MORTUARY MASSACRE *** U.S.A. 2016 Dir: Chris J. Miller 83 mins
Detective Giger (Todd Brown) is given the unenviable task of solving a string of mysterious deaths that take place on Halloween night. Arriving at the local mortuary he is met by the sweet chomping mortician who shows him the body of three victims, each with their own grisly tale of death. Giger has a tendency of attracting cases that involve the supernatural and dark arts so what makes these three cases so special? That is for Giger to work out before he too becomes a victim of Halloween night.
The three stories involved in this film don’t have any following to each other other then the wraparound detective story which may bug anthology movie enthusiasts. Of course they are all bodies in the morgue but thats as far as their similarities go, that is not to say the stories aren’t good because they are. Story one revolves around an apartment block manager who hates people tagging his building and takes his anger one step further then just the usual telling off. Story 2 is about a group of friends celebrating their last Halloween together. When one friend brings up the story of ‘Snake Eyed Jack’, an outlaw who had a treasure hidden which he could never find. They accidentally unleash this badass on the world and if he doesn’t find his treasure he will take something else instead. The final story is about a struggling actor who is always beaten to acting jobs by a far better looking actor. When he finds out his girlfriend has been having sex with his acting nemesis he decides that if everyone wants him to be like him then he will take his jobs…oh and his face. Great sfx that are on the gory underground level of film making which adds to this films quick format. You won’t find great acting here but the one character who amused me the most was the angry apartment block manager, who was a cross between the lead Frankie Dunlan in COMBAT SHOCK (1984) and the hobo Fred from STREET TRASH (1987). It is worth picking up the release of MORTUARY MASSACRE from Wild Eye Releasing as it features Chris J. Miller’s 2007 film CARRION as well as a few shorts that are a good watch. MORTUARY MASSACRE is a fun filled anthology movie shot like a 1980’s horror movie with enough humour, gore and sex to keep you entertained all the way through to its bloody end.
Review by Peter ‘Witchfinder‘ Hopkins
