The Mortuary Assistant is based on the bestselling 2022 indie game of the same name, with this live-action adaptation attempting to replicate the simplicity, atmosphere, and scares that made the game effective.

Much like the source material, the film follows an up-and-coming mortician named Rebecca (Willa Holland) as she completes her work under the secretive local mortician, Raymond (Paul Sparks). Now confident in her abilities, Rebecca is suddenly called in one night to help with an urgent job, which she naturally obliges. What begins as a routine night of processing the recently deceased quickly descends into a nightmare filled with demons, ancient symbols, puzzle-solving, and a lot of wandering in the dark.

Not much happens during the film’s first quarter beyond Rebecca repeatedly failing to notice corpses moving around her. However, things pick up near the midpoint when the true reason she’s there is revealed, but even then, the movie struggles to deliver much of the creepiness that the game offered.

In fact, many scenes lacked atmosphere or tension, resulting in misfired scares that might’ve worked had there been proper buildup. Though there were occasional highlights—most notably the unsettling white, bug-eyed smiling demon and a red-eyed entity—but these instances were few and far between. For the most part, the scares felt empty and uninspired.

Much of what worked in the game failed to translate well here, with some scenes unfolding as if Rebecca herself was following in-game instructions. To make matters worse, there are several repetitive moments which see Rebecca questioning her reality, leaving her confused and frightened—much like how I felt while watching the movie (minus the frightened part). 

Ultimately, it’s a competent but hollow movie that had potential to be good had the filmmakers spent more time developing its scares and central characters, especially Raymond. As it stands, it's a mediocre pic with some decent practical effects and a handful of semi-creepy moments, but not much else.