This horror movie, based on Brian Clarke’s popular indie video game of the same name, leads with its biggest strength: practical effects. A body is being prepped for cremation by Rebecca (Willa Holland) and Raymond (Paul Sparks), and the various embalming techniques are recreated convincingly – even lovingly. This parallels the game, in which a player can learn more about embalming techniques than is possible from most forms of on-screen entertainment.
It’s this element of simulation – a major part of the game’s appeal – where the film works best, albeit without the original’s interactivity. The Mortuary Assistant succeeds in putting you in the shoes of someone wiring a cadaver’s jaw, injecting chemicals into arteries and removing fluids from various body cavities. Needless to say, the audience for this aspect is perhaps a little more specific than a run of the mill horror movie.
