Morbid Review

Morbid is the directorial debut from Chuck Conry of Zombies Don't Run fame. I'm a long time reader of his blog, and he graciously allowed me to view a screener recently. I can honestly say that I didn't have the highest of expectations for it, I simply expected to be entertained, and in the long run I think that's exactly how Morbid should be viewed.

The films official synopsis sums it up perfectly and does so better than I could, so here it is:

A small town becomes the playground to a masked killer stalking and killing the locals for no apparent reason. With the town's sheriff and locals still more worried about a high school football game than getting to the bottom of what's going on, one detective from out of town must rush to save the lives of a group of teens tossing a party in the middle of all the chaos. But, as we soon learn, these teens have some complicated issues of their own.

It's obvious from the very beginning that Conry is as much of a fan of 80's slasher flicks as most of the rest of us. Morbid is a love letter to those glorious days in horror's history. It's got all the ingredients, a bunch of partying teenagers, bumbling police officers, and a killer with a badass mask. Surprisingly, it even had a good amount of gore. The only thing holding Conry back was a budget. I can only imagine what this guy could accomplish with a little more money to work with. The characters are all fairly cliche, with the regulars all making appearances, the jocks, nerds, metal kids, etc. The dialog is purposely awful at times, filled with genre references, and made me laugh out loud several times. These movies aren't known for their convoluted plots filled with twists and huge reveals, and that's the point.

When all was said and done, I ended up having a blast watching Morbid. The location, atmosphere, and actors made me feel right at home, largely due to the fact that I believe Mr. Conry is from my neck of the woods. It was like watching something me and my friends would've done had we had some money and access to a camera to play around with. Morbid is a hilarious, gory good time. I can't wait to see Chuck's next film.