I thought I'd seen all the B-Movie horror films of the 1970s-80s. Apparently not, for this one somehow got by me. The title "Funeral Home" was a bit misleading as there was nothing "funeral-homish" about this film other than that most of the action took place in a converted funeral home. I'd been under the impression there would be ghostly or ghoulish occurrences, something most "reformed funeral home" films seem to be filled with. There were none, however the story, as it slowly unfolded, was remarkably well done.
In my opinion, 1980 was a pivotal year in the horror industry. A whole new generation of films started to appear that became known as "slasher films" (or "gore-fests," depending on who you ask). There was a new trend developing where nothing was left to the imagination. Though equated with slasher films, "Funeral Home" is nothing like "Halloween" or "Friday the 13th" since it's violence was more implied than graphic. When films contain graphic violence the shock value of "blood and guts" can all too easily take over and render story-lines and characters irrelevant. This was not the case here.
I was impressed with the character development in this film. The primary characters, and almost all of the secondary ones, were given "histories" that were revealed in dribs and drabs as the story moved along...and as is common with people in small towns, everyone seemed to be connected to everyone else in some way. The dialog could be corny at times and didn't quite flow as "normal conversation" would (particularly with regard to the teenagers) but the performances were good enough to make it credible.
Being a horror film veteran, the ending did not surprise me. From about 1/3 of the way into the film I had a pretty good idea where it was heading, but there were some surprises that made the film enjoyable despite seeming routine. It was also refreshing to see a film stand on it's own without resorting to pools of blood, nudity and four-letter words. Though not a 10-star film and not very high on the "shock-meter," it was surprisingly good for a B-Movie.
In my opinion, 1980 was a pivotal year in the horror industry. A whole new generation of films started to appear that became known as "slasher films" (or "gore-fests," depending on who you ask). There was a new trend developing where nothing was left to the imagination. Though equated with slasher films, "Funeral Home" is nothing like "Halloween" or "Friday the 13th" since it's violence was more implied than graphic. When films contain graphic violence the shock value of "blood and guts" can all too easily take over and render story-lines and characters irrelevant. This was not the case here.
I was impressed with the character development in this film. The primary characters, and almost all of the secondary ones, were given "histories" that were revealed in dribs and drabs as the story moved along...and as is common with people in small towns, everyone seemed to be connected to everyone else in some way. The dialog could be corny at times and didn't quite flow as "normal conversation" would (particularly with regard to the teenagers) but the performances were good enough to make it credible.
Being a horror film veteran, the ending did not surprise me. From about 1/3 of the way into the film I had a pretty good idea where it was heading, but there were some surprises that made the film enjoyable despite seeming routine. It was also refreshing to see a film stand on it's own without resorting to pools of blood, nudity and four-letter words. Though not a 10-star film and not very high on the "shock-meter," it was surprisingly good for a B-Movie.