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After the resounding success of Five Nights at Freddy’s and the recent announcements of both Dead By Daylight and Until Dawn receiving live-action adaptations, the dreaded ‘video game curse’ has been lifted. Even the Sonic the Hedgehog movies failed to disappoint and will surely prove to be a well-rounded trilogy. With live-action horror on the rise, however, studios have yet to hit the mark on the most anticipated horror game makeovers.
Some indie horror titles might never see the light of day as far as a big break in Hollywood. But this isn’t to say that major production companies aren’t spoilt for choice, with ample opportunities to boot. Often, all it takes is the right connections. If we’re lucky, the following horror games may receive their much-deserved shot at blockbuster fame.
[Updated on October 11, 2024 – Added five more games and updated formatting]
10. Outlast
Over a decade ago, an indie horror called Outlast silently dropped on Steam. On the surface, it might not look like much but never judge a book by its cover. Players assume control of Miles Upshur, an investigative journalist who explores a remote psychiatric facility and encounters several unhinged and deadly patients within its walls. From the success of Outlast came a sequel, Outlast 2, and a prequel, The Outlast Trials. Needless to say, the execution of Outlast‘s gameplay is what truly sets it apart from its competitors.
Red Barrels seem to have abandoned the project for as long as seven years, so the period of downtime after a lengthy hiatus leaves a live-action adaptation ripe for the taking. We’ve seen it done before with The Blair Witch Project and found footage horror has faded into the background lately. Maybe this is precisely what the medium needs to reinvigorate a long-forgotten sub-genre. So long as it refrains from making the same mistakes as Paranormal Activity, a live-action Outlast could be groundbreaking.
9. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
For all intents and purposes, Amnesia: The Dark Descent is, first and foremost, an immensely immersive experience. The graphics of 2010 aren’t the most forgiving, but what Amnesia lacks in technological advancement, it more than makes up for in storytelling and puzzle-solving. This first-person adventure horror follows Daniel, an everyman exploring a mysterious castle called Brennenburg. As he navigates the labyrinth of hallways and chambers, he must fight to retain his sanity.
Frictional Games must have done something right because Amnesia also spawned two additional games, both of which are sequels: Amnesia: Rebirth and Amnesia: The Bunker. Several reviews favorably named Amnesia as the most “successfully frightening game ever made.” While the first-person perspective isn’t overly common in the horror genre, influential low-budget movies such as Creep and REC made a lasting impact on live-action horror for their distinctive grainy and amateur feel.
8. Little Nightmares
Some of the themes explored in Little Nightmares could be a little too mature for queasy audiences. However, the premise has the potential to be a cinematic masterpiece. The depth perception in Little Nightmares pits a tiny child named Six against humungous, gluttonous monsters aboard a deadly ship called The Maw. The narrative unfolds from the perspective of nine-year-old Six, so the world around her is large and foreboding by comparison. It would require some camera trickery and talented VFX teams, but as do most big-budget horror movies.
Out of many enjoyable horror games, Little Nightmares has one of the most intriguing stories by far. A mixture of body and psychological horror could breathe life into Supermassive Games’ brainchild. Violence against a young child might be distasteful, but there’s no denying the mark it would leave on viewers for such a bold and defiant plot. This is besides the fact that worldbuilding is one of its biggest selling points, so a live-action version would do that crucial element justice.
7. Dead Space
Sci-fi horror Dead Space takes place primarily in the 26th century, and centers on starship engineer Isaac Clarke as he fights back against the mutated creatures called Necromorphs that surround his mining vessel, the USG Ishimura. The game draws inspiration from another classic horror game, Resident Evil 4, as well as the films Event Horizon and Solaris. In many ways, Dead Space is largely identical to the Alien franchise. But with more limb-slicing action.
Interestingly, Halloween director John Carpenter has been teasing a Dead Space movie for years as he’s a huge fan of the games, but every time the rumors resurface, they dissolve just as quickly. The last we heard from Carpenter in 2023 was that he’s “not gonna do it” and he thinks “they already have another director involved.” Obviously, nothing has come from that claim thus far, though nothing is set in stone.
6. The Forest
The Forest has remained in the public eye for years since 2014, prominently due to the release of its sequel, Sons of the Forest, last year. The survival game follows the player character, Eric LeBlanc, as he fights off cannibalistic monsters in search of his son Timmy after a devastating plane crash on a remote and heavily forested peninsula. Think Cast Away meets The Walking Dead, and that’s a fairly convincing analogy. Already, the premise of a remote island and bloodthirsty mutants is any horror director’s dream scenario. With the sequel, Sons of the Forest, there is even more to explore now in this mutant-infested place.
The story is multi-layered, allowing for deviations from the set plot. In fact, the concept mimics that of The Last of Us, which — as we know — made headlines for its widely successful first season. Although the zombie-mutant sub-genre has been done to death, The Forest could capitalize more so on the terrifying ordeal of fighting for survival alone as opposed to several stereotypical protagonists. A live-action adaptation could even incorporate techniques from A Quiet Place, another like-minded horror movie.
5. The Callisto Protocol
Say what you want about the game, but its atmosphere is amazing. While it is a spiritual successor to Dead Space, The Callisto Protocol brought some nice ideas, at least in terms of worldbuilding and lore. The gameplay might’ve not been the best, but there are many things there that would make a great live-action film. My only hope is for the producers to cast the same actors for the live-action version if it happens. Let’s face it: we all want to see Karen Fukuhara, Josh Duhamel, and many more reprise their role again.
Furthermore, making a live-action movie for The Callisto Protocol would be a terrific idea to bring players into this horror game, which left a few with a sour taste. It wasn’t bad by any means, but it promised more than it delivered. So, with a multi-media strategy, I can see many players returning to this horror adventure— assuming Hollywood puts its eye on this game.
4. SOMA
To this day, I feel SOMA is one of those niche games that a few people have played, but those who have ended up in an existential crisis that lasts for months — or that was my case, at least. I won’t go into detail about what makes SOMA one of the best horror games because it would spoil the experience, but it has a lot of potential to take it to the live-action format.
While it might seem like an underwater survival adventure, it is much more than that. SOMA touches upon many philosophical and ethical topics that will leave everyone pondering about them for days. Also, it has a lot of potential to be a horror movie without resorting to jumpscares or other horror gimmicks. Also, I’m aware there is a series on YouTube inspired by the game, but I’d love to see a proper series or a film about it.
3. Project Zomboid
To this day, I feel the chances of Project Zomboid getting a live-action movie before the game leaves early access limbo are huge. While we are waiting for the next big build, another form of media featuring this universe would be great. But why? Especially since we have many other zombie franchises. First, the setting. The fact that there’s still a lot of lore to be discovered in this representation of Kentucky is great. Also, without mods, there isn’t a way to see how the outbreak happened here, so it’d be nice to see a movie explaining it. Finally, we’d love to get confirmation if Spiffo’s was the one behind the Zed outbreak. My money says it was.
Plus, we haven’t had a good zombie movie in recent years. While horror games that feature undead foes aren’t scarce by any means, the genre is lacking in the live-action department. Right now, I can only remember the train wreck that Welcome to Racoon City was, so we really need something to redeem the brain-eaters one day.
2. Subnautica
In the world of survival horror games, Subnautica stands as one of the best and most original in the market. The feeling of being alone on a planet with almost no land to explore and leaving you to brave the depths of the ocean generates a new type of fear that was unknown to many. Now, imagine that in a live-action setting.
Again, there aren’t many films that touch upon underwater horror, with the last good one being Underwater. Also, Subnautica has a fantastic lore that could be exploited on the big screen. Finally, we’d all pay a lot of money to see a proper Leviathan in the cinema. I know I would.
1. Lethal Company
Let me wrap this up with a horror game that would make a fun live-action movie: Lethal Company. Laughs and chaotic moments aside, Lethal Company is one terrifying game that has some interesting lore if you look at it beyond the surface level. As a member of a salvaging company with zero regard for its employees, you delve into hellish locations to grab scrap and escape from weird creatures. I know there’s a bit of humor in it, but with the proper vision, it could be a scary film.
On the other hand, it could take a different approach and make it a live-action series with a focus on small stories across different planets with a different cast. In truth, I’m just throwing ideas to the wind here, but I’d love to see the creatures that have killed me and my friends countless times on the big screen.
