THE UNDERTAKER’S HOME is a new horror movie from Argentina (org. title La Funeraria) that we screened at Fantasia 2020. Thanks to an excellent score, we were simply thrilled. Do not miss this one! Read our full The Undertaker’s Home review!
THE UNDERTAKER’S HOME / The Funeral Home is a new horror movie from Argentina (org. title La Funeraria). This one should definitely work for most horror fans since it has a lot going for it.
The opening scene makes you think that you could be watching a horror movie by James Wan. And yes, the score is a huge reason for this. More on that later.
We screened this movie at Fantasia Fest 2020 and I have no doubt many horror fans will enjoy this one!
Continue reading our The Undertaker’s Home review below.
The power of a good horror score
Before saying anything else about the movie, I have to give immense credit to the amazing score by Jeremias Smith. The score alone lifted this movie in the most amazing ways.
From the moment this movie begins, the music during the opening scene (and opening credits) pulls you in and lets you know that this is a horror movie. If your eyes were closed, you would still have no doubt that this movie is all about horror.
If you ever wonder about the power of an excellent score, then The Undertaker’s Home should remove any and all doubt. This movie is instantly better thanks to the score. I only wish I could’ve watched this in a big movie theater, where the sound would have played an even bigger part.
The simple story that works
Overall, the story in this horror movie worked really well because it’s pretty simple. We’re told most things and shown additional parts of the story to build on it before being told how everything is connected.
A red line throughout the front yard and the house shows us that the people living in this home only use part of it. Everything on the other side of the red line is completely unused. Why? Well, you’ll find out.
Basically, the simple story of the undertaker’s home being haunted works because the characters make us believe it. The teenage daughter who has had enough and the wife who has to drug herself to fall asleep speaks volumes.
Unfortunately, I have to admit that I was not a fan of the ending. And overall, the teenage girl had some unfortunate qualities that also irritated me. However, that cannot take away from the fact that this movie is at least 75% awesome horror.
The Undertaker’s Home at Fantasia 2020
Mauro Iván Ojeda wrote and directed The Undertaker’s Home, which is his feature film debut (according to IMDb anyway). If this is his debut then I am beyond excited for whatever comes next.
This is the second movie from Argentina, we’ve screened at Fantasia 2020. The first one was La Dosis (read our review here) and while the two are very different, the production quality and excellent storytelling are evident.
If Mauro Iván Ojeda continues to make horror movies with scores by Jeremias Smith, then the two could become the horror masters of Argentina. After watching their work on this movie, I really hope they continue!
We screened The Undertaker’s Home (La Funeraria) for Fantasia Fest 2020.
The horror movie will be out in virtual theaters (US) under the title The Funeral Home from January 29, 2021 before a digital release on February 2 via Uncork’d Entertainment.
Details
Director: Mauro Iván Ojeda
Writer: Mauro Iván Ojeda
Stars: Luis Machín, Celeste Gerez, Camila Vaccarini, Susana Varela, Hugo Arana
Plot
We share this world with the dead. Those who have come before us, and have left indelible scars on us, are always there in spirit long after they’re gone. Bernardo (Luís Machín), wife Estella (Celeste Gerez) and stepdaughter Irina (Camila Vaccarini) live with the dead in every sense. As an undertaker, death is Bernardo’s business, but it also pervades the home they live in behind the funeral home in the spirit of several ghosts that haunt the property. At first their presence is more of an inconvenience – there are lines you can’t walk past; the bathroom is haunted, so they need to use a port-a-potty outside – but it soon becomes apparent there is a presence there that means them harm. And soon this family, already on the edge, must deal with some of the very ghosts who haunted them before they passed on.
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