The Mortuary Assistant is a horror video game by a single developer, Brian Clarke, that became very successful as an indie game. It has spawned a live-action film adaptation, with Jeremiah Kipp attached as the director. The film follows Rebecca Owens, portrayed by Willa Holland, an assistant at a mortuary who starts to experience supernatural events.

Adapting a video game into a movie is challenging, whether it’s making a horror game or an adventure game. The filmmakers need to walk a fine line in making sure that fans are happy as well as newcomers to the franchise.

“When you’re taking something that already has an existing fan base, one of the things you want to do is try to put as many things in there that please that fan base,” Clarke tells Nerd Reactor. “You can’t please everybody, and you can’t make all the references that you want to make. Also, you’re trying to make something for an audience that maybe hasn’t even heard of the game before. You need to walk in both of those worlds.”

The tide is turning for films and series based on video games. For example, the first season of Fallout and the Sonic the Hedgehog films have been praised by fans and critics.

“Well, I think that The Last of Us was hugely inspiring, because when you played the game, you felt like you were watching an HBO series,” Kipp said. “You were like, ‘Oh, these are characters with character arcs and narrative arcs, and in many ways, it felt like watching a cinematic experience. And indeed, by having characters and a story, you could easily translate that into a visual medium like a series. And I think The Mortuary Assistant tapped into that as well because you’ve got Rebecca Owens and Raymond Delver, who are really strong archetypes that the audience can hook on to.”

An important ingredient in adapting a property is being able to bring the creator on board.

“Coming from a development background, I was really timid at the start to be involved in the process, and I had this idea of I’m going to let people who are experienced in making films make films, right?” Clarke said. “I didn’t want to come in and be like, ‘I’m the Mortuary Assistant guy, I know what to do.’ But over time, getting more involved and really connecting on the project helped us figure out what makes a good video game adaptation, what needed to come from the game, and what could just be little nods in the background.”

“I always considered Brian to be an essential element,” Kipp explained. “I think where a lot of game-to-film adaptations have gone wrong is not including the developer in the process. I wanted to hardwire Brian in from the beginning, and I also understood from the beginning that Brian built this entire game from the ground up. The game is essentially all Brian’s subconscious, and I wanted Brian’s subconscious to be with us the entire time. It led to many conversations between Brian and me where we talked about the dark depths underneath, so that we both are working the same underpinnings and the same subtext.”

The Mortuary Assistant will be available to stream on Shudder on Friday, March 27, 2026.