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The Mortuary Assistant is now streaming on Shudder and playing in select movie theaters, and you may have already seen a few bad reviews for it. But I had a great time with this adaptation.
It can certainly be daunting when you’re adapting a beloved video game for the screen. Markiplier’s Iron Lung performed very well at the box office lately, even if it was met with poor critic reviews overall. But the audience turnout proves people are interested in game adaptations in general, which is good news since they keep coming, and Exit 8 will soon be following in its footsteps.
Director Jeremiah Kipp told me that The Mortuary Assistant‘s game developer was ‘enormously supportive’ of the movie, and it certainly shows. While the movie does deviate from the game slightly, the location, vibe, and the character of Rebecca are portrayed incredibly well indeed.
Unfortunately, this leads Rebecca to be haunted by an actual demon, which does a very good job at tormenting her. Fan favorite manifestation The Mimic, steals the show here, as it appears to terrorize Rebecca during her terrifying shift. The creature design really is good here, and we’re left wondering what is real and what is not, bringing us up close and personal to Rebecca’s terror and hallucinations.
Rebecca is finishing her apprenticeship with mortician Raymond Delver (Paul Sparks), and these are the two characters we follow throughout the movie. He is ultimately in charge of finding employees he believes capable of combating the demons located there, and Rebecca is his latest colleague to be met with the horrors.
I do think audiences would benefit from playing the video game too, as it can provide more context. I’m not sure if those who know nothing about the game would get quite as huge a kick out of this, as part of what made this exciting for me was already being a huge fan of the game.
Like many horror movies, there is unfortunately an over-reliance on jump scares at times, and this is a point that is sure to divide audiences. Whether you love them or hate them, you can be the judge of how effective they are.
All in all, this is a strong adaptation, and there’s lots for fans of the game to enjoy, especially if you’re keen to expand on the lore and backstory. Don’t go into this expecting a shot-for-shot remake of the game, and instead, it should be treated as a very worthy expansion.
If you’re looking for a great supernatural horror with plenty of scares, and a deeper exploration about character’s traumas, this is definitely the movie for you. Director Jeremiah Kipp revealed that “a filmmaker needs a deep personal connection to the material”, and you can definitely feel that here.
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