Mausoleum (1983)

Mausoleum is a 1983 American horror film starring Bobbie Bresee as a housewife who becomes possessed by an ancient demon and terrorizes those around her. The film costars Marjoe Gortner and Norman Burton. The film was made primarily for the growing home video market, but also saw a limited theatrical release in the United States.

Plot[edit | edit source]

As a young girl, Susan Walker (Julie Christie Murray) flees her mother's funeral and runs to an old mausoleum, which opens its doors for her. Inside is a demon that seems to captivate her. Twenty years later, Susan (Bobbie Bresee) visits her mother's grave and is drawn to the same mausoleum, where she again goes into a trance. She wakes up at home with her husband (Gortner), unable to remember how she got home.

Susan is now possessed by the demon from the crypt, which begins to exert more and more control over her life. It causes her to kill people with supernatural powers, including her gardener, the replacement gardener, and her own aunt. She also begins to transform into a demonic creature.

Susan's husband takes her to Dr. Andrew (Burton), who hypnotizes her and watches in horror as the demon takes control. He researches her family's history and learns that each of their first-born daughters, including Susan's mother, died young after being possessed by the same demon. Using a crown of thorns from the demon's crypt, Dr. Andrew is able to banish the demon and save Susan.

Young Susan enters the mausoleum
The demon attacks another relative
He flees from the crypt but dies
The demon possesses Susan
Susan returns years later
She is drawn to the crypt again
Entranced by the green
In a trance, she enters the mausoleum
She wakes up at home
At a nightclub, a drunk man angers Susan
She sets his car on fire
Trapping him inside with her demon powers
Until the entire car is engulfed
Susan returns to normal
But as soon as she's alone
Susan's mind goes blank
And the demon begins to take over
Susan is fully possessed
Possessed Susan toys with the gardener
Seduces him
Lures him upstairs...
Then brutally kills him
Susan's aunt wonders what's wrong with her
Too late, she finds out!
Levitated AND torn apart. Ouch.
Elsie, Susan's maid, investigates a strange green glow and discovers Demon Susan.
Elsie, the only sensible character in the film (or in the entire 1980s, for that matter) immediately leaves the house and survives the movie.
Susan visits Dr Andrew
He suggests revisiting her old memories
He uses a crystal to hypnotize her
She slips into a trance
Hypnotized
Dr Andrew takes her deeper
She begins to recall her first trip to the mausoleum
And the things she saw inside
And as Dr Andrew watches,,,
She begins to turn into a demon
Fortunately, a hypnotized demon
"Did I cluck like a chicken?"
Dr Andrew calls for backup
Hello, Gardener #2
Right this way...
Uh oh
Goodbye Gardener #2
Everyone needs a hobby, right?
Hubby Oliver comes home
"Things have gone downhill since the housekeeper ran away in terror!"
"Honey, was our phone always covered in blood ?"
Susan says she's too tired to explain
Susan steals a painting at a mall art gallery
When the owner chases her...
She tosses him to his death
Susan lures her husband to the bathtub
And fully transforms into a demon
"Consider this a divorce"
Susan heads to the attic
Dr. Andrew finds her there, surrounded by corpses
The demon takes over Susan
Dr Andrew slaps the crown of thorns on her head
The demon tries to resist
But it is driven back into its crypt
A tearful Susan watches it depart
That's some crazy color scheme
They leave the mausoleum, the curse broken for good
OR IS IT?