Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Mortal Remains’

Written by Scott Edwards

It can be difficult to come up with new ideas, as it seems that everything has been done at least once, or The Simpsons already did it. Trying a new approach to a familiar subject might be the best way to head this off, or as I always like to say, make it your own. Being in the position that I am in today, I tend to watch the same story being told by different people and they all bring their own unique perspective to what we already know and love. Being your own person and making your own choices is the only way to approach life, even if you are not one of the crazy creative types.
​
While wanting to get a documentary about The Blair Witch Project in the can to make a little bit of coin, filmmakers Mark and Chris are given a new idea from their friendly director Eduardo Sanchez. Telling the two about the old urban legend of Karl Atticus who made movies that could cause riots, he knows that there are some folks in the industry that would pay big money for the project. Not wanting to deviate from what they are doing, Mark is hesitant, but Chris is able to convince his friend to come along for the ride and see where it takes them. 

Arriving in Maryland and finding out that none of the youth have ever heard of this Karl Atticus person, the older crowd seems to have their stories about him and that is where the two will make progress in their film. Finding a couple of people that worked with Karl, along with his best friend growing up, the two find that they are opening up a door to something out of this world. Finding out about the childhood of the macabre director and what his habits were, they are also starting to see there is a little push back when it comes to digging too deep for the story. When returning to the local graveyard that they were previously kicked out of during the day, Mark is violently beaten by an unknown man and is forced to drop out of the project for a short time.

Being able to replace his longtime friend, Chris continues his deep dive into the life of Karl Atticus and what led to his tragic demise. Hearing more about his movies and the reading material he poured over, especially by author Vernon Blake who wrote the original Mortal Remains, Chris is starting to see a strange pattern emerging. With more clues as to who this man really was and getting word that this story could bring a massive payoff at the end, Chris is able to get Mark back on board for the final few days of the shoot. With a full team, the group heads out into the country side to find the old house where Karl used to live, but once inside they find that they are not alone and even with the final piece of the puzzle in their grasp, they are left to question what really happened to the director, as it appears he may not have died back in 1973 as was originally reported.

I’m not a huge fan of Mockumentaries as a whole, but this one was pretty darn good. I love the story of Karl Atticus and now I want to see his movies, even though he is not real, because they look damn gruesome and sometimes that is what we need. I really liked when the story of the director started to take a turn for the strange, using cadavers on set, and not having any repeat actors on set the following night. Any director that can cause a riot based on his movie being shown only once may be a genius or the devil and I am guessing he was both. With some shocking imagery, some blood, a hooded figure beat down, Eduardo Sanchez, clues, chances to abandon the project and an unknown final copy of the original Mortal Remains, this movie is filled with mystery, some terror and an ending that will make you wonder why anyone would make a documentary film ever again. Stay Scared.

---