The Mortuary Assistant – Movie Review (2/5)

THE MORTUARY ASSISTANT is a horror movie with a demonic plot. I was completely on board at first, but then it lost me. It dragged on for far too long, and it wasn’t long before I had a good idea of where this was heading. The casting works well, which is certainly a redeeming factor. Read our full The Mortuary Assistant movie review here!

THE MORTUARY ASSISTANT is a horror movie that covers a lot of horror subgenres. In this one horror movie, you’ll be getting body horror, folk horror, monster horror, psychological horror, and supernatural horror. Of course, with a demonic plot, it’s often the case that a lot of these subgenres and horror niches become part of it.

I was very happy with the opening of this horror movie, but it evolved in ways that did not work for me. One thing was the visual representation of the demonic force, which did nothing for me, but the pacing was what truly lost me. Despite having a runtime of just an hour and a half, it felt so much longer.

Continue reading our The Mortuary Assistant movie review below. Find it in theaters from Friday the 13th of February, 2026, and on Shudder later.

Yet another video game-based horror movie

With The Mortuary Assistant, we’re getting yet another horror movie based on a video game. I have to say that I have historically not been thrilled with those. The huge exceptions are several Resident Evil movies (not the series, though), and the amazing The Last of Us series adaptation.

It all begins with the newly hired mortician, Rebecca Owens (Willa Holland), who is asked to take an overnight shift at the morgue. It’s her first one ever, but she’s not scared about being there. In fact, she feels more comfortable around dead bodies than most living humans. Also, she has a great respect and care for these bodies.

Unfortunately, something strange is going on, and mortician Rebecca Owens falls victim to a demonic entity. This will possess her, but before we get to that, she will already have witnessed very strange things that she can’t quite explain.

Willa Holland does everything right

The Mortuary Assistant title character, Rebecca Owens, is portrayed wonderfully by Willa Holland (Based on a True Story). I cannot fault her performance in this movie at all. It’s the story that focuses so much on style over content, and it makes for a quite boring watch, as it takes forever for the plot to move forward.

Well, that’s how I felt, anyway.

Also in the cast are Paul Sparks and John Adams (yes, of the iconic and always amazing filmmaking Adams family), who both also deliver strong performances. I really wanted to like The Mortuary Assistant due to both the cast and core plot, but it just did not work for me. All I can think is that the pace and storytelling are what dragged it down.

Watch The Mortuary Assistant in theaters now or on Shudder soon

Jeremiah Kipp is the director of The Mortuary Assistant, and the screenplay comes from Tracee Beebe and Brian Clarke. This is a film adaptation of the best-selling horror video game created by Brian Clarke (The Jester producer). I am not familiar with the game, but I can see that this horror movie is clearly based on a game. Especially, as the lead character is going through all the motions of a video game.

In the press material, it’s revealed that The Mortuary Assistant is “Named One of IndieWire’s ‘Buzziest New Nightmares’ In 2026”. I mean, they also have Return to Silent Hill on that very same list alongside Mother of Flies, which is a good horror movie.

Essentially, the IndieWire “Buzziest New Nightmares” list features most of the horror movies being released in 2026. In that sense, it isn’t quite the honor it sounds like. We also have a list of horror movies coming out in 2026, which you can find here >

I’m not sure exactly what went wrong with this movie, as I enjoyed Jeremiah Kipp’s feature film Slapface from 2021. While I am obviously not thrilled with this movie, I do think it might work better in a theater showing on a Friday the 13th. So, if you’re looking for a classic demonic horror movie to watch in the theater on this day, then you could give it a shot.

The Mortuary Assistant is out only in theaters from Friday, February 13, 2026. Also, it will be on Shudder from March 27, 2026.

Details

Director: Jeremiah Kipp
Writers: Tracee Beebe, Brian Clarke
Cast: Willa Holland, Paul Sparks, John Adams