Horror video games are not only a popular genre in the gaming world, but their film adaptations, such as the popular Resident Evil franchise, showed that horror can transcend media types and disprove the video game curse.
The film debuted in 2002 and starred Milla Jovovich as Alice (who wasn’t even a game character), Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius, and James Purefoy. While the first film was more firmly embedded in the games’ horror roots, it continued in a similar trajectory to the games themselves, adapting more high-octane elements to become an action/horror crossover and raked in tons of money at the box office. Spanning six movies in total, Resident Evil was a clear success. They might not have been the best zombie movies ever made, nor the best examples of what the horror genre can do, but they proved that video games can become good movies with the right elements in play.
While other horror video games have failed to match the same level of success as both Capcom’s games and the Resident Evil film franchise, they have been more successful on the whole than their other genre counterparts. With an upcoming series on Netflix, Resident Evil is still going strong, but it’s not the only horror game to blaze a trail successfully.
Resident Evil Proved Video Game Adaptations Can Be Good
Resident Evil came out of the gate with a strong showing, turning a $33 million budget into $103 million at the box office. This trend continued with future installments. By the third film, Resident Evil: Afterlife, the upward curve was clear; its $60 million budget broke $300 million at the box office. The final film in the series, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016), cleared $312.2 million. This makes Resident Evil one of the top-selling horror franchises of all time. Though it’s not considered to be distinctly horror by some fans, primarily because of its hard turn to action, it’s still a massive success for both the video games and the horror fans who spent years playing them.
Other horror games have transitioned to a movie format, such as the popular Silent Hill games moving to the big screen in 2006. While it wasn’t as popular with audiences and critics, it still managed to gross almost $100 million at the box office. Its follow up, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D in 2012 was a flop. The least successful horror video game to movie adaptation was Uwe Boll’s BloodRayne in 2005; it had a little bit of a crossover with Resident Evil by its inclusion of Michelle Rodriguez, but did terribly overall. Even so, it’s a feat of triumph when compared to video game movies from other genres. The Mortal Kombat franchise has seen some success, with its first feature film in 1995 being directed by Resident Evil’s own Paul W.S. Anderson. The various Tomb Raider films have seen success over the years in the summer blockbuster way, but for the most part, video game movies tend to sink rather than swim.
Iconic horror director James Wan is attached to an upcoming Mortal Kombat movie as a producer, which could be the special ingredient to bring critical success to another adaptation. Horror video games continue to see success in the gaming world as well, crossing over to major horror franchises in titles like Friday the 13th: The Game and Dead by Daylight, which features killers from franchises like Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Saw, and A Nightmare On Elm Street. As Resident Evil proved it can be done, perhaps there’s more to explore in the world of horror based video games and crossovers in the future.
Next: Resident Evil Netflix Series Updates: Release Date, Story, Will It Happen?
