Post Mortem

Summary

“Can you take pictures of ghosts too?”
It is always an interesting experience viewing films made in different regions of the world. I watch a lot of films made in the United States, but I try my best to watch foreign films when the subject matter appeals to me. Typically I walk away from a good foreign film feeling like I have learned something new about a place that I have (more than likely) never visited. When I saw that Shout! Factory was releasing a Hungarian horror film, which happened to also be Hungary’s submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, I was curious enough about the subject matter to check the film out. As I had expected, Post Mortem featured several unique aspects that set it apart from horror films made here in the States. While not a perfect film, Post Mortem is definitely interesting and memorable.
In 1918, during a battle in World War 1, German soldier Tomas (Viktor Klem) is rocked by an explosion on the battle field. Knocked unconscious, he sees a vision of a girl saying his name. His unconscious body is thrown into the pile of bodies to be buried in a mass grave. Luckily, a man realizes Tomas is alive and helps him out of the heap. Six months later, the man who found him has transformed himself into a carnival act by telling people of the other side. Tomas has in that same amount of time become a post mortem photographer, offering families a final photograph with their loved ones who have passed. This is not bad business given the amount of dead in the country from the war and Spanish flu. A ten-year-old girl named Anna (Fruzsina Hais) visits Tomas and explains that there are many dead in her village. She asks Tomas if he can take pictures of ghosts also. Tomas is struck by the realization that Anna is the girl he saw in his vision. He lets his comrade know that he must go away for a few days, and then will join up with the caravan. He makes the horse drawn journey with the group of Hungarian villagers to their small village. The village has suffered from the Spanish flu, and there are dead bodies in nearly all the homes. Some villagers wear bags over their heads to protect themselves from disease. Anna shows Tomas around town and takes him to a cemetery where many of her relatives are buried. As Tomas spends some time in the town, it becomes obvious that the village is severely haunted. Tomas begins taking post mortem photos of the dead and their loved ones. When he develops the photos, the photos show that there are dark shadowy figures in all of them. While Tomas is in the town, it soon becomes clear that many of the recent dead in the village have actually been murdered by those dark forces. Tomas and Anna try their best to help remedy the situation, as the ghostly figures begin to become more and more brazen in their attacks.
Post Mortem delivers a unique vision of a ghost story. Recently I enjoyed Severin Films’ All The Haunts Be Ours box set, and I feel like Post Mortem would qualify as a folk horror film. The film’s sensibilities are reflective of Hungarian culture. The film is frightening at times but also has a very dry offbeat humor that lies underneath the writing. The imagery in the film is really interesting and pleasing to the eye. The Hungarian village setting is well constructed and a great setting for a horror film. The filmmakers chose to drain much of the color from the film, giving a cold appearance that I liked. The film has a similar color and look as the recent Paul Schrader film First Reformed. The digital cinematography is sharp and the filmmakers display some real talent behind the camera. The period piece setting definitely stirred my imagination.
The film has some scares but does not try for many cheap scares. There are a few missteps in some of the special effects laden sequences that are not as frightening as the scarier moments that rely purely on sound. The sound design of the film shook my house with its low ends during numerous sequences. The sound design is very effective and helps to create the more frightening moments in the film. The acting in the film is pretty solid with a good leading performance by Viktor Klem as Tomas.
Overall – Post Mortem is a unique film that works as both a period piece and an effectively frightening Hungarian horror film. Fans of regional horror will have a lot to enjoy about the film, even though some aspects of the film that I have mentioned above don’t work perfectly. I think fans of folk horror and some of Guillermo Del Toro’s early films will find a good amount to enjoy here.

Video
Post Mortem has been released onto Blu-ray in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. Post Mortem was shot using digital film and cameras and the mastering of the film was performed digitally. The Blu-ray presentation is in 1080p. The cinematography by Andras Nagy is drained of color to capture the Hungarian village surroundings in the early part of the twentieth century. The effect is very atmospheric and reminiscent of the recent Paul Schrader film First Reformed or some of Bergman’s work. Fine detail is solid in the presentation. I have no complaints with the way this film looks on Blu-ray.

Audio
The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track sounds great. The film’s best scares come from the more intense moments in the audio presentation. I was reminded of some of the auditory sequences in Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell in certain scenes of Post Mortem. This is a pretty immersive track that will test the lows of your subwoofer frequently.

Supplements:
Deleted Scenes
Theatrical Trailer

Overall Scores:
Video: 4.5
Audio: 4.75
Special Features: 1.5
Overall – 3.75/5
Post Mortem is an intriguing and unique horror film from Hungary. The film benefits from a strong setting, solid cinematography, and good understated acting. It is not a perfect film due to a few sequences that reach a little too far with effects work that fails to convince, but the sound design on the picture is really impressive. Fans of early Guillermo Del Toro pictures and regional horror should find a lot to enjoy about the film’s cold Hungarian village setting and period piece details.