking vessel. This occurs instantly when Mortuary decides to take it upon itself to reveal the killer halfway through the story, ruining the shocking outcome you were hoping for. As the sub-title of my review indicates, Mortuary attempts to seduce you with its impressive-looking box art but unfortunately the story doesn't play up to what you'd expect. In fact, you'd be doing yourself a great service if you choose not to even acknowledge the artwork and that's a sad state of affairs coming from me. Unfortunately, you're here on IMDb and undoubtedly examined it anyway, thus rendering my warning useless and all for naught. The presentation and graphical layout of a film's box art is essential to all movie-goers; the experience is not exclusive to fans of the horror genre. I believe that since this genre can be credited with visual expressiveness more than 50% of the time the accurate depiction of the film via artwork is a crucial step in forming our first impression. Shame on you Mortuary! Your adept use of artistry on the front cover holds dominion over our judgement! How dare you!In closing, I thought it'd be decent of me to rate Mortuary fairly. Although I chose not to discuss in explicit detail the musical score, it's wonderful and a joy to listen to. It's a prime example of what a suspenseful chiller should employ to elevate or enhance the apprehensive sequences that follow. The acting just simply "gets the job done" along with an above-average lighting approach that heavily compliments a rich set construction. If the portions discussed precendently chose to pan out differently I may have loved this film - sadly, it's quite content on subsisting in the mid-ranged array of films that comprise my vault of horror.

acidburn-10 After her father's mysterious death, Christy (Mary McDonough) suffers from sleepwalking and night terrors. Making things worse, no one beliefs her claims of a ghoul faced killer lurking in the shadows. When she learns her mother is in a coven of witches, Christy begins to distrust everyone in her life. Is her mother trying to drive her crazy or is there a more sinister figure at work? It's up to Christy's boyfriend to save her before she ends up on the slab.Oddly enough the victims in this are not the main heroine's friends nor they hardly have any screen time and plus the killer's weapon of choice, a giant embalming needle, is a change of pace from garden tools and kitchen utensils. This movie does manage a few surprises and jolts but they give the killer's identity away half way through the film. Still, they have one wicked twist at the end. They give their slasher motivations other than simple revenge. The witches subplot is unnecessary and never really develops into anything of importance.Like some other 80's slashers this one has another pre famous star and that is Bill Paxton who Paul the nerd, a goofy loser one almost feels sorry for as he skips across a graveyard with a handful of roses. Christopher and Susan Day George don't much apart from become victims of the killer. David Wallace as Christy's boyfriend is gorgeous and is a bit wimpy but in all he did an OK job and Mary McDonough shaking of her wholesome girl next door image she had in The Waltons brings a wholesome, vulnerable quality to her character, but her sleepwalking scenes are a little embarrassing and rather pointless.Mortuary has some clichés, but also has a few twists and surprises. There is little blood or gore, but there is one really intense murder. The cover of the video is totally wrong as it makes you think that this is some kind of Zombie flick and it isn't which is very misleading but all in all this ain't a bad film, not brilliant though but worth watching.

Crocketsonsmith Before your funeral...Before you are buried...Before you are covered with the last shovelful of dirt...Be sure you are really dead! Ha ha, wise words there by the marketing men behind MORTUARY. All joking aside, it's a very good bit of advice; I certainly would like to be absolutely certain I'M dead before I'm buried anywhere. MORTUARY is not a bad little '80's number. Pretty watchable; Mr George is as good as ever in what turned out to be, sadly, his final film, or cinematic epitaph. I liked the use of Mozart in this film; it helped soothe my jangling nerves during some of the more nastier moments. The only thing that really disturbed me about my MORTUARY viewing experience was how I woke up naked by the end credits; I have no idea how this happened as I was fully clothed when I fell asleep.