Morgue

This film is certainly not a Hollywood blockbuster, but it doesn't deserve to be rated under 5. It's a pretty effective old school indie horror movie. No spectacular hightech FX, but it works quite well anyway. A little slow though. You should give it a try. You won't regret it.

Diego Martínez is selfish and has no money. His girlfriend is concerned with his roaming eyes. He kills a pedestrian with his car in a hit-and-run. He gets a call from his boss. He has been assigned to guard a mostly empty hospital. There is one body in the morgue which presumably is the guy he ran over with his car.

This is a limited horror indie. The production is very limited. They probably had an empty building for a few nights and ran with this horror idea. I really like some of the ideas like catching the dead ghost in the background. The naked ghosts are very creepy. It's all very spooky. At the end of the day, this is limited. It has only one main character. There are no great special effects. It's really a Twilight Zone episode. It's a campfire ghost story. Even at less than ninety minutes, it does go on too long.

Morgue is a supernatural horror movie made on a shoestring budget in Paraguay that is much better than its average to abysmal ratings.

The movie revolves around Diego Martinez, a lowly paid security guard who lives in a cheap apartment and drives a decrepit car that is about to fall apart. One night, he hits a man on the road and decides to run and hide. Plagued by guilt, he is relieved to get a call from his employer that informs him that he has a night shift at a hospital that might get him some welcome distraction. However, that shift is everything but a routine job as strange things are going on that will change Diego Martinez' life forever.

This horror movie convinces on numerous levels. The film is short, gets to the point, has excellent pace, entertains from start to finish and never overstays its welcome. The atmosphere is excellent in decrepit apartments, on abandoned roads in dirty suburbs and particularly in the creepy hospital with its terrifying morgue. Pablo Martinez' realistic acting in his very first film carries the movie with few dialogues and a limited number of characters very well. The special effects aren't overused and give the movie an authentic touch that will send shivers down your spine. The light and sound effects as well as the gloomy soundtrack enhance the atmosphere splendidly. Director and writer Hugo Cardozo has been inspired by atmospheric horror movies of the seventies and employs their classic trademarks in a refreshing way as if he were an experienced veteran.

If you are sick and tired of predictable sequels flooding North American cinemas, Paraguay's independent atmospheric horror movie Morgue is a very interesting alternative for a great movie night with friends for Halloween. The film is now available digitally and physically in North America and certainly worth the money and time of curious genre fans.

Night shifts are scary enough, let alone being alone in a morgue as well. But is Diego really alone? Well, he also has a gun so he'll probably be fine?!

If you're tired of the Hollywood machine's output, horror movies from around the world can offer a slightly different experience. In most cases this is true, however Morgue seems to have a little trouble finding it's own voice and instead takes a leaf out of the Paranormal Activity playbook. Not that there's nothing to like here, the script is good, the atmosphere is quite creepy and there are some genuinely unnerving scenes.

Overall, if you like low-budget horror about secluded locations, you can do a lot worse than Morgue.

Morgue is a film that in my opinion suffered from the lack of a bigger budget and a better execution. The script is pretty good and the lead actor does it pretty well. The ending may for many be unexpected and to some extent quite original. Being Paraguayan and knowing how much it costs to make a film in my country, I just want to take the opportunity to congratulate the creators of the film, they did a great job. And for those who want to see more films from my country, I recommend "7 Cajas" which in my opinion is one of the best films I have seen in my life and I am not saying it because it is from my country but because it really is a film with a script and a very original execution.