Hollywood Mortuary (2000 Video) User Reviews

Karloof & Lugosi would be proud of HOMAGE !

[guestar57 · 7/10 · 16 October 2008]

Ron Ford and Randal Malone have done an excellent job of paying tribute to their filmic heroes of fright.

Ray Biddle has done the world a great justice by contacting INDIE FLIX and setting them up as the re-release distributors,Fans can now actually buy 'HoMo' and not just boot-leg it from those awful VHS shorts and dreary Lindenmuth editions !

But, No extras,Maybe when it hits Blu-ray we can get some interviews with Randal Malone,We Deitrick or Ron Ford.

Still,Its good to see this rare film that is almost like a '90s 'Rocky Horror' Cult Following. http://www.indieflix.com/Films/HollywoodMortuary

Not too bad actually!

[Katatonia · 9 December 2003]

Possible minor spoilers ahead......

Hollywood Mortuary is actually a pretty good no-budget movie. Two dead horror film stars who hate each other are resurrected as Zombies by their make-up artist to revive the genre of horror films...classic! The story is quite original, the script is well written, and most of the actors did an admirable job in the movie. There are a few funny moments peppered throughout the movie.

Most of the movie is in black & white, and I guess the movie was originally shot on video of some kind. The movie jumps from farcical present-day interviews back to the glory days of earlier Hollywood. Sometimes it jumps to color for a few seconds, especially in the interviews.

There are some problems in the movie, such as in the flashbacks to the bygone days you often see objects that are modern. But, this movie obviously had a small to non-existent budget so it's not that big of a deal.

Even with the problems in Hollywood Mortuary, it is enjoyable and unique. Better than most no-budget movies, watch it once if you have the chance.

Starts slow but picks up toward the end

[Darthstinky · 4/10 · 24 October 2015]

I was bored most of the movie but once the "Zombies" Go on a killing spree the movie becomes epic. For some reason its shot in black and white and it can be distracting especially when the first 2/3rds of this movie is talking. If you fast forward the movie to the last 20 minutes you wont miss anything important and you'll be able to see what makes this movie stand out as a "good bad" movie. The effects aren't great but they work with the story being told. The acting is funny, not because its bad but because the actors know this movie sucks so the just have a good time with it. Its worth a look if you like funny bad movies. Ron Ford Knows how to make a movie work even with a small budget.

An homage to horror films that actually works!

[Casey-52 · 8/10 · 21 July 1999]

Forget SCREAM and its sequel and all the other rip-offs, this one is for real! Randal Malone gives an acid-like performance as a crazed make-up man in Hollywood who wants to bring back horror films so he can get back to work. To do that, he acquires a secret potion from a voodoo priestess, grabs a job at Hollywood Mortuary, and brings back to life the two greatest horror actors of all time (obvious tributes to Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi). Ron Ford as Blasko is hilarious! The two commit murders so they will appear in the papers, thus horror films will make a come-back due to frontpage events! Interesting concept, the first time I've seen it. Ron Ford has made a wonderful film that needs to be seen by every horror fan. Touched with liberal doses of gore, it doesn't really hurt the movie. It already has a nice, campy quality that is helped by over-the-top gore effects! Check this movie out, you might have to search around for it VERY HARD, but it is well worth it!

Funny and Original

[mbyrd-1 · 8/10 · 14 November 2002]

Janos Blasko (Ron Ford) and Pratt Borokof (Tim Sullivan) are two feuding horror actors who take their battle beyond the grave in "Hollywood Mortuary". Aided by a psychotic, washed-up makeup-artist who dabbles in Brazillian Voodoo rituals on the side, the two deceased Terrors of Tinseltown are resurrected to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting populace. Ford and Sullivan just can't be beat here. The two have a very natural chemistry that really helps the volley of insults between them fly. As the makeup-artist gone bad, Randal Malone turns in an impressive performance. In truth, everything about this movie works. A lot of great one-liners are peppered throughout the script, as well as some really bad ones (delivered, ironically, by a stand-up comedian). Possibly the best low-budget horror-comedy ever made. Certainly the best I've seen.

As others have stressed, I will affirm: Go out of your way to find this movie. You will NOT be disappointed !

Hilarious! Perfect for Genre Fans

[bababear · 10/10 · 2 August 2006]

This is the best horror comedy since YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. It's made on a nonexistent budget without any name stars, but it doesn't take itself seriously and delivers both laughs and shocks.

The plot concerns two feuding Hollywood horror stars (think Karloff and Lugosi here) who hate each other. Thanks to voodoo that can bring back the dead, their feud can continue after death.

These actors aren't stars. But they should be. There are some surprisingly effective performances here. Film Star Randall Malone (that's how he's billed in all his movies, it seems) is properly over the top and chews scenery as if he were starving.

This is like the best of community theatre. The actors seem to have an attitude of, OK, I'm not getting rich from this and tomorrow morning I have to go to my regular job but I'm going to give this everything I've got. This reminds you that the word "amateur" has at its heart a word meaning "love".

I'd give special commendation to the young man who plays a stand-up comic who tells the worst jokes you can imagine. Terrible, terrible jokes. But he keeps on telling them despite widespread carnage all around him.

There's a nice bonus in scenes interviewing Anita Page and Margaret O'Brien about the events and characters we see portrayed in the main narrative. Yes, the same Anita Page who was in OUR DANCING DAUGHTERS with Joan Crawford. The same Margaret O'Brien who was in MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS. Both of them are charming and their presence is a nice touch.

There are some nice surprises in the writing, too. One of the main characters is a zombie, not at all happy about having been brought back to life. He usually expresses this displeasure by violent acts that are a cross between the Three Stooges and THE EVIL DEAD. There's a scene where he meets up with his widow, uh, wife, uh, significant other. The way the scene is resolved is totally unlike what you'd expect.

Ron Ford should be getting the respect that other genre directors have gotten. Lord knows he's made his films on the tightest of budgets but kept on keeping on. There was an article about him in FANGORIA a couple of years ago and I expected him to get more recognition, but it didn't happen. It's the world's loss. He has a unique vision.

You can't get this through Netflix or Blockbuster online. But it's worth seeking out.