The Mortuary Assistant Review: The worst film since Cat in the Hat

Brighton Nelson

13 Feb 2026 — 4 min read

I'm always so down to support a new video game adaptation, especially if it's for an indie game and seems to come from a place of passion, not just profitability. While I didn't love Iron Lung, I certainly respected it, and I was excited to see if this film was in a similar vein. Did The Mortuary Assistant come out on top as a great (or at least faithful) horror adaptation, or was it doomed to the fate of many video game-to-movie adaptations before it? That's what I, Brighton Nelson of The Reel Ranker, will delve into in today's review.

It's so sad that this great poster was wasted on this...

Let's get the good out of the way first. The actual autopsies and gore effects here are done really well and, while gross, were cool to watch. The film also captures the game's general vibe effectively, and the leading performance ain't all that shabby.

Sadly, that's where the good ends here. This may be my new least favorite film of all time. Granted, I have avoided most people's least favorite movies of all time for a reason, but still, this movie is truly that terrible.

And I don't completely blame all the filmmakers here, mostly just the people who thought making this film was a good idea. They did a great job with what they had to work with... Yet, from the beginning, adapting this game to film was a monumental mistake. Nothing about the non-narrative focus of this video game plays well in the film medium, where story has to drive everything. A game in which you do repetitious, discombobulated tasks and avoid a demon? It doesn't directly translate to the big screen.

With a team passionate about the game, you can understand why they'd want to translate it directly, but 90 minutes of straight vibes isn't enough to shoulder a full-length feature. Add to that the wooden performance of the already-useless deuteragonist, the lack of character development, and the fact that the demon never truly ratchets up the stakes because it's got no narrative fuel behind it? These all contribute to a well-made film, but one so boring that I felt sad I even paid the Regal Unlimited booking fee of 53 cents.

The Reel Ranker Verdict

Reel or Unreel? - Unreel
The Reel Ranker Score: 2%
Letter Score: F-
Star Ranking: 0 out of 5

While I really appreciate the passion put into the film and acknowledge that it is technically sound, the lack of a narrative throughline holds The Mortuary Assistant back from becoming a competent video adaptation, let alone a film worth more than a 2/10. Iron Lung may have had its problems, but at least it was far better than this.

Interested in checking out my reviews for some other recent horror projects? Check them out below!