MORTUARY ASSISTANT, THE
(director/writer: Jeremiah Kipp; screenwriter: based on the video game by Brian Clark, Tracee Beebee & Brian Clark; cinematographer: Kevin Duggan; editor: Don Money; music: Jeffery Allan Jones; cast: Willa Holland (Rebecca Owens), Paul Sparks (Raymond Delver), Mark Steger (The Mimic), Shelly Gibson (Grandma), Sydney Haner (teenager Rebecca), Keena Ferguson (Kelly, AA sponsor), Emily Bennett (Vallery); Runtime: 91; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Patrick Ewald, Jake Heineke, Cole Payne; Shudder; 2026)
“Rarely do video games make for good films.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
An adaptation of Brian Clark’s 2022 video game that’s filled with jump scares and has an incoherent story. It’s directed by indie filmmaker Jeremiah Kipp (“Slapface”/”Theresa & Allison”) and co-written by him, Tracee Beebee & Brian Clark, using set pieces from the video game that doesn’t translate well into the movie. The game was set in a small-town in Connecticut and was filmed in Missouri (but the film never gives us its location).
The nervous 20-something intern Rebecca Owens (Willa Holland), who lives with her grandma (Shelly Gibson), completes her probation period and becomes a mortuary assistant at the River Fields Mortuary by successfully embalming a cadaver in front of the enigmatic, elderly funeral home owner Raymond (Paul Sparks). He immediately puts her on the day shift to work alone and creepily tells her she’s not allowed to go into the locked basement without explaining why.
Becca is struggling to get over her long-time addiction and is proud that she has been sober for a year thanks to attending AA meetings and being sponsored by Kelly (Keena Ferguson).
When three badly mangled cadavers suddenly arrive, she’s ordered to work the night shift alone to embalm and cremate them. Noticing that the cadavers are moving, she gets questionable help on what to do when speaking by phone to Raymond.
When a demon attaches himself to her, she fights off the shape-shifting alien-like demon called The Mimic (Mark Steger), that has fangs, glowing eyes, is white and bald, and is the size of a person.
While being attacked, Becca hallucinates about her relationship with her deceased father Ben (John Adams) and his tragic death that took place when she was an addicted teen (Sydney Haner) and had ‘daddy issues.’ In this confused state of mind, she comes to the realization that drug possession is the same as demonic possession.
The film lost its rhythm in the middle part, after its lengthy expository.
It should be noted that rarely do video games make for good films. This freaky psychological gamer/horror film that tries hard to say something heavy over grief and addiction, is no exception.
REVIEWED ON 3/10/2026 GRADE: C
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