Funeral Home (1980)
Known in some circles as “Cries in the Night”, the Canadian horror film “Funeral Home” is directed by William Fruet. The film is an absorbing blend of horror and msytery revolving around psychology and emotions and a growing feeling of anxiety that makes the film one of the best in the history of the genre in the 1980s.
Synopsis
The film stars Lesleh Donaldson in the role of Heather who spends her summer helping her grandmother, Maude Chalmers (Kay Hawtrey), in transforming an ancient funeral house of their family into a B&B. The former funeral parlor terrifies Heather and she is suddenly horrified when patrons continue to make complaints of mysterious sounds and activities within the vicinity.
Hilary Leung’s daughter-in-law joins in and as Heather probes, nasty realities of her grandmother, the disappearance of her grandfather, and the background of the funeral parlor are disclosed. The temperature rises and there is one more piece of information that decides what, or rather whom, is still hidden in the house.
Cast
- Lesleh Donaldson as Heather: the main character who is constantly exploring the mysteries of the funeral home and is able to unravel the messy ending.
- Kay Hawtrey as Maude Chalmers: Heather’s smothering yet mysterious grandma who takes care of her and does love her turns increasing odd.
- Barry Morse as Mr. Davis: a guest of the ’barrier’ who is key to the suspension and tension that surrounds the funeral home.
- Dean Garbett as Rick: Heather’s love interest who helps her uncover the truth.
Themes
- Secrets and Deception:
- The film shows how the evil within can be triggered due to a troubled past and unearthed family puzzles.
- Isolation:
- The funeral home’s distance from other places instills claustrophobia and increases the suffering experienced by the characters.
- The Haunted Past:
- The story explains how the dead body and the funeral home integrated to provide a place for the decay of its users including their emotions and morals.
Style and Atmosphere
- Direction and Tone: The director William Fruet’s main focus was on the atmosphere and building up tension slowly, as opposed to gore which the film lacks.
- Cinematography: The use of shadows, low lighting, and tight framing enhances the eerie aspects of the film.
- Music: The film’s suspenseful moments are complemented by the score penned by Jerry Fielding who managed to create a haunting mood.
Reception
- The Funeral Home was successful due to the tension created in the atmospheric scenes and the impressive performances from all actors particularly Kay Hawtrey as Maude. Still some critics have stated that the pace of the movie is slow and relatively the scares are weak as compared other horror flicks that were released during that time.
- However slowly the movie has developed a strong fanbase due to how different it is from other slasher films, the good mix of gothic horror and slasher genre.
Legacy
Although it might not be treated as much as some of its peers, Funeral Home remains a solid example of horror cinema from Canada which also came out in the early 1980’s and often goes unnoticed in the shadow of better-known films from Hollywood. In its unsettling manner, it gives a rather entertaining perspective for fans of psychological movies.
Recommended Viewing
For those who liked Funeral Home, here are some recommendations:
- Burnt Offerings (1976): A haunted house story that is layered with psychological threats.
- The Changeling (1980): Another film by a Canadian filmmaker that juxtaposes horror and mystery.
- Black Christmas (1974): The film features a Canadian landscape but in this case it is for a hardcore slasher flick.