The Mortuary Assistant

Everything is here to make this a great horror – a creepy setting, extensive backstory, a strong fan following, but something doesn’t quite hit right. Instead of playing to these strengths, the film leans more into horror tropes (jump scares, a lightening storm that strikes at the exact right moments, creepy pasta looking cg creatures). This really is a film for fans of the game. If like myself you've not played it, this adaptation feels like a rushed effort full of weird graphic choices and plot devices. It could do with time dedicated to giving everyone an opportunity to immerse in its world and enjoy the carnage that lies ahead. There's a lot of puzzle based moments, reminiscent of an escape room experience which again plays well in the realm of RPGs. Throw in confusing time loops and flashbacks without much exposition and it leaves air for confusion to creep in. You spend more time trying to trace the missing puzzle pieces of story together than being able to let the narrative unfold as it should. Some scenes have an odd looking visual style. The foreground is fine, but the background feels all digital and comes across as cheap looking on film. After the screening I checked out streams of the gameplay and it's clear to see now when compared this is a replication of the look and feel. They're trying to immerse those fans into an expended universe which is great except it doesn't do the film any justice. Ultimately I feel The Mortuary Assistant falls into the same traps as many video game adaptations. Trying to replicate the exact style, feel and gameplay does not work. It needs to feel like you're on a journey with the characters, not wanting to reach through the screen and guide them through impossible logic, puzzle set pieces and unfathomable plot. Silent Hill is a grade A example of this - a huge fan base that's let down by the over ambition to cover everything in a franchise in one feature film and loses its audience completely. All that aside, there are a elements I like, mostly the practical effects. We have oozing wounds, corpses with their guts out and pus for everyone which are always shining moments for independent filmmaking. There's some great foley work and sound design too, with a memorable moment of a jaw grinding and cracking as they open it to insert the embalming tube which made me gag! If you liked The Mortuary Assistant game this will be for you. But for those without that experience, proceed with an open mind. Much like Iron Lung, these adaptations won't be for everyone. On the upside, I definitely want to play the game now!