The trailer for the upcoming “The Mortuary Assistant” horror film was released Jan. 16. Adapted from DreadXP studio’s game of its namesake, this is the next installment of the rising game-to-film adaptations trend.
The 2022 indie game, which serves as the inspiration for the film, reached popularity primarily through well-known YouTubers playing the game, which skyrocketed the game to success.
It follows recently certified mortician Rebecca Owens as she works her first shift alone at the mortuary. Rebecca quickly discovers she is being haunted by a demon. She is informed in a phone call from her boss that she has been locked in the building. With no choice, Rebecca defeats the demon by identifying which of the bodies in the mortuary it has possessed and performing a demon-banishing ritual.
The gameplay centers around completing mundane mortuary tasks as Rebecca faces increasingly bizarre hallucinations, while trying to banish the demon.
With a release date of Feb. 13, “The Mortuary Assistant” film comes with little promotion and publicity prior to its release. In the trailer, the movie appears to follow the plot of the game very closely, although of course, drawing it out for the purposes of being a movie-length plot.
The trailer touts the film’s production being the same studio as the hit “Terrifier” franchise, known for its extreme violence and gore. Fans also get a preview of the plot of the film, seemingly to be exactly as in the games. The rest of the trailer is filled with jump scares and horrifying moments from the upcoming movie, highlighting the gruesome happenings at the mortuary.
It has become quite common in recent years for films to be based on video games; it remains to be seen if this formula truly produces quality movies. For the horror genre, especially with the release of the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” movies, game-based films are becoming increasingly prevalent.
Although these specific instances were popular, they were not very critically acclaimed films. “The Mortuary Assistant” may fall into the same path, although it is too soon to say.
Another concern for the adaptation is that a key part of the game’s format is completing the tedious tasks that are a part of Rebecca’s job at the mortuary. These duties create a sense of immersion for the player, as a sense of suspense is more effectively created through having to perform non-horror related tasks. The occurrence of supernatural events in the game is more shocking with the implementation of the work-related requirements.
When adapted to film, although Rebecca will still be working in the mortuary, it will lose immersion for viewers, as well as some of the novelty that brought the “The Mortuary Assistant” game to success. Without this feature, the movie may be less unique and more like an unoriginal horror that has been seen before. This all remains to be seen once the movie is actually released, but it does raise some concern.
In comparison to past films about possession, “The Mortuary Assistant” still provides an original take on the genre, even if the film has other issues. Typical possession films, such as “The Exorcist,” usually involve a priest and other religious elements. Many other movies follow the same formula as “The Exorcist,” solidifying possession horror as a predictable subgenre of its own.
Assuming it follows much of the same plot as the game, the film offers a novel perspective as a regular person is faced with the task of banishing the demon. It could be refreshing to see this unusual take on the genre, especially in one as oversaturated as possession horror.
“The Mortuary Assistant” has a lot to prove for the trend of game-to-film adaptations, but it also seems to bring an interesting spin on typical horror tropes. In just one week, audiences will be able to judge for themselves whether or not it is a worthy addition to the genre.
