DarkStone Digital’s classic FPS horror survival title, The Mortuary Assistant, is gracing the silver screen with the film now entering pre-production.
The Mortuary Assistant has graced the Steam’s top sellers list since its release on August 2, and has built a name for itself in the first person survival horror genre akin to the likes of Outlast. With the great success and popularity of the title, Dread XP — a horror production company responsible for Sucker For Love — has thrown its hat into the film production ring, with a feature film based on the horror ideals of The Mortuary Assistant hitting the pre-production stage.
Casting and directing choices have already been confirmed, with the film adaptation being written and directed by Jeremiah Kipp, whose credits include SLAPFACE, and DRAW UP AND STARE; starring Academy Award winner Melissa Leo, the Chinese-American co-production BROKEN BADGES (director), the HP Lovecraft inspired BLACK WAKE (writer/director) and THE SADIST (director) starring Tom Savini. He is currently in post on his latest feature, THE BOO HAG (director), filmed earlier this year in Savannah, GA and DON’T PICK UP (director) starring Keith David & Kathryn Erbe.
Writer/Director Kipp said “There’s a quiet, unnerving intensity to The Mortuary Assistant that creeps into the player, creating a sense that something terrible could happen at any moment,” with “Writing the adaptation, I wanted to celebrate all of the game that terrified me as well as create a companion piece to it — honoring the dense creepy world developer Brian Clarke (DarkStone Digital) made and translating it into the visual storytelling and character driven horror of narrative filmmaking,” regarding excitement over the feature.
CEO of Epic Pictures Grup, Patrick Ewald said ““The world Brian Clarke created is rich with lore and the perfect subject to expand upon with a live-action feature film. DreadXP’s parent company Epic Pictures Group is already in a prime position to make that happen, having financed, produced, and distributed over 100 films over the past 15 years,” echoing sentiments about the upcoming film.
The Mortuary Assistant creator, Brian Clarke also chimed in with “Movies have always been the main inspiration for the style of my games. I’m always trying to create story, dialogue, and moments that feel filmic, so an opportunity to bring this project full circle is making a dream of mine a reality,” regarding the adaptation of his brain child.
The synopsis of The Mortuary Assistant is as follows:
Mortician Rebecca Owens thinks her first night on the job will be embalming a surplus of corpses, but she soon learns a sinister presence resides at River Fields Mortuary. As the dead awaken and malevolent spirits bind themselves to her, Rebecca has to learn how to combat the demons (including the figurative demons of her past) and survive the night.
– Dread XP
More details surrounding the intense horror film adaptation is set to be revealed at PAX West 2022 in Seattle, Washington from September 2 until September 5. Fans can flock to the Dread XP website for more details regarding the title, and horror fans seeking to sink their fangs into another gory offering can grab The Mortuary Assistant from Steam now.
