The Mortician review: HBO true crime series ends with a scandalous confession designed to shock and awe
Depending on where you live in the world, the first episode of HBO's new true crime series, The Mortician, will either be scandalous or sloppy. In the 1980s, a man named David Sconce took over his family's respectable funeral home business, and took it in an altogether macabre direction, all in the name of aggressive expansion. But the sort of shenanigans that he got up to would hardly draw a second glance in India. A lot of what he was convicted of doing would be brushed off as 'jugaad' here. In the United States, however — especially the wealthy Pasadena neighbourhood where Sconce conducted his activities — a scandal erupted.
It was discovered that Sconce was mass-cremating bodies and essentially scooping out ashes from large barrels, and presenting them to the families of the deceased. They had no idea that the urn being given to them contained the remains of several dead people mixed together, and not just their loved one. Sconce said that this was a common practice in funeral homes, and that most businesses would be lying if they pretend that it wasn't. You could imagine white people getting all hot and bothered about something like this, but in India, where the cost of human life is negligible, it would be more surprising if there was no skullduggery going on.
Also read – Last Stop Larrimah movie review: The best true crime documentary of the year so far; stranger-than-fiction storytelling at its finest
Although the first episode of The Mortician ends on this rather underwhelming note, things only get more shocking from there. It is revealed that Sconce's own parents — they were pillars of the community — had warned his would-be wife about him, and that, too, on the day of their marriage. It's enough to hook you in. The three-part series also features interviews with the ex-cons that Sconce hired to do the dirty work for him. But it's one thing to hear stories of how these men squeezed dead bodies into incinerators without a care for who's who. It's another thing to hear them admit that they were stealing all the jewellery and gold off these bodies for Sconce to sell off.
In total, he is said to have cremated over 20,000 people. He presumably stole the jewellery off most of them. He is also said to have sold off their kidneys, livers, and brains to the highest bidder. Things get murkier when Sconce's business rivals begin dropping dead, shortly after having threatened to tell on him. Not only does the show bring back several of Sconce's old associates, it also features news reporters, members of the community who were conned by him, and other assorted characters who had run-ins with him over the years. Not a single one of them has a nice thing to say about Sconce.
He's described as the kind of guy who'd always have a gun on his person, and was routinely finding ways to scam the system. At one point in the '80s, his business was booming to such a degree that he set up a new facility a few miles out of town. He got caught because a Holocaust survivor living in the area was triggered by the smell of burning flesh in the air. He told the authorities that it reminded him of the concentration camps; he was sure of it.
Sconce's arrest proved one thing: he might've been a good businessman, but he was a lousy criminal. For one thing, he wouldn't stop threatening to kill people; for another, he was always risking what he had by attracting more and more attention to himself. In an unexpected coup, the filmmakers are able to get Sconce himself to sit down for an extended interview. While he admits to having conducted mass cremations and robbed the bodies off all their valuables, he absolutely denies having anything to do with his dead rivals.
Read more – Fred and Rose West – A British Horror Story review: Netflix delivers a true crime tale of Nithari-level nastiness; a deeply upsetting peek at pure evil
Unlike the many true crime series on Netflix, The Mortician is a far classier affair. The tone isn't lurid; it doesn't come across as exploitative. Most notably, it doesn't have the look and feel of something that was shot over an afternoon. The filmmakers have taken great care to give Sconce's many victims a chance to speak about the trauma he inflicted upon them by desecrating the bodies of their family members. Others reflect on how tragic the case proved to be for the largely peaceful Pasadena community.
Nothing, however, can prepare you for the show's climax. It would be improper to reveal what happens. But a direct comparison could be made to the conclusion of another HBO true crime documentary; certainly, The Mortician isn't interested in leaving things open to interpretation. It has a firm idea about Sconce, and it does everything that a non-fiction series can do — editing, music, framing — in order to make this stance crystal clear. The Mortician isn't top-tier true crime, but it sure comes close.
The Mortician
Director – Joshua Rofé
Rating – 4/5
Rohan Naahar is an assistant editor at Indian Express online. He covers pop-culture across formats and mediums. He is a 'Rotten Tomatoes-approved' critic and a member of the Film Critics Guild of India. He previously worked with the Hindustan Times, where he wrote hundreds of film and television reviews, produced videos, and interviewed the biggest names in Indian and international cinema. At the Express, he writes a column titled Post Credits Scene, and has hosted a podcast called Movie Police.
You can find him on X at @RohanNaahar, and write to him at rohan.naahar@indianexpress.com. He is also on LinkedIn and Instagram. ... Read More
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Indian Express
5 hours ago
- Indian Express
The Mortician review: HBO true crime series ends with a scandalous confession designed to shock and awe
Depending on where you live in the world, the first episode of HBO's new true crime series, The Mortician, will either be scandalous or sloppy. In the 1980s, a man named David Sconce took over his family's respectable funeral home business, and took it in an altogether macabre direction, all in the name of aggressive expansion. But the sort of shenanigans that he got up to would hardly draw a second glance in India. A lot of what he was convicted of doing would be brushed off as 'jugaad' here. In the United States, however — especially the wealthy Pasadena neighbourhood where Sconce conducted his activities — a scandal erupted. It was discovered that Sconce was mass-cremating bodies and essentially scooping out ashes from large barrels, and presenting them to the families of the deceased. They had no idea that the urn being given to them contained the remains of several dead people mixed together, and not just their loved one. Sconce said that this was a common practice in funeral homes, and that most businesses would be lying if they pretend that it wasn't. You could imagine white people getting all hot and bothered about something like this, but in India, where the cost of human life is negligible, it would be more surprising if there was no skullduggery going on. Also read – Last Stop Larrimah movie review: The best true crime documentary of the year so far; stranger-than-fiction storytelling at its finest Although the first episode of The Mortician ends on this rather underwhelming note, things only get more shocking from there. It is revealed that Sconce's own parents — they were pillars of the community — had warned his would-be wife about him, and that, too, on the day of their marriage. It's enough to hook you in. The three-part series also features interviews with the ex-cons that Sconce hired to do the dirty work for him. But it's one thing to hear stories of how these men squeezed dead bodies into incinerators without a care for who's who. It's another thing to hear them admit that they were stealing all the jewellery and gold off these bodies for Sconce to sell off. In total, he is said to have cremated over 20,000 people. He presumably stole the jewellery off most of them. He is also said to have sold off their kidneys, livers, and brains to the highest bidder. Things get murkier when Sconce's business rivals begin dropping dead, shortly after having threatened to tell on him. Not only does the show bring back several of Sconce's old associates, it also features news reporters, members of the community who were conned by him, and other assorted characters who had run-ins with him over the years. Not a single one of them has a nice thing to say about Sconce. He's described as the kind of guy who'd always have a gun on his person, and was routinely finding ways to scam the system. At one point in the '80s, his business was booming to such a degree that he set up a new facility a few miles out of town. He got caught because a Holocaust survivor living in the area was triggered by the smell of burning flesh in the air. He told the authorities that it reminded him of the concentration camps; he was sure of it. Sconce's arrest proved one thing: he might've been a good businessman, but he was a lousy criminal. For one thing, he wouldn't stop threatening to kill people; for another, he was always risking what he had by attracting more and more attention to himself. In an unexpected coup, the filmmakers are able to get Sconce himself to sit down for an extended interview. While he admits to having conducted mass cremations and robbed the bodies off all their valuables, he absolutely denies having anything to do with his dead rivals. Read more – Fred and Rose West – A British Horror Story review: Netflix delivers a true crime tale of Nithari-level nastiness; a deeply upsetting peek at pure evil Unlike the many true crime series on Netflix, The Mortician is a far classier affair. The tone isn't lurid; it doesn't come across as exploitative. Most notably, it doesn't have the look and feel of something that was shot over an afternoon. The filmmakers have taken great care to give Sconce's many victims a chance to speak about the trauma he inflicted upon them by desecrating the bodies of their family members. Others reflect on how tragic the case proved to be for the largely peaceful Pasadena community. Nothing, however, can prepare you for the show's climax. It would be improper to reveal what happens. But a direct comparison could be made to the conclusion of another HBO true crime documentary; certainly, The Mortician isn't interested in leaving things open to interpretation. It has a firm idea about Sconce, and it does everything that a non-fiction series can do — editing, music, framing — in order to make this stance crystal clear. The Mortician isn't top-tier true crime, but it sure comes close. The Mortician Director – Joshua Rofé Rating – 4/5 Rohan Naahar is an assistant editor at Indian Express online. He covers pop-culture across formats and mediums. He is a 'Rotten Tomatoes-approved' critic and a member of the Film Critics Guild of India. He previously worked with the Hindustan Times, where he wrote hundreds of film and television reviews, produced videos, and interviewed the biggest names in Indian and international cinema. At the Express, he writes a column titled Post Credits Scene, and has hosted a podcast called Movie Police. You can find him on X at @RohanNaahar, and write to him at He is also on LinkedIn and Instagram. ... Read More
Time of India
20 hours ago
- Time of India
James Gunn opens up about his favourite DC project which has "not been announced at all"
DC Studios co-CEO has many projects in the pipeline, with his 'Superman' releasing July 11, season 2 of 'Peacemaker' nearly wrapped for an August premiere, and the 'Lanterns' HBO series halfway through filming, reported Variety. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now However, Gunn is also working on a few TV and film projects, which he has not revealed yet. One project in particular, he kept very quiet because he didn't want anyone to steal the idea, Gunn said, "My favourite thing has not been announced at was one thing that I knew about from the very beginning, that when I pitched to David Zaslav what the DCU would be, I pitched to him, but we did not announce in that first meeting because I felt like it was too easy to rip off by another company. And so that's one of the main things. " Gunn said he'll "probably" direct one of his new mystery projects. "Well, I always leave saying I'm going to direct something till I'm actually done with the screenplay, and then I say, 'Yeah, I want to do this.' But it's probably what I will direct. Yeah, probably, to be totally realistic. Yes, probably," he said, reported Variety. The ace director shared that when a well-known actor pitched him a project, he told him he was looking for a "masterpiece." "I told it to one person who came in and pitched something that was an Elseworlds tale," he said. "It was a very, very, very famous movie actor. I said, 'It depends on how the screenplay comes it's a masterpiece, I'll make it, but it has to be a masterpiece.' And he is like, 'I don't know if it's a masterpiece.' He got all funny. He's still working on it, though. He is still trying to do it, so we'll see. Masterpiece might be pushing it, but it's got to be really great. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now " Gunn didn't just tease upcoming movies. He also mentioned another "favourite thing" that's a TV project. "Then there's another TV show that's my favourite thing in all of this, that is hopefully getting made soon," he said. "It's just my favourite thing. And then there's the s--! I don't know what I'm allowed to say or not say, but there are a couple of other movies that are being written, one of which is in pretty good shape, another which is kind of closer to the start, but we feel positive about. And then there's a thing I'm writing, which I think it's okay. ... So what will be the next thing after 'Clayface' is not 100 per cent certain, but it's pretty certain," reported Variety.
India.com
20 hours ago
- India.com
James Gunn Reveals His Favorite DC Project That's Still Under Wraps
Washington: DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has many projects in the pipeline, with his 'Superman' releasing July 11, season 2 of 'Peacemaker' nearly wrapped for an August premiere, and the 'Lanterns' HBO series halfway through filming, reported Variety. However, Gunn is also working on a few TV and film projects, which he has not revealed yet. One project in particular, he kept very quiet because he didn't want anyone to steal the idea, Gunn said, "My favourite thing has not been announced at was one thing that I knew about from the very beginning, that when I pitched to David Zaslav what the DCU would be, I pitched to him, but we did not announce in that first meeting because I felt like it was too easy to rip off by another company. And so that's one of the main things." Gunn said he'll "probably" direct one of his new mystery projects. "Well, I always leave saying I'm going to direct something till I'm actually done with the screenplay, and then I say, 'Yeah, I want to do this.' But it's probably what I will direct. Yeah, probably, to be totally realistic. Yes, probably," he said, reported Variety. The ace director shared that when a well-known actor pitched him a project, he told him he was looking for a "masterpiece." "I told it to one person who came in and pitched something that was an Elseworlds tale," he said. "It was a very, very, very famous movie actor. I said, 'It depends on how the screenplay comes it's a masterpiece, I'll make it, but it has to be a masterpiece.' And he is like, 'I don't know if it's a masterpiece.' He got all funny. He's still working on it, though. He is still trying to do it, so we'll see. Masterpiece might be pushing it, but it's got to be really great." Gunn didn't just tease upcoming movies. He also mentioned another "favourite thing" that's a TV project. "Then there's another TV show that's my favourite thing in all of this, that is hopefully getting made soon," he said. "It's just my favourite thing. And then there's the s--! I don't know what I'm allowed to say or not say, but there are a couple of other movies that are being written, one of which is in pretty good shape, another which is kind of closer to the start, but we feel positive about. And then there's a thing I'm writing, which I think it's okay.... So what will be the next thing after 'Clayface' is not 100 per cent certain, but it's pretty certain," reported Variety.
