"Mausoleum" is Full of Life

Thanks to companies such as Code Red, Blue Underground, and Anchor Bay, many of those late 70’s/early 80’s horror/slasher movies that Siskel and Ebert used to delegate to their “Dog of the Week” segment have made their way to dvd over the last 12 years. Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert were two people who influenced my interest in movies during my youth, however, I think they were way too hard on many of the films in the horror and sci-fi genres of that era.

I do not remember if the 1983 film, “Mausoleum,” was ever featured on their PBS Sneak Previews program or on their subsequent syndicated program, however, having now watched it twice, I find “Mausoleum” to be quite an enjoyable, though imperfect, low-budget horror film. The film stars Bobbie Bresee and Marjoe Gortner as a married couple who appear to live quite a nice life in a very nice home somewhere in the U.S. There is one slight problem in the fact that Susan (Bresee) has, as a youth, been possessed by a demon. Susan can summon said demon at any time. This is the most convenient part of being possessed by a demon, I would think. It would be most difficult to have a demon in you that emerges at inopportune times, such as during an important speech one might be making, or while driving, or perhaps during sex, though, for some, this may spice things up a bit. Did I mention that “Mausoleum” features the acting stylings of Marjoe Gortner, one of the most unique personalities of the 1970’s and early 80’s? Prior to “Mausoleum,” Gortner starred in the films, “When You Comin’ Back Red Ryder,” “Star Crash,” “Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw” (in which he shares a sex scene with Lynda Carter—if you’re going to get something good, you sometimes have to accept something bad) and the classic made-for-tv film, “Pray For the Wildcats” in which he co-starred with William Shatner and Andy Griffith. For more about Marjoe, I encourage readers to seek out the 1973 documentary entitled, “Marjoe,” in which he is interviewed and gives his full participation documenting his life up to that point. When I see that Marjoe Gortner is in any given film or episode of a tv show, I watch said movie or episode. His work is always worth the time. So, in “Mausoleum,” Susan and Oliver (Marjoe!) Farrell live comfortably, except for the previously mentioned demon which Susan can summon whenever she wants. Throughout the course of the film, Susan disposes of some people whom she does not favor. Dr. Simon Andrews (Norman Burton) has been Susan’s psychiatrist since she was a child and knows of her condition. Oliver contacts Dr. Andrews and reports that Susan has been doing some strange things (like killing people) and arranges a meeting with the doctor. Things transpire and Susan, at the end of the film, returns to the scene of where she became the object of possession, which is presented at the beginning of the film. I am intentionally vague about details of the film should any reader, at some point, wish to endeavor to rent or buy this film and watch it.

I encourage anyone so inclined to do so for a few reasons. First, as discussed earlier, you really cannot go wrong with Marjoe Gortner. His acting style is not bad, it is simply different. It is not Shatnerian or Walkenian, however, it does contain a certain non-genericness that is always welcome. Let’s call his style the Gortnerian Style. Second, there are several instances of interesting framing in which a character’s head will be off to the side a bit too much or too much space above a character’s head will be present. These are welcome imperfections which set films such as “Mausoleum” apart from the current slick-looking, but still bad horror films. Third, the print of the film, as presented by Code Red DVD, is wonderfully scratchy! This is great! Reel changes and the scratchiness and bits of film that get cut off before and after reel changes are present! It is as if one is watching an original theatrical print of the film. If you like to watch films that have been remastered, this may leave you disappointed. I love watching old prints of movies with all the scratch marks and missing frames. This is the love of nostalgia in me, I suppose. It is a lot of fun watching these films in an imperfect condition, such as watching the prints of the films presented when Quentin Tarantino was hosting is QT film festivals in Austin, Texas. The films he showed were on 35 MM film, not digitally presented. Of course, some of the films he presented were not on dvd and the prints he had may have been one of only a few prints of those films. Whatever the reason, it was a great experience to watch these films with all of their imperfections. Code Red has released, in the past few years, several films in which an original print was used as a source, three other ones being the 1978 Hal Holbrook film, “Rituals,” Romano Scavolini’s 1981 horror film, “Nightmare,” and the 1974 film, “Horror High.” My interest in watching films that are in imperfect condition hightens my interest in films such as “Mausoleum,” a film which, by some, may be dismissed as “just another bad 80’s slasher film.” For the reasons outlined here, “Mausoleum” places itself among some of the better of these kind of films. The story is well laid out. It is not a terribly complicated story. There are several oddball scenes, most of which, feature the greatness of Marjoe, and there are some interesting looking low-budget, early 80’s special effects to enjoy as well. I suspect that the intention of the filmmakers may have been to release “Mausoleum” in 3-D, as the early 80’s also enjoyed a resurgence of 3-D films such as “Jaws 3-D,” “Amityville 3-D,” “Parasite,” “Metalstorm,” and “The Man Who Wasn’t There.” There are a few scenes that are shot for, what appears to be, the sole purpose of thrusting or throwing things at the audience. It was not officially released in 3-D, but my guess is that that was the original idea. I encourage you all to find a copy of “Mausoleum” and enjoy an evening of Gortnerian acting. I believe you will have found the 95 minutes spent with Marjoe to be well worth the time. “Mausoleum” is full of life so I do not feel I am dead wrong in recommending it to anybody.