Brilliant and touching

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Blistering performances.

Meek and suicidal nerd Max Grimm (a likable Christopher Atkins) and his more smooth and assured brother Sam (an equally amiable Perry Lang) are forced to take a course at their family's mortuary academy in order to inherit two million dollars. Kinky closet necrophiliac and head administrator Paul Truscott (Paul Bartel in fine droll form) and his sexually frustrated assistant Mary Purcell (a terrifically brash portrayal by the ever-delightful Mary Woronov) are determined to flunk the siblings so they can take over the place. Director Michael Schroeder, working from a pleasantly twisted and silly script by Bartel and Bill Kelman, relates the cheerfully inane story at a steady pace and maintains an engaging tongue-in-cheek tone throughout. The game cast have a ball with the wacky material: Atkins and Lang are charming in the lead roles, it's always a treat to see Bartel and Woronov in anything, plus there are sound contributions from Tracey Walter as eccentric electronics wizard Don Dickson, Anthony James as twitchy and scary ex-con Abbott Smith, Lynn Danielson as the sweet Valerie Levitt, and Stoney Jackson as hip aspiring rap singer James Danridge. Popping up in cool cameos are Wolfman Jack as crafty rock band manager Bernie Berkowitz, Cesar Romero as a cruise ship captain, Richard Kennedy as a lawyer, and "Playboy" Playmates Dona Speir, Rebekka Armstrong, Kymberly Paige, and Laurie Ann Carr as nurses. This film's main praiseworthy achievement is how it manages to treat the questionable subject matter in a surprisingly playful and good-natured manner; even the potentially tasteless subplot involving Trescott's infatuation with the fetching corpse of a deceased teenage cheerleader avoids being too gross or offensive and hence provides some of the picture's biggest laughs. A very funny and enjoyable flick.

One thing I never thought I'd see was Paul Bartel having passionate sex with a corpse. Thanks to this film, that which I thought impossible has become reality and I don't think I'll ever be able to close my eyes again without seeing the sight of a topless pot-bellied Bartel atop a beautiful dead teenage girl on the beach with his lips locked onto hers.Believe me when I tell you that this sounds funnier than it really was. This movie is one long, tasteless, and painfully unfunny necrophilia joke. However, there are some sporadically amusing momentsA great cast is mostly wasted. Perry Lang continues (after The Hearse) his lustful pursuit of older women, only this time with more success, while Christopher Atkins tries hard and fails to fully explain why he's even in this movie. Caesar Romero and Wolfman Jack are here to collect a paycheck. Tracy Walter, Mary Waronov, and the rest do try hard.The best performance is that of Stoney Jackson as the token black guy, who manages to be the funniest thing in this movie despite his lamentable rapping skills.I'll give Mortuary Academy some credit though. I didn't hate it and it has perhaps the strangest Bar Mitzvah scene ever attempted in a motion picture.

Though nowhere as original as "Eating Raoul", for those who admire that film, "Mortuary Academy" is the closest Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov ever came to duplicating that magical black comedy. If you throw out "Mortuary Academy's" absurd "Radio Werewolf" dead rock band resurrection, you are left with some outrageous dialog, especially relating to Bartel's virginal dead lover. The film does rely on some "Airplane"- type hit or miss humor, however when the campy humor gives way to black comedy, these two (Bartel and Woronov) really deliver. I rate this a solid 6.0. Comparable ratings would include "Eating Raoul" 8.0, "Chopping Mall" 5.0, and "Lust in the Dust" 5.0. - MERK

I saw this film for the second time recently and realised how lucky I was to get that chance. I picked it up in a crummy second-hand shop amongst layers of crap and paid 50p - bargain I'd say!The film is about the brothers Grim who will inherit a mortuary if they pass there mortuary exams(!), unfortunately for them the current owners (Paul and Mary) don't feel like leaving anytime soon and plot to fail the brothers Grim however good they do in class. Oh yeah, Paul is a closet Necrophilliac, and Mary is an out-of-the-closet whore.There are some really fun parts in this film; mainly the classroom scenes where we get to meet the other classmates including that guy who always plays a psycho, if you get to see this you'll know who I'm talking about. In this film he plays a psycho.It's sad to note that many have passed away since the making of this film, especially Wolfman Jack who will be sorely missed.I recommend this film to any lover of cheese, and eighties type movies. If you are broadminded and don't dismiss films such as 'Porky's' and 'Nerds' as trash (which they surely are not!), then you'll do alright with this.