With Five Nights at Freddy’s about to make its silver screen debut, it had me thinking about what other horror games could make for interesting movies. Here are some that I think could make interesting adaptations.
Outlast
In Outlast, investigative journalist Miles Upshur navigates a dilapidated psychiatric hospital that is overrun by homicidal patients. It is full of scares and terror, with an added mystery as to why everything is happening. It is definitely a gore fest as well, which fits within the horror genre of films.
Until Dawn
In Until Dawn, eight friends are trapped together on a remote mountain retreat, and they aren’t alone. Gripped by dread, with tensions running high, they must fight through their fear if they all hope to make it through the night in one piece. A secluded cabin with teenagers is prime horror fodder. The mix of monsters, both in form and within the humans, can make for a compelling plot.
Resident Evil 7
Resident Evil has made many attempts at entering film, with lackluster success. But the seventh installment of the game series, Biohazard, would be a fresh start attempt much like it was for the franchise of games. In Resident Evil 7, An ordinary man must embark on a search to find his missing wife which leads him to an abandoned house where a mysterious family lives who harbor an evil secret within the house and themselves. It’s a dark and twisted mystery-horror which would be amazing to see in a film form, as long as it is done right.
The Beast Inside
In this mystery-thriller, The Beast Inside takes place in two parallel time periods, following two protagonists: Adam Stevenson in 1979, and Nicolas Hyde in 1864. Their lives become interconnected as they work to unravel an unsolved murder mystery. While this would lean more into thriller than horror, there are elements of survival-horror in the story that are necessary to to unravel all that is going on.
BioShock
Utopias turned into dystopias are a perfect scene for the horror genre, which is exactly what Bioshock is about. Set in 1960, Bioshock follows Jack, who discovers the underwater city of Rapture, built by business magnate Andrew Ryan to be an isolated utopia. The discovery of ADAM, a genetic material that grants superhuman powers, initiated the city’s turbulent decline. Traversing this unique world and the terrors that lurk would be a fascinating concept for a horror movie.
Dead Space
Sci-fi and horror go hand-in-hand in many ways, as we can see from film franchises such as Alien. So Dead Space would be an easy fit into this double-genre. Set on a mining spaceship overrun by deadly monsters called Necromorphs following the discovery of an artifact called the Marker, Dead Space follows engineer Isaac Clarke as he navigates the spaceship and fights the Necromorphs while struggling with growing psychosis. In a film, playing with the question of is this all real or just part of the psychosis could make for a compelling frame for the story.
The Evil Within
In The Evil Within, we follow Sebastian Castellanos as he is pulled through a distorted world full of nightmarish locations and horrid creatures. While that summary is quite brief, the story is multilayered with mystery and set in a surreal location where you question everything that is happening to you.
Bonus: Dead by Daylight
I add this as a bonus because I think it would be best for Dead by Daylight to become a series instead of a film. With all of the different characters and lore, this could make for an interesting anthology-style show where each episode focuses on a different killer and their origins in becoming what the Entity takes charge of. It could be framed by The Archives and exploring each Tome. I think that is the best way to take the whole concept of Dead by Daylight from a video game to the silver screen.
What horror games do you think would make great movies or shows? Let me know with a comment!
I loved Until Dawn and I completely agree that it would make a great movie. I’d also like to see Outlast be adapted just because I couldn’t complete the game.