STRAIGHT-TO-DVD SPOTLIGHT: The Morgue

The Morgue

Rated R
Running time: 1 hr 24 mins
DVD Release Date: September 2nd

Cast:

Lisa Crilley

Chris Devlin

Brandon Quinn

Heather Donahue

Bill Cobbs

MY REVIEW

Funny thing about this straight to DVD flick, is that it has kind of a good story concept. The bad part about that is that it was a given a crappy budget and straight to DVD slap in the face. The other bad thing, is that this kind of story has been told a few times before in much better ways. The movie this film most resembles is the John Cusack thriller, Identity. The Morgue is about six strangers who find themselves trapped in a morgue over night with a psycotic killer on the loose. That's not the good story I was reffering to.

The last twenty or so mintutes features a "twist" that I won't lie, I didn't see coming. That doesn't mean it shocked me, it means that the first hour or so was so bland that when the twist came about it was just...eh. There was no real suspensful build up to the last act. First there was a story about a ex-employee who killed himself in the morgue and now haunts the ground killing people until he can be laid to rest. Turns out, that part of the story has NOTHING to do with the movie. Yes, a man who resembles this guy is stalking these people through the morgue, but you never really see his face. So we just believe it's this ghostly man. Whenever these living characters roam the halls and crazy guy comes about, theres no build up to it. Theres no tense music, he just is there. It's hard to explain without you actually seeing it.

They're just walking the hall and he just appears, casual as can be. And then when he attacks them, the filmakers neglected to insert a tense musical score. There was no music. Just close ups of these people having a scalpal waved in their face. Another thing, is that these characters are incredibly slow to react to anything. Something as simple as a question being asked, they take forever to answer. At the extreme end, if someone is being attacked, the other person just sits there and doesn't do anything for maybe two minutes. They don't scream, nothing. Then they run. Really bizzare. Just really slow people.

And then the big twist came, and like I said, it's a solid story idea. My problem with it, other than the lack of budget or big name actors, was that they felt they had to explain everything in detail. The last 8 or 9 minutes they litterally go back and show us what we missed. They explain the twist in every aspect. You don't really need to do that, it kills the effect of the twist when you carry it on to long. Yes, we have seen this type of twist a couple times before, but it's still fresh enough that you can occassionally shock audiences with it. If it the first part of the film is done right that is, and in this case, it's not done right at all.

I just want to point out real quick that Heather Donahue was in this film. Does anyone remember her? From a little film called The Blair Witch Project? It truly was bizzare seeing her outside of that world I've only ever known her for. Kinda feel bad for her. She stars in one of the biggest and most successful independent films ever made, and now she is in this mediocre at best garbage. Can't win them all I guess.

Mikey @ The Movies Official Rating: ** out of *****

To view this films trailer, click this link: Morgue

*This is the 119th new film I've seen and reviewed this year.

*This film is now on DVD.

*Straight-to-DVD films do not qualify for my awards.