Day 17 of the NOFS 31-day horror challenge is anthology themed. I’m pretty sure I was originally going to watch V/H/S 94 originally, but a combination hearing good reviews of it and forgetting about this day I watched it for found footage instead. I had heard good things about my new choice since it was added to Shudder. I went with The Mortuary Collection, because I had never seen it which is the main reason I watched it.
The Mortuary Collection was written and directed by Ryan Spindell. This was my first time seeing anything that Spindell had done. The fact that he wrote and directed all of the segments helped it have a more consistent feel. The entire movie has a very specific feel that helps make it distinct from most anthologies.
It stars Clancy Brown, Caitlin Custer, Christine Kilmer, Jacob Elordi, Ema Horvath, Barak Hardley, Sarah Hay, and Mike C. Nelson. Clancy Brown really gets to flex his acting muscles in the movie. He gets to go from creepy to goofy within the same scene. He changes his vocal timber depending on what he speaks about. Caitlin Custer seems to be having a lot of fun getting to play off Clancy Brown throughout the segments. They have a fun chemistry.
The entire movie takes place in the town of Raven’s End and the framing story is about the mortician telling stories to the woman that has come asking about the help wanted sign outside. The mortician tells three stories to the woman, each tale having a moral. The final story is actually the woman telling a story to the mortician. There are twists and turns throughout that keeps you guessing.
The practical effects and gore in The Mortuary Collection is really good. The aging effects used for Clancy Brown are really good and his fake teeth all add to the unsettling look that his character has. There are CG effects and a lot of them are weather related, and the cloud effects look creepy. The music was done by The Mondo Boys. There are songs throughout that help add to the feel of the movie, which helps everything hold together.
The Mortuary Collection is a good anthology. I’m glad that I finally got to watch it. It’s a Shudder exclusive, which adds even more reasons to subscribe to the service. I will give The Mortuary Collection 8.5 books out of 10.
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