We’re only slightly over a month into 2026 and it has already been a *rough* year for video game adaptations. First we had Return to Silent Hill, which our very own EoM Senior Critic Hunter Heilman, fan of the franchise, didn’t particularly care for (more of that here). Then I went to see The Iron Lung, which I have not reviewed, but to say I did not enjoy the movie is the nicest and briefest thing I will say about that film. And now we have Jeremiah Kipp along with screenwriters Tracee Beebe and Brian Clarke (who also made the video game) adapting The Mortuary Assistant, which I have not played, but I’m also a very casual gamer. The results are better than the aforementioned adaptation I saw, and I liked it more than Hunter did Silent Hill, but there is still a lot left to be desired and more scares to be delivered for the eerie assistant job to be more impactful and unnerving.

Willa Holland as Rebecca Owens in THE MORTUARY ASSISTANT. Photo courtesy of Epic Pictures, Dread Presents via Seismic Releasing.

The film focuses on Rebecca Owens (Willa Holland) as she is a recent graduate from mortuary sciences and takes a night job at River Fields Mortuary to start her career and get more hands-on experience. Her boss is Raymond Delver (Paul Sparks) who insists she stays on the night shift and doesn’t deter from this, despite her willingness to work any shifts and to trade as needed. She sees it as odd, but doesn’t give it much of a second thought. There is something inherently uneasy and disturbing about mortuary work, and doing it alone after hours in an older facility sends a certified chill down my spine, but the atmosphere created here helps extenuate this eerie feeling to create something engaging. However, when things start to get weird and demonic, Rebecca tries to navigate if what she is seeing and experiencing is real or just part of her psyche slowly falling apart from the isolating nature of the job she just undertook.

Paul Sparks as Raymond Delver in THE MORTUARY ASSISTANT. Photo courtesy of Epic Pictures, Dread Presents via Seismic Releasing.

While there are some issues here with the film, they don’t lay with either Holland (Arrow) or Sparks (The Greatest Showman), who both create anxiety and fear with their performances and dread that cannot be shaken. The problem isn’t with the style, formula, or creativeness either — the story of a new graduate working extensively during the night shift at the mortuary with some other-worldly demonic possessions occurring and her trying to navigate that situation is eerie and effective. The movie really loses its steam in the fact that it feels almost *too* much like a video game and less so of a film adaptation of a video game, like watching MortuaryDude75 on YouTube playing a walkthrough without ever choosing the “wrong” option and having fatal consequences and restarting. This may be the problem with adapting closed and/or shorter video games and not being able to creatively explore outside of that world, but the problem exists nonetheless. Looking into the complexity of the game, a single run-through takes about 2 hours while a complete run-through of every single playable option can take 19, so there is content within the source material to expand on and not deviate from — there was just something lacking.

A scene from THE MORTUARY ASSISTANT. Photo courtesy of Epic Pictures, Dread Presents via Seismic Releasing.

While the atmosphere and performances in The Mortuary Assistant bring an uneasy, queasy, and unsettling vibe to the viewing experience, but the paint-by-numbers execution removes anything that helps put the audience in Rebecca’s shoes, making it clear it is in fact something we are consuming rather than something we are experiencing. Watching a horror movie and feeling like you’re in the character’s shoes are two different experiences, and the former creates a better experience while the latter feels safe and less engrossing. While nothing explicitly wrong with either, something that is supposed to evoke fear and sit with you and leave you unnerved missing the mark is a disappointing experience nonetheless.

In theaters February 13^th, 2026.
Available on Shudder March 27^th, 2026.

For more information, head to the official Epic Pictures The Mortuary Assistant webpage.

Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.

Categories: In Theaters, Reviews, streaming

Tags: adaptation, Brian Clarke, DREAD, Epic Pictures, horror, Jeremiah Kipp, Keena Ferguson, Mark Steger, Paul Sparks, Seismic Releasing, Shudder, streaming, The Mortuary Assistant, thriller, Tracee Beebe, video game, Willa Holland