When it comes to horror, storytelling is key. It starts when we try to spook our friends at sleepovers or around a campfire and continues into our love of the genre in media. It’s because of this that anthology horror, films, or television shows made up of self-contained vignettes in the case of the former and episodes or seasons in the case of the latter, are the most quintessential part of the genre. This includes The Mortuary Collection.
At Fantastic Fest 2019 I got the opportunity to see The Mortuary Collection, an anthology film by director Ryan Spindell that gave me the same feelings I got when I saw Michael Dougherty‘s Trick ‘r Treat for the first time. Set in a funeral home the film follows a young girl as she requests to be trained as an assistant to the home’s mortician Montgomery Dark, played by the iconic Clancy Brown. As he shows her around he recounts 4 tales of terrifying and unique deaths in an attempt to shock her, but not all is what it seems.
As I left my screening for The Mortuary Collection I knew I had found one of my top films of the festival and one of my favorite anthologies in horror. I was lucky enough to sit down with Spindell and discuss the film, practical effects work, and how storytelling is the most important part of horror. Hit play and listen as Spindell explains the film’s journey from his short the The Baby Sitter Murders, shot as a proof of concept, to it’s final form. Plus, learn how the crew brought the monsters in the film to life and how they balance minimal CGI with the beautiful work of practical effect giants Amalgamated Dynamics.
The Mortuary Collection is awaiting distribution but it’s well-worth keeping an eye out for it.
