The Mortuary Assistant

Some people are afraid to see a dead person, i am personally not afraid of that. Since i have worked now for 27 years in health care, i have seen people die, i have seen dead people in different situations. When ever i meet someone dead i show the same amount of respect as anyone, i feel that we should respect each person who passed away and let them rest in peace. Death is a natural way of life we all will face at some point, no matter how it happens or where we may die, we will all face death when our time has come to leave this Earth. I find it very interesting how many different cultures respect the dead, for example in Maya death traditions encompas a rich, complex set of beliefs and practices centered around the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. The ancient Maya people believed that death was not an end but a sacred transition to another realm. I would love to visit some Maya temples in the future and learn about their traditions, and their fascinating history as well. Speaking of death and being close to someone dead, we have a lot of horror films that touch on the subject of taking care of dead bodies. One of my personal favourite horror films regarding death and respecting the dead is the 2016 horror film The Autopsy Of Jane Doe, directed by André Overdal ( director of the 2010 Norwegian cult film Trollhunter ). Even 10 years later this is still a horror film i watch almost every year, that is how much i love The Autopsy Of Jane Doe. This film takes place at the local morgue in Graham County, Virginia. Here we find father Tommy Tilden ( Brian Cox ), and his son Austin Tilden ( Emile Hirsch ). They help the law enforcement by doing autopsys and finding out the cause of death, no matter what shape the body is in. When they are supposed to close for the night, they get an unexpected corpse brought to them that wasn´t even planned on scheduele for the day. This seems to be a adult woman who died under msterious circumstances. As the abuduction of the body begins, both Tommy and Austin begin to raise questions about this body. Something doesn´t seem right when they find certain details inside her body. The Autopsy Of Jane Doe is really well made, includes strong acting performances and the horror elements are really strong in this film. The best film so far from director André Overdal. Speaking of the morgue and dead people, i sat down to watch a horror film called The Mortuary Assistant that looked interesting. One difference between The Autopsy Of Jane Doe and The Mortuary Assistant is that both films takes place in two completely different working locations, there are some big differences between a morgue and a mortuary. But in both films you work with dead people, which is an interesting subject for a horror film. Is this a solid summer film to enjoy this summer, or should you skip this one and just watch The Autopsy Of Jane Doe?

Rebecca Owens ( Willa Holland ) is learning her job as a mortuary assistant, being educated by her bodd, Raymond Delver ). So far she have done a great job and Raymond seems to feel hope in her working at this mortuary. Rebecca have been sober a year from alcohol addiction, she is trying to focus on doing her best and focus on her future. Raymond call her to come in one night to the mortuary, to work late instead of just daytime to prepare new corpses before they will be burned. During her night shift a lot of strange things seems to be happening at this mortuary, where Rebecca seems to be confused about what is real, and what is just an illusion.

I feel divided about The Mortuary Assistant, simply because i feel there are certain scenes that should probably have been changed and focused more on the work of a mortuary assistant. I guess you could say that there are some similar ideas to The Autopsy Of Jane Doe in this film, except for the witch influences and a religious undertone. As long as we see the bodies being worked on by mortuary assistant character Rebecca, this is where the film works best at the autopsy table. This is where you can actaully feel some solid horror influences in the air, no matter if it´s a body moving or Rebecca begin to hear certain vioces. Simple details such as this can actually make horror scenes work surprisingly well, as long as you use these tools effectively. Where i feel this film get a little bit lost is the scenes where we see Rebecca feeling confused about her memory, if this have something to do with her addiction past. The idea itself is not bad at all, i just don´t feel that this part of the film works as well as i was hoping it would do. And this is not to put any blame on lead actress Willa Holland, her performance is good and i do think she does a great job with her performance in general. I think this is more an issue from the writers of this script, or if this was something they decided to add into the script to make the character feel more personal. On a positive not i do think The Mortuary Assistant have enough good ideas and manage to create a horror film that´s quite good, i especially appreciate the mortuary location and the atmopshere of dead people. I like the screen chemistry between actors Willa Holland and Paul Sparks, where they bring some interesting dialogue regarding the work at a mortuary. In general i would say that The Mortuary Assistant is a good horror film, i just wished they could have made some smaller changes and this might have been even better. This is still a horror film that director Jeremiah Kipp ( who directed the 2021 horror film Slapface, definetely worth a watch ) manage to construct effectively enough, and i would recommend this film if you enjoyed The Autopsy Of Jane Doe. Who ever said dead people have to be boring? The Mortuary Assistant proves that dead people need to have a good time as well, i can´t blame them at all.

Rating: DDD