Horror Games and Their Woeful Film Adaptations

There have been some modestly solid video game adaptions to hit the big screen. Tomb Raider (2018) was a fun ride. Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) was a kid's favorite. Super Mario Brother's (2023) was a smash hit grossing over 1.3 Billion dollars, Minecraft Movie (2024) gave us Lava Chicken! and Mortal Kombat (1995) is still one of my personal favorites from the 90's. The soundtrack was absolute fire.

But the cinema gods have not been kind to horror. Taking into consideration movies from the past 24 years, which is a fair sample size, they have an average Rotten Tomatoes score of 30%. That's simply pathetic. Audience reviews are not too far behind at 38%. So what does this mean? Well, for starters it means the films many of us horror fans can't wait to see adapted are putrid renditions. Writers and directors talking up a good game (pun intended) about how enamored they are with the source material and how faithful they will remain.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016)

Sadly, we see the end results. Creative liberties are taken when they shouldn't, and consistently fail. Filmmakers cram hours upon hours of gameplay into 90 minutes, usually opting to show the action and gore while leaving the nuances on the cutting room floor. Storylines are axed. Characters are merged into others, new characters are created to serve nonsensical purposes (we see you Resident Evil!) while other creative choices just leave us scratching our heads.

With all this being said, many of the films are still enjoyable. Although the Resident Evil film line ignored pretty much everything in the games Milla Jovovich turn as Alice was still fun to watch. Silent Hill (2006) was panned by critics but has found a home on many fan's home media shelves. in Doom (2005) Dwayne Johnson was still getting his acting legs under him but Karl Urban's portrayal as the Reaper was pretty damn cool. We think they led to his casting of Judge Dredd later on.

You get our point. There are some positives to be found amidst the gluttony of bad film work, and our following breakdown will highlight just that.

Resident Evil (2002)

A mistake from the jump. It was clear as day Paul W. S. Anderson couldn't give a shit about the source material. The quickness and manner in which he veered off was shocking. Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez together make this film way better than it should have. These are two gifted actresses that have obvious experience doing physical roles and it shows. Pretend this isn't a Resident Evil movie and you'll have a good time watching.

Silent Hill (2006)

Not a terrible movie by any stretch of the imagination. When this was released Christopher Gans was a relative unknown, and his effort was pretty good. Radha Mitchell is a talented actress and leverages her range. Sean Bean's character actually lives in the end (surprise!). One scene that stands out is Laurie Holden's sacrifice for Radha Mitchell's search for her daughter in the hospital. The sound design during the beating was deeply unsettling.

Alone in the Dark (2005)

Yes, this film was universally panned. Yes this solidified Uwe Boll's reputation as a terrible director. But there's an undeniable energy to it that allows you to continue watching. Christian Slater and Stephen Dorf have excellent on screen chemistry as well. If there's any development to be found it's in their relationship. Ignore the automatic gunfire where soldiers appear to be simply waving their plastic pee shooters around while grinning maniacally. At least pretend the rifle is real!

Doom (2005)

We enjoyed this film beginning to end. Yes, the action was cheesy and the first-person shooting scenes were on the nose, but for those who aren't fans of Doom the narrative they weaved was pretty easy to follow and become engaged with. Karl Urban was a standout and Razaaq Adoti turned in an emotional performance.

Werewolves Within (2021)

The highest rated video game adaptation. Standout performances all around, a well-written and executed script, timely humor, perfect sound design and great practical effects. Highly recommend even for casual horror fans.

Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)

Riding the high of Werewolves Within, FNAF takes us back down. Cheap thrills, a laughable script, lazy acting. Poor lighting even for a dimly lit playhouse. The only good thing about this adaptation is seeing the colorful animatronics brought to life.

Return to Silent Hill (2026)

We are not quite sure if Christopher Gans was fully awake during this production. There is so much that went wrong it's best if we just warn you away. There is absolutely no redeeming qualities to this film. Fans of the Silent Hill franchise will leave the theater frustrated, non-fans of the franchise will leave utterly confused. Sadly, there is no middle ground or silver lining. The film starts off cheesy and ends confusingly. Costumes are so cheap looking many have compared them to porn parodies or ultra-low budget fan films.

If you are desperate to find a silver lining look no further than Akira Yamaoka score. Most of this music can already be found on the multitude of scores and singles he's released, plus you can do yourself a favor and simply enjoy the music there.

We have to question how Konami would greenlight a script this poor. Although financed independently Konami's reputation is still somewhat on the line here.

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)

Here was an attempt to actually make a faithful adaptation to the game. It bombed or "soft flopped" as they put it, but let's not kid ourselves. After this film's release all subsequent sequels were cancelled. Actions speak louder than words, and that's a mighty action.

We want to point out Avan Jogia's turn as Leon Kennedy. While we have no issue casting someone of Indian descent, Avan brought absolutely nothing to the character. Leon Kennedy is traditionally portrayed as a physical, brooding action hero,. Someone you can believe would enter the Racoon City Police Department that's infested with zombies and kick some undead butt.

Avan Jogia lacked the physical prescence or emotional depth to pulloff anything. What we are left with is a minimum-wage security guard making confused, angry scorns. That was our reaction to this movie too.