EXCLUSIVE: Willa Holland (Arrow) and Paul Sparks (House of Cards) will lead The Mortuary Assistant, a feature adaptation of the bestselling horror video game created by Brian Clarke, which is currently in production in Missouri.
Hailing from Epic Pictures and its specialty horror label Dread, The Mortuary Assistant centers on Rebecca Owens, a recent mortuary science graduate who takes a night shift job at River Fields Mortuary. Initially, the job seems straightforward — embalming bodies, completing paperwork, and keeping things tidy. But once Rebecca starts working the night shift, things take a dark turn.
Holland plays Rebecca, the young woman confronting terrifying supernatural forces, with Sparks as Raymond Delver, Rebecca’s mysterious mortician boss, who appears to be a mentor, but also a potential threat. Directed by Jeremiah Kipp, the film is billed as a new chapter in the story that will expand on the game’s world and mythology, delving deeper into the lore of the demonic entities plaguing River Fields.
Tracee Beebe and Brian Clarke adapted the screenplay. Patrick Ewald’s Epic Pictures is producing via its horror outfit, Dread, alongside Cole Payne’s Traverse Media. The production is financed by Epic Pictures and the UK-based Creativity Capital. Published in April 2023, The Mortuary Assistant was released originally on the Steam platform for PCs, though its now also available on Xbox, Playstation, and the Nintendo Switch.
In a statement to Deadline, director Kipp said in part that both he and the game’s creator, Clarke, “respond to character-driven storytelling within a disturbing horror space. Because his influences have been largely cinematic, the whole process has organically felt like an expansion of his unique gameplay. We’ve captured the atmosphere of singular dread that players responded to so powerfully – this movie will be scary as hell.”
For Clarke, “Seeing the mortuary assistant evolve over the years from a small prototype to a full feature film is beyond anything I could have imagined as a solo developer. Jeremiah Kipp is an insanely skilled director, and it has been one of the highlights of my life working with him. Jeremiah and the entire team at Epic Pictures have done an amazing job capturing the spirit of the game while adding their own unique cinematic flair. It is an honor to see Willa and Paul bring these characters to life along with the rest of the film crew. I feel extremely fortunate and can’t wait for fans to see The Mortuary Assistant expand into new territory.”
The Mortuary Assistant’s Holland is best known for her starring role as Thea Queen, aka Speedy, in seven seasons of The CW’s Arrow. First gaining recognition for a role on hit series The O.C., her other TV credits include Gossip Girl, The Flash, and Based on a True Story. Feature credits include A Summer in Genoa, Legion, Rod Lurie’s Straw Dogs, and The Dirty South. She is is repped by Paradigm and 3 Arts Entertainment.
An Emmy nominee, Sparks is known for turns on series like House of Cards and Boardwalk Empire, as well as films like Mud, Midnight Special, and The Bikeriders. He’s recently been seen starring in the Apple series Physical and is part of the cast of Prime Video’s thriller limited series The Better Sister, which premieres on May 29. He’s repped by Gersh and Circle Management + Production.
Kipp has previously directed the Shudder Original Slapface — winner of the Audience Award at Cinequest — along with sci-fi horror pic Black Wake, Don’t Pick Up starring Keith David, Draw Up & Stare starring Michael O’Keefe and Melissa Leo, and other titles.
Co-writer Beebe is repped by First Story Entertainment.
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