The Mortuary Collection
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The Mortuary Collection is a 2019 American anthology horror film written and directed by Ryan Spindell. It stars Clancy Brown, Caitlin Custer, Christine Kilmer, Jacob Elordi, Barak Hardley, Sarah Hay and Mike C. Nelson.

It had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 22, 2019.

Plot

Frame story, part 1

In the small island town of Raven s End in the 1980s, mortician Montgomery Dark manages the Raven s End Mortuary. One day, a young woman named Sam comes to respond to the Help Wanted sign outside. When he agrees to give her an interview, he takes her on a tour of the facility, during which Sam shows curiosity about a small child-sized coffin which Montgomery has recently performed a funeral for. Montgomery agrees to tell Sam a series of stories about those that have died in Raven s End.

Segment 1

In the 1950s, a young woman named Emma goes to the restroom during a party to check on the wallets she s pickpocketed while attending. However, the bathroom medicine cabinet piques her curiosity, and she tries to open it but is unable to. When she pries it open, she finds a tentacled monster inside, and is killed by it. The monster drags Emma’s lifeless body into the cabinet and shuts it.

Segment 2: Unprotected

In the 1960s, frat boy Jake passes out condoms on campus, preaching the value of sexual liberation as an excuse to get girls to come to frat parties and sleep with the members of his fraternity. However, upon making a connection with a woman named Sandra at a party, he secretly removes his condom while having sex with her. The next morning, he finds himself with a rash and goes to the campus doctor, Dr. Harold Kubler, for help. Jake discovers to his horror that he has a creature growing inside his stomach. He attempts to meet with Sandra but is caught in a surprise celebration by his fraternity buddies for sleeping with 67 women. They let him go when his water breaks and covers the group with discolored ooze.

At Sandra s house, Jake is laid down on a table by Sandra s parents to help him birth his baby. Sandra is angered when Jake admits that he took his condom off, resulting in his anomalous pregnancy. She makes a phone call to another man, saying she is now free to go on a date with him, and callously leaves Jake with her parents. When Jake asks how they will get the baby out, Sandra s mother tells him that the only way the baby can come out is the same way it got in. As the baby is forcing its way out, Jake s penis explodes, ripping open his abdomen, killing him. Sandra s mother takes the monstrous baby upstairs and lays it in a crib in a room full of other monstrous children.

Segment 3: Till Death

In the 1970s, Wendell Owens is depressed and devoted to taking care of his catatonic wife Carol. Forced to plan his life around her, he responds positively to his doctor, Dr. Kubler s, suggestion that he accidentally overdose Carol on painkillers. However, when he tries to give them to her, she grabs his arm, then chokes on the food the pills are hidden in, forcing him to help her throw them up. When she collapses afterward, she impales her head on a statue and dies.

Wendell calls Dr. Kubler for help, but is only told to get rid of the body. He dismembers the corpse amid hallucinations of it being alive again, then packs it into a trunk and takes it to his apartment building elevator. On his way down, the elevator gets stuck and Wendell s neighbor calls the police as he hallucinates blood leaking from the trunk. The elevator seems to start again and go infinitely down as Carol s body rises from the trunk in the form of a horrific ghoul and forces Wendell into a kiss. When the police arrive, they find Wendell on the floor of the elevator, repeating his wedding vows over and over with the corpse still in the box.

Frame story, part 2

Sam complains that Montgomery s stories, however true they may be, are too predictable and follow a theme of people being punished for their sins. Montgomery leads Sam down to the mortuary subbasement and prepares to cremate the child-size coffin; Sam stops him and tells him she s not here for a job – she s here for the dead child. She tells him her own story.

Segment 4: The Babysitter Murders

One evening, Sam babysits for a child named Logan Kubler. She watches a horror movie as she cooks dinner but misses a news bulletin about an escaped patient from the local asylum. She then finds a strange man with a head wound in the house; not sure how he got in, Sam is uncertain about how to react until the phone rings and she hears an answering machine message about the escaped killer. This prompts her and the strange man to fight, the man charging upstairs to try to find Logan. After a series of encounters, the man tries to strangle Sam but she stops him by telling him he isn t a killer. She then throws the man down the stairs and drops a TV on his head, crushing it.

When Logan s parents – Dr. Kubler and his wife Debra – come home, they find the dead man and recognize him as the real Sam as the broken television reveals that the woman claiming to be Sam is in fact a child murderer called the Tooth Fairy Killer who cannibalizes children and takes their deciduous teeth as trinkets, and her real name is Charlotte Gibbons. They soon find Logan s remains charred in the oven and scream in horror.

Frame story, part 3

As Charlotte finishes her story, she uses her buck knife to remove a tooth from Logan s remains, not having had the chance to do so when she killed him. She then stabs Montgomery in the stomach; however, Montgomery – who appears to bleed embalming fluid – simply laughs, telling her that the job is now hers. Charlotte attempts to escape the mortuary but finds herself unable to do so via a supernatural force that sends her back into the mortuary entrance. Montgomery corners her in the library and explains that he was never able to leave either, and her story is only just beginning , as certain books fall from the shelves. The charred spirits of her child victims crawl out of the fallen library books and tear Charlotte apart.

Montgomery sews Charlotte s body back together and replaces her blood with embalming fluid. Finally he finds himself able to leave the mortuary for the first time after several decades. However, after a moment in sunlight, he explodes into dust. Her body reanimates inside the mortuary and a final scene shows that Charlotte has now become the new mortician, as she tells a boy named Bill, who was earlier seen delivering newspapers, that she is about to start “making dinner.”

Cast

  • Clancy Brown as Montgomery Dark
  • Caitlin Custer as Sam/Charlotte Gibbons
  • Christine Kilmer as Emma
  • Jacob Elordi as Jake
  • Ema Horvath as Sandra
  • Barak Hardley as Wendell Owens
  • Sarah Hay as Carol Owens
  • Ben Hethcoat as The Killer aka “Sam”
  • Mike C. Nelson as Dr. Harold Kubler
  • Jennifer Irwin as Margaret
  • James Bachman as Ralph
  • Alison Gallaher as Mrs. Debra Kubler
  • Phyllis Applegate as Mrs. Avery
  • Brennan Murray as Connor
  • Michael Bow as Todd
  • Tristan Byon as Bill
  • Bradley Bundlie as Logan Kubler

Production

Spindell s 22-minute short film The Babysitter Murders (released in 2015) was featured in The Mortuary Collection, as one of the segments.

Release

The film had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 22, 2019.

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95% based on 66 critic reviews with an average rating of 7.7/10. The site s critics consensus reads The rare anthology that maintains a consistently high level of quality, The Mortuary Collection is a must-see undertaking for horror fans.

Year 2019
ReleaseDate 2020-10-15
RuntimeMins 108
RuntimeStr 1h 48min
Plot An eccentric mortician recounts several macabre and phantasmagorical tales that he’s encountered in his distinguished career.
Awards Awards, 14 wins & 16 nominations
Directors Ryan Spindell
Writers Ryan Spindell
Stars Tristan Byon, Eden Campbell, Hannah R. Loyd
Produced by Christopher Alender,Matthew Anderson,Gates Bradley,Todd Breau,Clancy Brown,Sarah Choi,Lara Cuddy,Mark E. Davidson,Allison Friedman,Ben Hethcoat,Sara Kordy,Rich Mento,Jacob Motz,T. Justin Ross,David A. Smith,Ryan Spindell
Music by Mondo Boys
Cinematography by Caleb Heymann,Elie Smolkin
Film Editing by Eric Ekman,Joseph Shahood
Casting By Rich Mento
Production Design by Lauren Fitzsimmons
Art Direction by Harrison Chambers,Kati Simon
Set Decoration by Karleigh Engelbrecht
Costume Design by Savannah Kay Gordon,Brooke Llewellyn,Tammie Merheb
Makeup Department Claire Amadea,Victoria Arias,Adam Dougherty,Ashley Francisco,Bruce Spaulding Fuller,Chris Korn,Cali Mazariego,Mo Meinhart,Lawrence Mercado,Ana Gabriela Quinonez,Leah Renee Rutledge,Jessica Leigh Schwartz,April Swartz,Chelsea Tapia,Eve White,Tom Woodruff Jr.
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Andrew Adams,Candace Balido,Heather I. Denton,Michael Forrest,Jayme Gantz,Jaz Moore,Patrick Muhlberger,Todd A. Robinson,Zack Walker
Art Department Sean Barnes,Kim Berens,Ashley Bussell,Damian Conrad-Davis,Tracy Cutts,Dan Alias Delfosse,Jack LeRoy Eggers,Adriaan Engelbrecht,Timothy Finlayson,Alex Fulmor,Megan Genova,Christian Gossett,Jason Greeley-Roberts,Megan Greydanus,Naoko Inada,Sarah Jensen,Konnor Jenson,Jay Lance,Megan Mantia,Greg McMickle,Kyle Paradis,Rachel Ra,Leone Reeves,Rachel Schmerge,Lauren Melody Shell,Kati Simon,Tyler Stein,Robert Waters
Sound Department Benjamin Balcom,Rich Bussey,Juan Campos,Cazz Cerkez,Jason Chiodo,Matt Davies,Jorge García Bastidas,Zach Goheen,Gregorio Gomez,Jaime Horrigan,Adam Howell,Bryn Scott Hubbard,Matthew Larson,Brian Mazzola,Ryan Pater,Cico Silva,Keith White
Special Effects by Simon White,Simon White
Visual Effects by William J. Cox,Jon Leif Julsrud,Tiana Maros,Andrew Sagar,Koneru Santhosh,Dave Sarbell,Ian Vicknair,Santino Vitale
Camera and Electrical Department Greg Arch,Jake Basnett,Eric Bixler,Craig Boydston,Donato Bragagnolo,Brian Brose,Auden Bui,Abhilash Chacko,Erica Chan,Jason Dinges,Cole Ellett,Mark Evans,Clay Folden,Clayton Folden,Adam Goral,Bruce Henderson,Nathan Heyer,Ryan Hogue,Layne Inselman,Katherine Oostman,Efrem Peter,J.D. Ramage,Patrick Seeley,Mark Tomlinson,Justin Ward,Bob Webeck
Animation Department Joshua Mikel
Casting Department Megan Lask,Tiffany Tynes
Costume and Wardrobe Department Katie Dehombre,Eilidh Fisher,Claudia A. Fontanez,Caroline Kopko,Leetal Platt,Luis G. Reyes,Erin Toft
Editorial Department Samuel James Bellamy,Matt Blundell,Joseph Kirkland,Kelli Krysh,Sean Mark Lamb Lewis,Becky McNeal,Ryan K. McNeal
Location Management Gordon Scott Marshall,Corrine A. Matlak
Music Department Paul Cartwright,Matthew Cooker
Script and Continuity Department Steve Deering,Eric Ekman
Additional Crew Nathaniel Beaver,Kate Colvin,Emmet Daly,Wendy Downing,Mandy Ekman,Eric Gilbert,Elias Harold,John Ignacio,Parisa Khani,Giovanni Lopez,Gael Lee Lung,Rachel Oliver,Denny Picket,Jacklyn Ramirez,Remy Redd,J. Blue Swan,Joanne Vaught
Thanks Ben Adams,John Alcantara,Michael Alderman,Christopher Alender,Jolene Allen,Julio Almanza-Rivera,Eric Anderson,Joe Andrade,Tommy Andres,Dalton Andrews,Abby Anle,Claire Awad,Kim Bailey,Benjamin Balcom,Sarah Jane Bardy,Kevin Barg,Spence Barker,Brian Barrow,Taylor Bearden,Jason Beaveridge,Tom Becker,Patty Bell,Natalie Benthin,Bella Berry,Jess Berry,Vincent Berry,Frederick Blanche,Madeline Blue,Emilie Bonacina,Philippe Bowgen,Richard Bracke,Chris Breitmeyer,Billy Ray Brewton,C. Veronica Brown,Y. Raquel Brown,David Bryant,Tara Burgh,Jason Burns,Mac Burns,Camilla Busby,Lexington Calarruda,Zack Carlson,Clint Carter,Fiona Casson,Rachel Castellano,Zachary A. Caswell,Ashton Caudle,Myriam Chariroa,April Cockcroft,Julie Cohn,Bryan Connolly,Mikel Cook,Naia Cucukov,Stephanie Cuevas,Tracy Cutts,Liam Cuzner,Micah Cyrus,Jeff Daly,Mike Davies,Kevin Daw,Jillian Decausemacker,Jessica DeShaw,Chelsea DeVincent,Amanda Donohue,Robert Dossa,Kiera Doyle,Wayne Doyle,Campy Draper,Liam Dunne,Suzanne Dysart,Mandy Ekman,Rachel Ellis,Cameron Ellison,Sam Ellison,Steven Ellison,Ramin Eshragh,Brett Estes,Yan Ethier,Diane Eysermans,Solanchs Febles,Patsy Fitzgerald,Colin Flanagan,Anehew Flores,Katie Folger,Anthony Fontana,Josh Forbes,Ashley Ford,Ken Freimann,Jenna Frenco,David Friedman,Marco Gabriel,Logan Gabrill,Alison Gallaher,Frank Gallo,Vanessa Garner,Chrise Gepp,John German,Alec Gillis,Ian Gilly,Cindy Girdler,Deanna Gjovik,Molly Goodman,Christian Gossett,Zane Grant,Fabien Gravillon,Emily Gill Gray,Enoch Gray,Robert Greenfield,Lois E. Grothe,Bobby Gumm,Jan Haaken,Eric Halverson,Kenny Hansen,Sky Hardison,Suzanne Harold,Anna Hartley,Alexandra Hayney,Ann Hebert,Sam Hennessee,Gayland Hethcoat,Tad Hethcoat,Erin Heymann,Richard Heymann,Bradford Hodgson,Stephen Hopkins,Sen Incavo,Masaki Iwai,Lauren Jackson,Kara Jaenecke,Juliana James,Chad Jamian,Tim Johnson,Jee Jung,Dan Kagen,Demi Ke,Franklin D. Kemp Jr.,Amy Kennedy,Diana Cannon Kirkpatrick,Ben Kleiman,Robyn Koustik,Kevin Kumar,Sallie Lavalley,David Lawson Jr.,Kato Lawton,Kim Leblanc,Nathan Levine-Heaney,Sarah Lickfold,Christina Liczbinski,Sam Littenberg-Weisberg,Chloe Little,Paula Loos,Brian Lord,Erik Lung,Mateo Lung,Sunny Lee Lung,Kerry Lyons,Stephanie Maitri,Samuel Manjard,Jason Marble,Isabel Marden,Ka ena Martin,Ed Matthews,Alan Maxson,Carl Mazzocone,Kristi Mcgregor,Aubrey McMahan,Evan McNary,Alex Mendelson,Anne Mesa,Dave Metzger,Jon Meyer,John Michael,Robert Bryce Milburn,Evan Miller,Sam Miller,Brian Molina,Nanay S. Montgomery,Daric Moore,Aaron Moorhead,Darvin Morales,Sean Morgan,Jamie Morrow,Ana Muranha,Jhanelle Neita,Aubrie Nestor,Emily Newman,Faith Norgaard,Kristin Noriega,Roger Norman,Zack Ogle,Kelly Ohanian,Jeff Oja,Summer Oja,Joanna Olaru,Greg Ordway,Pam Ordway,Miguel Ortega,Zach Osterhout,Melvin Oswalt,Julian Painter,Justin Parker,Jen Pavlick,Paul Pawlowski,Jimmy Pearson,John Pearson-Denning,Faith Petersen,Peter Phan,Betty Phillips,Howard Phillips,Russ Phillips,Phil Poehlein,Jessica Porter,Bryan Poyser,Denis Prasad,Brett Rader,Aileen Ramirez,Sam Rasco,Kegan Rascoe,Jamie Reay,Juli Reding,Dan Reed,Libby Rehnert,Elizabeth Reisen,Kimberly Rice,Jessica Rivas,Jared Rivera,Gerard Rivers,Terri Robinet,Todd Robinet,Matthew Robinson,Jeannet Rose,Jackie Ross,Kevin Ross,Sharon Houck Ross,Theo Ross,Constance Rouda,Kylee Russell,Nicholas Saenz,Jayvee Salunga,Demetre Samness,Joe Samp,William Tanner Sampson,J.R. Sanders,Joseph Santos,Nikki Sawer,Barbara Schofield,Dan Schofield,Eli Schwarz,Sussi Lempert Schwarz,Sheila Shaffer,Dylan Sharon,Molly Sharpe,Dylan Simmons,Brent Sims,Ptolemy Slocum,Shelly Slocum,Bek Smith,David A. Smith,Geoff Spalding,Erica Spates,Debra Spindell,Robert Spindell,Briony Staley,Jerome Steegmans,Charlie Steiner,Ann Stiles,Elizabeth Stone,Jonathan Stone,Jonathan Stone,Lana Sullivan,Emily Swearingen,Shanahan Sweet,Joseph Taylor,Tanya Taylor,Katie Theei,Alexander Thompson,Brinnen Thompson,Ellyxis Trieber,Gregory Tripi,Michael Van Schoick,Leo Van Steenberg,Isaac Villa,Kaitlynn Vitale,Michala Ann Warren,Eric Warwick,Ian Weir,Steven Weisberger,Teri Weisberger,Travis Weisberger,Mark Wheaton,Nicholas Wiens,Tim Williams,Regina Willkie,Corsica Wilson,Mandy Wilson,Garth Winkless,Chase Winniford,Elizabeth Winters,Bill Wise,Clarke Wolfe,Constance Wu
Genres Fantasy, Horror
Companies AMP International, Trapdoor Pictures
Countries USA
Languages English
ContentRating Not Rated
ImDbRating 6.4
ImDbRatingVotes 12644
MetacriticRating 69
Keywords pregnant man,mortician,anthology,young woman,frat party