After playing the Thea Queen/Speedy on The CW's Arrow for eight seasons, Willa Holland is back with a much different kind of role in The Mortuary Assistant, a brand new supernatural horror film based on the 2022 video game of the same name.
We recently sat down with the fan favorite actress to break down playing Rebecca Owens in the chilling thriller that pushed her to the limit, both mentally and physically. She breaks down some of the most intense days of filming, including a scene where she had to stab herself while being tortured by a demon, what the vibe was like behind the scenes, how her past Kingdom Hearts role informed her performance, what it was like acting mostly by herself, and a whole lot more!
She was also kind enough to reflect on the legacy of Arrow and what the role of Thea Queen means to her today.
As per the synopsis, "The Mortuary Assistant follows newly certified mortician Rebecca Owens (Willa Holland), who accepts a night shift at a mortuary, embalming bodies alone after hours. As disturbing events escalate, Rebecca uncovers demonic rituals, the dark secrets of her enigmatic mentor (Paul Sparks), and her own buried trauma—racing to survive the night before her body becomes a vessel for possession."
The game was originally released in 2022 on PC, The Mortuary Assistant game quickly became a viral sensation and cult favorite, and made available on additional gaming platforms including Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch. The film will expand on the game’s world and mythology and delve deeper into the lore of the demonic entities plaguing River Fields.
The Mortuary Assistant is now available to stream on Shudder!
Read our full interview with Holland below! Plus, remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more exclusive content!
ROHAN: You spend a vast majority of this film alone or with "lifeless" co-stars. How does your process change when you don’t have another actor’s energy to play off of for most of your scenes?
WILLA: I mean, there were a lot of challenges, but I gotta say though, the environment that they provided, it helped kind of make things a little easier, not to be as intense for my emotional journey. The environment itself was so spooky and crazy and scary just because of the set design and the special effects that they had. So, a lot of it just came naturally, just from real life reactions to what I was experiencing on set.
ROHAN: When playing Rebecca, what did you find most exciting about being able to add a new wrinkle to her character that we didn’t see in the games?
WILLA: I really liked that they added an emotional layer for her, you know, regarding her addiction and her trauma, her past, and to me, it's really, the journey that Rebecca is kind of going through, is almost like a metaphor for kind of recognizing and making terms with your shadow self, in a way. Your demons and your past traumas are there and they're going to follow you until you kind of accept them or make peace with them in some type of way, and, I mean, I think it's a pretty relatable metaphor for people to witness.
ROHAN: When you first read for the character, did you sort of inherently understand who she was, or did the script help you further uncover who she is?
WILLA: The script definitely helped me uncover who she is, and with long talks with Brian and Jeremiah beforehand, we kind of honed it down together. Yeah, I think the journey that we went through while filming it kind of goes hand in hand with the journey that Rebecca is going through like we were discovering her as she's discovering herself in a way, you know, and then by the end of it, we all felt, you know, the sense of resolve or accomplishment.
ROHAN: You’re playing this mortician, and some of the work you’re shown doing in the film is quite graphic like the embalming - what was it like learning about their process and how involved did you get?
WILLA: I mean, we had amazing set designers and people on set that were able to kind of walk us through everything, because I was so afraid that we were going to be doing things, you know, inaccurately. I wanted to make sure that we were doing things at least as accurately as we could without actually having a real body there to be stabbing or anything like that. But, yeah, no, I really have to hand it out to the set design team, because they made it all so realistic, and they went out and they sourced real mortician tools. And I believe Chelsea, the set designer, had actually gone to a real mortician's office and watched how they do their versions of embalming and stuff like that, so she knew exactly how to walk it through and everything. It was very, very interesting. So, we had people hands on, who knew how to kind of walk us through every step by step, and it was interesting doing it. It was very, very strange, sticking and prodding needles into people who were alive, thankfully, but into these prosthetics that looked so real I couldn't tell that they weren't real at times, and I was afraid I was actually hurting these people at times, but I wasn't, thankfully, but it was intense. It was a lot. I mean, I have to hand it to them. They did such an incredible job that when we were there, in real life doing it, it was hard to not have these like, physical, visceral reactions to it, because it looked and felt so real.
ROHAN: Speaking of intense, your co-star Paul Sparks is incredibly intense throughout the movie. What was it like working with him and playing off that energy he brings?
WILLA: Oh, I mean, Paul is incredible. I can't say more great things about him. Such a legend, and he was great to work with. I loved it. I mean, he brought such a knowledgeable, just from his background, energy to the set, and he came in just ready to work and to have fun, and we played around a lot and discussed things in length before we put the cameras up. And, yeah, I mean, I can't say better things about working with him. It was definitely intense at times to see his choices, but I loved it because it was all real life, and I got to kind of react to it.
ROHAN: Since the movie is so intense and creepy, what was the vibe behind the scenes? Were you trying to keep things light?
WILLA: Oh, the vibe behind scenes was so, so fun. Like, you couldn't tell that we were shooting a psychological twister, or like there was anything bad going on, you know, when the cameras were rolling. We had just like this amazing vibe. I mean, Jeremiah was such a cool, calm and collected director under the heat of any type of pressure that was applied to us, and the whole set, just the whole crew, worked in just beautiful ways together, and we all communicated great, which is beautiful to have, and rare in this business. Yeah, I mean, I couldn't say better vibes. I mean, my little dog was our set mascot. She was running around on set behind the camera most times. I mean, pretty much in every single take there was probably my little dog just right off the shot, just chilling. So, yeah, it was definitely a cool set and a cool vibe.
ROHAN: Having voiced Aqua in Kingdom Hearts, and having some experience with video game adaptations, did you that inform your approach to playing Rebecca? Or did you want to keep it separate and just go toward that final girl trajectory?
WILLA: I mean, I guess it did come in handy when it came to a lot of the physical noises that I would have to make to all of the intense things that she was going through, like the screaming to stabbing myself in the leg, and all the reactions. I would have to say that the years of doing voice recording and recording every single little minute sound definitely helps that, because now I know how to, you know, all the different weird sounds that a person can make, so I can't get to play around with that when I'm on set. So, I think it did help in a way, but I think that it's night and day from the other video games I've done, those are definitely a lot more light hearted than this. So, yeah, I think it aided in the sense that it helped with my audio, but I think this one stands out on its own.
ROHAN: There are many well designed horror sequences throughout the movie, was there any one sequence that stood out to you?
WILLA: I think the part when the father is stabbing her, and then she realizes that she's stabbing herself. Filming that was very intense, and yeah, the vibe off camera was great, but when the camera was rolling and things were going, I mean, it was pretty intense. You got a guy screaming in your face, stabbing you, and then cut to it's actually you stabbing yourself. And there’s a lot of screaming, lots of blood, lots of stabbing. You know, it was intense. It was an intense scene to film. But I think it was worth it, because it comes out how it looks, it looks as intense as it felt doing it.
ROHAN: The role is quite physical, does your past playing Thea Queen on Arrow help you when you tackle new projects like this? Is some of it muscle memory or are you relearning things on every new film or show?
WILLA: I mean, it definitely, I think, it helps for sure, when it comes to pulling things off with stunts. I mean, I think that Rebecca was a little bit different in the sense that she probably didn't have much fighting skills at all. So, we wanted to make sure she didn't really look like she knew what she was doing, where back in the day, Speedy had to look like she knew what she was doing. But yeah, no, I think that Arrow taught me so much, I use things from it every day, you know, I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Arrow.
ROHAN: The film does change a few things from the video game, most prominently the ending. Were there any other changes throughout filming that you can remember?
WILLA: Oh, yeah. I mean, there were constantly things that were changing on the fly and stuff like that, which I think happens in almost any set. You show up on set and words are written down on a script, and then you say them out loud, and you kind of realize that, you know, maybe this doesn't sound as right here or there, and you kind of fix things up a little bit while you're there. We did lots of that all throughout, but it was always such a community and collaborative process between me, Jeremiah, Brian, anyone else who wanted to put any input on it. We honestly opened the door for everyone to put in any two cents, and I think that's what helped us make all of our decisions in the first place, but as well as make things so cohesive in the end. We were just so collaborative. And yeah, there were definitely lots of changes throughout the days, but we always rolled with the punches.
ROHAN: At the end of the film, Rebecca makes a choice, which is unique to the film. What would you say leads Rebecca to making the decision and why would you say it makes sense for her?
WILLA: I think, for me, it was, I mean, I go back to the acceptance of your shadow self. I mean, it's like, I think she realizes at that moment that her work might not be done, because she was in denial of everything that she just went through and the purpose of everything that she just went through. The moments before she walks out, she's in an argument with Raymond about everything, and he's trying to explain why she had to go through that, and she's denying that. So, I think she comes outside, and when she sees what she sees, she has a realization that, oh, maybe he might be on to something there. And, you know, maybe my work is not complete, you know, maybe I didn't face everything that I thought, and maybe I have to, if I want to, I have to go back in if I want to feel free eventually, or if I want to really face it.
ROHAN: Considering the journeys they both go on, were you able to find any parallels between Rebecca and Thea?
WILLA: Yeah, I mean, I think they're very similar in a sense that they are, you know, two women that had a lot of trauma in their early years and are trying to, in their adult lives, reconcile with that, make real life adult decisions and go through their lives and grow while being constantly reminded of all of the trauma in their past and how they have to accept it and have to have to learn to live with it and and make peace with it. I think, yeah, both characters definitely had that journey.
ROHAN: Rebecca is unlike your past characters, so at this stage of your career, and you’re reading scripts, what kind of roles are you seeking? What kinds of roles excite you?
WILLA: I mean, I kind of love doing it all. The horror genre, to me, is very exciting the way that it's opened up the last 5-10 years. I think it's so much different compared to what it was pre-pandemic and ten years ago. I think, I mean, hell, Sinners is a perfect example. The Oscars were not acknowledging horror a couple years ago whatsoever, or even thriller that much, or slasher or anything like that. So, I mean, it's just the characters and the roles are so vast and the opportunities, there's so many, so I'm so down just to do it all. And this one spoke out to me because of her journey and the resilience that she ends up having to come up with throughout it. Yeah, I love doing all types of roles.
ROHAN: It’s been around six years since Arrow ended, and almost fifteen years since you first got the role of Thea Queen. When you look back at your experience, what sticks out to you most about playing Thea and helping shape the person you are today?
WILLA: I mean, kind of the thing in the whole, the whole journey is what makes me who I am today. And, I mean, it was such a learning experience. I learned almost everything about myself that I didn't have before the show. I mean, yeah, sorry, I don't really know how to quite answer that. There's so much that that show has given me. It's so hard to kind of narrow it down, but yeah, the experience was otherworldly. It was like one of the greatest things that ever happened to me, to all of us. We were so young and so wide eyed, and we had such an incredible time doing what we did.
Newly certified mortician Rebecca Owens takes a job at the River Field Mortuary and is tasked with embalming bodies alone on the night shift, but something sinister lurks beneath the surface. She must navigate demonic rituals, unravel the secrets of her enigmatic mentor and confront her own buried traumas to survive the night - and prevent her body from becoming a vessel for possession.