The Mortuary Assistant (2026)
Directed by: Jeremiah Kipp
Premise: Based on the video game. A newly graduated mortician (Willa Holland) begins her apprenticeship. When she’s called in to cover a night shift, spooky things start happening.
What Works: The filmmakers bring some style to The Mortuary Assistant. Much of the movie is set in darkly lit medical facilities and the look of the film mixes clinical sterility with organic horror. The lighting is effective at creating mood but also allowing enough detail that we can follow the action. The scenes of the mortuary workers doing their jobs include convincing gore effects and unusual angles that highlight mortuary procedures. The Mortuary Assistant begins as a straightforward story of a troubled woman beginning her career and then pushes into surreal territory. Director Jeremiah Kipp demonstrates some talent for staging scenes in ways that set up surprise reveals. The cast is led by Willa Holland as Rebecca. She’s good in the role, suggesting the character’s professional competence but also her emotional vulnerability.
What Doesn’t: The Mortuary Assistant begins as a mystery with Rebecca investigating corpses with unusual scars. It then veers into a supernatural direction with elements of a demonic possession story. Things get off to an unsteady start and become increasingly incoherent. The movie just doesn’t make sense. Like some video game adaptations, The Mortuary Assistant feels like the filmmakers are going out of their way to include images and plot points. As a result, scenes don’t follow logically from one to the next. Supernatural stories get some latitude for reality but there ought to be some baseline logic and a path or formula for the heroes to succeed. The Mortuary Assistant doesn’t have that. Rebecca experiences a series of delusions that blend the haunting and real life but to no discernible end. The demonic force doesn’t have a goal of its own and there’s no method to stop it. Much of the movie plays as a random collection of scares. There’s no sense of dramatic momentum. As a protagonist, Rebecca doesn’t have much volition. She’s mostly pushed along by her boss and the supernatural forces but she doesn’t really get to act heroically. The performance by Paul Sparks as the mortuary supervisor is supposed to suggest ambiguity but he just sounds stiff and confused. The film ends with a lengthy shot of the demon. It looks like a costume someone purchased at Spirit Halloween.
Disc extras: Featurette.
Bottom Line: The Mortuary Assistant is a frustrating movie. It’s made with some style but none of the frights mean anything. The movie is an incoherent grab bag of spooky scenes.
Episode: #1119 (October 4, 2026)