Cult Classic: Mortuary (1982)

“Hey Boogeyman! Let’s boogie!”

Christie Parson loses her father in an apparent swimming accident, but she believes that he was murdered. When more people in her town go missing, she and her boyfriend, Greg, zero in on the local mortuary owner, Hank Andrews, and his bizarre son, Paul, as potential suspects. Throw in a few seances, a killer with a fondness for stabbing people with a trocar, and strange electrical issues at the Parson home and you’ve got 1982’s Mortuary.

While it certainly won’t win any awards, Mortuary is a pretty decent slasher flick. It stars Mary Beth McDonough, best known for her work on The Waltons, as Christie Parson. Greg is portrayed by David Wallace. Christopher George, a stalwart of slasher films in the 70s and early 80s, stars as Hank Andrews and his real life wife, Lynda Day George, appeared as Christie’s mother, Eve. While all of the cast do a great job, the real treat here is a young Bill Paxton as the awkward Paul Andrews. He bumbles his way through the film, crushing on Christie and working for his father at the mortuary. He also has just enough creepiness in him to immediately make him the prime suspect.

While I won’t give the film’s ending away, I will say that its climax is absolutely bonkers. The entire film plays out in an unhinged manner, but it really is a decent flick. Bill Paxton really sets the tone with his performance, and Christopher George brings the sinister vibes with his performance as well. It’s pretty obvious that McDonough was desperate to shake loose her milquetoast image as Erin Walton with this film, as she appears in some skimpy clothes in a number of scenes and engages in some very un-Walton-like sex scenes. Contrary to popular belief at the time, she does not appear nude in the film. A body double was used for those moments in the film. Sorry, John Boy!

The film is available on a number of streaming services for free at the moment. If you’re a fan of whacky slashers, I definitely recommend checking out this movie. It’s also cool to see Bill Paxton in an early role prior to his eventual success. It’s also sort of neat to witness Mary Beth McDonough’s attempt at breaking free of The Waltons.

Thanks for reading my post. The killer in this film is pretty obvious right from the start, but Mortuary is still worth giving a look.