It feels like video game adaptations often get the short end of the joystick, containing more fan service and little substance to speak of. This isn’t to say that Hollywood hasn’t treated us to some fun rides, like 2005’s Silent Hill and a handful of the Resident Evil films, even if they don't particularly resemble many of the events in the game franchise.
It feels hard to recommend most video game adaptations to friends, at least not without a few concessions, including the classic, “It’s pretty good--for a video game movie.”
It’s only right Nintendo was able to enjoy a piece of the pie when Detective Pikachu showed up and seemingly broke the long-running curse, presumably unsealed and unleashed upon all video game adaptations by the 1993 live-action Super Mario Bros. movie.
Sega kept the rehabilitation of video game movies going with two stellar Sonic the Hedgehog films but it still mostly remains to be seen when it comes to the horror genre of video games. Perhaps the world will continue to traumatize us all, giving studios enough reason to greenlit bigger budgets and shooting schedules, giving us the Silent Hill and Parasite Eve film adaptations we all deserve.
In the meantime, plenty of demented directors have delivered some horror films that feel close enough to many of our beloved game titles, tonally. And while vibes are only part of the equation, the ‘too many cooks’ problem when dealing with massive, already-existing intellectual properties is much less of a factor. Put differently, Paul W.S. Anderson is able to go to extremes in Event Horizon that EA might hesitate on, should they ever hand the reins to John Carpenter for a Dead Space movie (do it, EA!).
So if you're looking for some spooky movies that scratch a familiar itch when it comes to some of your favorite horror games, look no further.
Event Horizon is a sinister symphony splashed red with dread across the walls and floors of a derelict ship--and it’s
1. Event Horizon (1997) / Dead Space (2008)
Sam Neil doesn’t have a hat like in Jurassic Park but he’s got a lot on his mind. He’s the designer and creator of the Event Horizon, a mysterious ship that uses space magic to travel quickly across impossible distances.
Like Dead Space, the crew of the Lewis and Clark, led by Laurence Fishburne, arrives to see what’s caused the interruption in communications. And like Dead Space, it’s, uh, not for good reasons that make for a creepy and atmospheric journey.
2. Grave Encounters (2011) / Phasmophobia (2020, Early Access)
A paranormal investigation crew with no clue what to do? Despite sounding like your friends playing Phasmophobia, it’s actually found footage film Grave Encounters.
Grave Encounters follows a group investigating a haunted psychiatric hospital known for ghost activity and other strange happenings. Like Phasmophobia, the ghosts of Grave Encounters are also listening and waiting for their chance to strike.
Grave Encounters features a thick-as-fog atmosphere and takes the crew’s journey places your friends and you will likely want to avoid on your next Phasmophobia session.
3. Twin Peaks (1990) / Deadly Premonition (2010)
Deadly Premonition came after Twin Peaks, so it’s the other direction this time, but a perfect pair, like cherry pie and a damn fine cup of coffee.
Twin Peaks is David Lynch’s masterpiece and one of the most unsettling and wonderful TV shows you can watch. Deadly Premonition stars FBI Special Agent Francis York Morgan in an open world survival game as he investigates the murder of an eighteen-year-old girl.
Director Hidetaka Suehiro, better known as Swery, helped craft one of the weirdest games of the Xbox 360/PS3 generation. The original is still playable on Xbox consoles, thanks to backward compatibility. (Twin Peaks is timeless thanks to David Lynch's cool style).
4. Black Christmas (1974) / Until Dawn (2015)
Black Christmas is an intense slasher that cuts across a group of sorority girls at a college campus but unlike Until Dawn, there’s only one ending.
1974’s Black Christmas feels like a stirring rendition of the best parts of a Supermassive game but especially Until Dawn, with the game’s healthy levels of classic camp and horror often paying homage to the slasher genre.
The familiarity of normal surroundings mixed with the isolation wrought from other students being away to visit family over the holidays will make you wish Black Christmas was compatible with a DualShock 4 controller, if only to avert a single death.
5. Annihilation (2018) / The Evil Within (2015)
Annihilation contains a sweet mixture of technology and somewhere else, just out of reach, making it feel right at home with The Evil Within, right down to the kaleidoscope-esque lights.
Annihilation stars a group of explorers that venture into a mutated and rapidly-changing environment that appears to be bending … everything? There’s so much DNA from The Evil Within here, from suicide missions to quarantined zones that people just don’t seem to come back from.
Annihilation is based on a novel of the same name and bears resemblance to Lovecraft stories too but fans of The Evil Within will feel right at home in these woods.
6. The Eye (2002) / Fatal Frame (2001)
Fatal Frame and The Eye both feature supernatural perspectives of things naturally unseen in our world. he Eye takes things in an even darker direction while keeping the fixed camera angles.
Fatal Frame has threatening ghosts and a special camera that allow players to see and fight supernatural foes. In The Eye, Wong Kar Mun undergoes an eye transplant but curiously also receives the gift (or curse?) of seeing catastrophic events, including the deaths of those around her, before they happen.
7. The House of the Devil (2009) / Clock Tower (1995)
Clock Tower has a stalking scissorman that chases you from room to room, as you search for escape and another minute of life, much like Ti West’s 80’s themed slasher.
Samantha Hughes takes on a babysitting gig that feels off from the start but you know the story: the pay is too good to be true and she can always call her friend. The high school student finds herself in the midst of her own personal Satanic Panic as she fights for her life against being the star of a blood ritual.
You’re more in control in Clock Tower but only barely as the sound of scissors get nearer every moment. Both are a good time if you don’t mind a little chase.
8. True Detective, Season 1 (2014) / Resident Evil 7 (2017)
While it's not a movie, the first season of True Detective is unlike anything and like everything, all at once, but there’s a familiar vibe that will make Resident Evil 7 fans feel right at home.
True Detective and Resident Evil 7 both have more mystery or unsettling moments than any one person can chew but things go pretty alright, alright, alright for Woody Harrelson since he’s got his partner Matthew McConaughey.
It’s a little harder to say the same for Ethan Winters in Capcaom’s seventh main RE title. The journey has him in pieces more than once but Ethan eventually makes the trip from south Louisiana to the Village. Matthew McConaughey notably has NOT fought werewolves yet but definitely should?
9. Frankenstein’s Army (2013) / Silent Hill (1999)
Frankenstein’s Army is an interesting story with Silent Hill flavors, which sadly can be said about the official film adaptations as well.
Frankenstein’s Army is a three stars (out of five) film but it’s fun and has ghost soldiers working from beyond the grave. And that isn’t nothing.
Like Silent Hill, there’s a sort of fog over the residents of this isolated war zone, set amidst the ending days of World War II. The film stars a group of Soviet reconnaissance team that is actually on a secret mission to capture an evil nazi scientist.
Frankenstein’s Army is a weird found footage film that should satisfy any Silent Hill fan, especially since there’s actually things on the way, like new games and more. It’s almost a good time to be alive.
10. The Skeleton Key (2005) / Resident Evil (1996)
The Skeleton Key has many of the inner trappings of a classic adventure horror game, including a special key and secret room.
The Skeleton Key stars Caroline Ellis as she uncovers mysteries and horrors that connect from the past to present day. Along the way, she learns of a sinister plot that’s been carried about before, while searching for clues in an old house as a hospice nurse.
The Skeleton Key feels like its mysteries and story also could have been told through an old point-and-click lens, especially as Ellis searches for keys, answers, and doors, to discover what happened before.
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