Jacob Elordi’s 2020 horror film with a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score is a hidden gem

Jacob Elordi’s standout performance in “Euphoria” already portrayed him as an up-and-coming performer, but the actor has since displayed incredible diversity across a myriad of projects. There’s a lot to learn from Elordi-directed films like “Saltburn” and “Priscilla,” as well as his latest creature role in Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” where he pulls off a surprisingly heartbreaking character transformation. It’s also worth looking back at Elordi’s past projects, particularly Ryan Spindell’s “The Mortuary Collection,” a horror anthology that mixes disgusting gore and straight-up humor to produce mixed, but mostly enjoyable, results. Elordi is featured in “Segment 2: Unprotected”, where he plays a frat boy who ends up playing a horrible prize after a one-night stand.

Horror anthologies can often prove difficult, as disparate narratives must be connected by a few sort of common thread to be effective. In Spindell’s film, these grisly tales are told by Montgomery Dark (a brilliant Clancy Brown), the local undertaker. Dark speaks with Sam (Caitlin Custer), an eccentric young woman who seems to relish this disturbing information instead of being repulsed by it. Of the four tales in the anthology, Elordi’s “Unprotected” is unfortunately the weakest, as its body horror sequences rely a little too heavily on loud, ridiculous humor deliberately taken to the extreme. While Elordi’s Jake is a dishonest jerk who totally deserves the consequences of his actions, this segment’s flaws lie in lackluster storytelling that fails to understand the heartfelt absurdity inherent in horror (read /Film’s review of the film here).

That said, “The Mortuary Collection” is still extremely watchable, and the film even boasts an impressive 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. This praise is in some ways well-deserved, as the Brown-Custer dynamic allows this uneven anthology to emerge as an engaging genre.

The seeds of Spindell’s anthology were planted in 2015’s “The Babysitter Murders,” the director’s 22-minute short that subverted every trope associated with the slasher genre. It’s a deliciously bloody adventure that delves into its terrific imagery, which Spindell expands and reshapes into an all-new segment in “The Mortuary Collection.” With a solid foundation to build on, this particular tale is able to overshadow its predecessor and execute a twist ending that bleeds right into the framing device that ties it all together. Even with Spindell’s tendency to veer into extremes, these dramatic moments work well as pulpy horror that’s both effective and self-aware.

The common thread here is justified payoff, as these stories loosely follow the framework of a morality play that unabashedly embraces nightmarish gore. As a result, an irresponsible womanizer is forced to endure unimaginable pain, a woman committing petty theft encounters something monstrous and otherworldly at a party, and a grieving husband goes through the ordeal once consumed by horrible guilt. There’s something for everyone in these mini-stories, making “The Mortuary Collection” the perfect choice for a weekend evening with friends who appreciate horror.

Spindell’s anthology is no “Creepshow,” but it appears to be a loving homage to the heightened sinister nature of EC Comics (which George A. Romero and Stephen King’s anthology also drew inspiration from), although some of its over-the-top tone falls completely flat. Ultimately, all horror fans will enjoy the fictional town of Raven’s End and all it has to offer in all its gothic glory.