Mortuary (2005 film)
| Mortuary | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Tobe Hooper |
| Written by | Jace Anderson Adam Gierasch |
| Produced by | Andrew Cohen Tony DiDio Nancy Hirami Victor Ho E. L. Katz Peter Katz Michael Rosenblatt Alan Somers |
| Starring | Dan Byrd Alexandra Adi Denise Crosby Rocky Marquette Courtney Peldon Bug Hall |
| Cinematography | Jaron Presant |
| Edited by | Andrew Cohen |
| Music by | Joseph Conlan |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Echo Bridge Home Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Mortuary is a 2005 American zombie film directed by Tobe Hooper. It stars Dan Byrd, Alexandra Adi and Denise Crosby.
Plot
After the loss of their father, the Doyle family, Leslie (Crosby), Jonathan (Byrd) and Jamie (Stephanie Patton), move to the Fowler Mortuary in hope of starting a new life. The three find the mortuary to be in a bad condition. Jonathan goes to the local diner where he meets Cal (Taren Smith) and his two girlfriends, Tina (Courtney Peldon) and Sara (Tarah Paige). Cal tells Johnathan about the legend of Bobby Fowler, an abused and deformed boy who lived in the mortuary. Jonathan also meets Liz (Adi), the love interest; Grady (Rocky Marquette), Liz's best friend; and Rita, Liz's aunt, who employed her to work at the diner. Jonathan, Liz and Grady become friends quickly. That night, Cal, Sara and Tina go to the graveyard outside the mortuary and vandalize it; they then go into one of the crypts, where they are attacked by Bobby Fowler.
The next day, Jonathan, Liz and Grady go back to Johnathan's house, where Grady gives them some drugs. Shortly afterwards, Sheriff Howell shows up to welcome Leslie to the town. He also informs her on his attempt to stop "graveyard babies". He also is looking for Cal, Sara and Tina. Sheriff Howell then goes and investigates the crypts, where he is infected by Bobby Fowler. The next day at the diner, Johnathan and Liz are working, when Cal and Sara arrive messy. Cal has a rage attack and Sara begins vomiting black ooze. Rita comes in to calm her down, but is infected in the process. At the mortuary, Leslie is doing her first embalming. While doing so, she screws up making a mess of the embalming fluids. While going to clean it up, one of the bodies gets up and infects Leslie. Jonathan, Jamie, Liz and Grady return to Jonathan's house for dinner, where Leslie, now infected with the mysterious ooze, has prepared a sort of ooze soup. The four also notice a black fungus growing on the wall. Liz pours salt in her soup which makes it bubble and sends Leslie into a rage in which she attacks Jonathan and Jamie. Liz and Grady quickly escape.
Shortly afterwards, Jonathan fights off his mother and saves Jamie. The four escape outside but are forced to retreat into a crypt, because they are chased there by an infected man. The four make the shocking discovery that Bobby lives in the crypt and dug tunnels under the cemetery. They find Tina, who is still alive, but are attacked by the mother before the five find a ladder, which leads back into the house. The five barricade themselves in the house. They question Tina and eventually cut her hand to see if her blood has turned into the black ooze, a sign of the infection. Soon, Sheriff Howell begins barraging the house with shotgun fire. Tina goes into the kitchen to clean the wound but finds the water has become infested with the ooze and she is infected. Grady accidentally pours salt on her, burning her. The group now knows the weakness of the infected, but their victory is short-lived after they find that Jamie, who Jonathan had left in her room to keep her safe, has been captured. They decide to go into the tunnels again, as a rescue mission.
Shortly after entering the tunnels they begin seeing and hearing things; a hand suddenly punches through Grady's chest, giving him enough time to say quietly, "run", before dying. They soon find the source, a well filled with black ooze. Shortly thereafter, Jamie is found, but captured by Bobby Fowler and taken back to the lair, where they confront him by throwing salt in the well. Cal is killed by getting his head blown off by the Sheriff, and the other infected are burned with salt; Bobby is sucked in and the three escape the house. The three, happy to escape but still grieving the deaths of Leslie and Grady, are about to leave the house, but Jonathan is pulled underground, and Leslie, alive again, pulls Jamie into the house, and Liz's fate is left untold.
Cast
- Denise Crosby as Leslie
- Dan Byrd as Jonathan
- Stephanie Patton as Jamie
- Taren Smith as Cal
- Courtney Peldon as Tina
- Tarah Paige as Sara
- Rocky Marquette as Grady
- Michael Shamus Wiles as Sheriff Howell
Production
Filming began in January 2004 in Pomona, California.[1]
Release
Mortuary premiered at the New York City Horror Film Festival on October 21, 2005.[2] It received a limited theatrical release in January 2006.[3] It was released on Blu-ray July 29, 2008.[4]
Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews from professional critics on its release. Bloody Disgusting rated it 2/5 stars and said that "it’s for die-hard Hooper fans only."[5] Steve Barton of Dread Central rated it 3/5 stars and called the film "dumb fun" that has an uneven tone. Barton concludes, " In the end, despite its identity crisis and other short comings, there's a lot to like about Mortuary."[6]
References
- ^ "Tobe Hooper's 'Mortuary' Begins Filming". Bloody Disgusting. 2005-01-04. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
- ^ "NYC Horror Film Fest Premieres 'Mortuary' and more!". Bloody Disgusting. 2005-09-28. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
- ^ "First Look at the Teaser Poster for 'Mortuary'". Bloody Disgusting. 2006-01-03. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
- ^ "Tobe Hooper's 'Mortuary' Gets Blu-ray Release". Bloody Disgusting. 2008-05-10. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
- ^ "Mortuary (V)". Bloody Disgusting. 2 November 2006. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
- ^ Barton, Steve (2006-03-13). "Mortuary (DVD) Review". Dread Central. Retrieved 2014-01-02.