Video game adaptations are finally finding their footing as prestige TV shows and/or blockbuster films, thanks to shows like The Last of Us and films like the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and Minecraft. Horror is the other genre that’s reaching a new level of prestige in Hollywood, so it’s only natural that the two are coming together in a slew of new high-profile projects. Weapons director Zach Cregger is going to be releasing a new take on the Resident Evil film series this year, and now comes word that another classic horror game from the 1990s is also getting a movie adaptation.
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Anyone who used to frequent classic gaming arcades (or perhaps modern arcade bars) knows Sega’s light-gun shooter The House of the Dead. First released in 1997, the game gave players plastic guns (or “light guns”) and allowed them to shoot at a cinematic screen populated by attacking enemies – in this case, hordes of Zombies. Now House of the Dead is getting another movie adaptation from Sega and Wow Entertainment – and the people involved both come from a pretty impressive horror-gaming background.
Resident Evil Director & The Last of Us Star Teaming for The House of the Dead
Director Paul W.S. Anderson is best known for directing the cult-hit ’90s movie adaptation of the Mortal Kombat game as well as the Resident Evil film series of the 2000s. Anderson will be helming The House of the Dead, and now Variety is reporting that Isabela Merced is joining the film in the leading role. Merced is one of the fast-rising new stars of Hollywood, going from kid actor roles in films like Sicario 2 and Dora and the Lost City of Gold, to roles in superhero movies like Madame Web and Superman, as well as horror genre roles in films like Alien: Romulus and (of course) HBO’s The Last of Us. This will be the biggest starring opportunity Merced has had, and could in part showcase if she can open a major movie.
The House of the Dead video game follows the government’s AMS organization, which monitors and neutralizes threats to world order and peace. One of those threats is Dr. Curien of the “DNA Bio Reactor Corporation” (DBR), who seeks a cure for his terminally-ill son, only to create a zombie-style infection. Abandoned and ridiculed as a mad scientist, Curien snaps and decides to unleash his infection (and the “creatures” it creates) onto humanity. An AMS squad is sent to Curien’s mansion home/lab to contain the creatures and stop the crazy doctor before the outbreak goes widespread. Anderson’s film is rumored to be based on the third game in the series, where the infection is worldwide, and an AMS team is sent to a desert research facility that could hold the key to a cure. After that team is wiped out, a second rescue team is sent in and discovers pivotal secrets about the events of the first game that change everything.
House of the Dead previously got a 2003 movie adaptation from infamous low-budget gaming movie director Uwe Boll. It was a prequel to the first game, intended to be an indie cult-horror flick, but was panned by critics and gaming fans alike. A 2004 direct-to-video sequel followed from director Michael Hurst, featuring an AMS team fighting the outbreak at a school. Both films were chastised as cheap, inauthentic adaptations of the classic game: Paul W.S. Anderson promises that his House of the Dead movie will be the survival-action-horror experience gamers know and want. “It’s going to be immersive and very, very scary,” Anderson previously teased to Variety. “It’ll all play out in real time, so it reflects the experience of playing the video game. The only time it stops is when you beat the game or you die. That’s going to be the only way out.”
The House of the Dead is in development; Uwe Boll is also reportedly working on his own direct sequel to his 2003 film. Discuss with us over on the ComicBook Forum!
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