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But what happens when the two mediums collide? There haven’t been tons of Horror movies based on video games throughout the industry but there still exists a handful dedicated to bringing the shrieks and screams from the interactive space to the big screen. Here’s a look at some of the best Horror films based on video games ever made, according to IMDB.
Updated May 19th, 2022 by Russ Boswell: Regardless of Hollywood’s position on video game adaptations, there will always be brave visionaries out there that strive to bring beloved video game series to the big screen. This is especially true in the Horror genre, where there are a lot of terrifying video-game-based stories that should, in theory, work well as feature films. This has led many studios, writers, and directors, to try their hand at scaring audiences while simultaneously providing video game fanatics a good look at what their favorite Horror Survival series might look like as live-action adaptations. To better showcase some of the best video-game-based Horror films available, the following list has been updated and now includes even more entries.
13 Resident Evil: Retribution (5.3)
Although Resident Evil: The Final Chapter was abysmal compared to its predecessors, it’s not classified as the worst of the Mila Jovovich movies. Resident Evil: Retribution should have been a solid continuation of Alice’s storyline that a cult following of fans had fallen in love with but was instead of a vision of Hollywood-ization at its worst. Many fans were put off by the immense action sequences that focused heavily on gunplay and shooting rather than any tense horror sections or thrilling sequences.
Resident Evil: Retribution marked the moment in which the series turned into a full-blown action franchise, something that would, unfortunately, bleed into The Final Chapter and push aside the horror elements that Resident Evil fans were hoping to see.
12 Forbidden Siren (5.5)
The early 2000s were rife with Survival Horror games. Companies were looking to cash in on the success of franchises like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. This led to the creation of quite a few titles that attempted to mimic the gameplay elements of the two juggernauts while still maintaining their own unique identity. In 2003, Japan Studio, a first-party subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment, tried to craft an experience that felt at home with Japan’s unique and terrifying brand of horror. The end result was a solid release with a good story and visual elements, ultimately penalized by tedious gameplay sections.
That didn’t stop director Yukihiko Tsutsumi from immortalizing the release on the big screen just three years later. Forbidden Siren was a solid horror film for its time, offering quality scares, well-designed environments, and a strange story with good tension building throughout. Although it’s based on a video game, it’s enjoyable without knowing or understanding any of the connections to the source material.
11 Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (5.5)
The series finale for Mila Jovovich’s Alice fell very short of encapsulating the previous movies in an epic climax. The plot sees Alice headed back to where everything began, The Hive located deep in an obliterated Raccoon City. It’s here that the devious Umbrella Corporation is setting up to make one final push to eradicate the remaining survivors that have witnessed their destructive viral outbreak. On paper, it sounds like a fantastic conclusion, but the actual adventure is a far cry from where the series’ roots.
Unfortunately, for many, The Final Chapter felt more like a “cash grab” to capitalize on the series’ success, rather than a true culmination of the movies that developed a cult following. The camera work is shoddy compared to previous films and the story feels like a bit of a letdown for those that stuck around from start to finish.
10 Resident Evil: Afterlife (5.8)
The fourth installment in the Resident Evil live-action film franchise is one of the weakest comparatively but still a blast visually for fans that dig the aesthetic of the first three movies. Its action is over-the-top, with massive hordes of the undead and some rather tense scenes.
Alice is traveling from place to place in hopes of locating more survivors and continuing her fight against the Umbrella Corporation. She happens across a group holed up in a prison and in need of rescue. The group makes their way to a fabled safe zone, but in true Resident Evil fashion, things aren’t always as clear-cut as they seem.
9 Werewolves Within (6.0)
It’s a bit strange to see a feature film adapted from such a “one-off” title, but that’s exactly what happened with Werewolves Within, a movie based on the Ubisoft game with the same name. The interactive VR experience was met with mixed reviews when it first came out, and although it’s a blast to play with friends, it seemed like nothing more than a twist on the formula that games like Town of Salem are doing with much more depth.
Thankfully, film creators were able to inject a lot more heart and soul into the movie, crafting an interesting story that brought the old-time mystery-solving game into the modern age. Those seeking edge-of-your-seat Horror elements will likely be disappointed, but anyone who’s interested in a thoughtful who-dunnit that features some inspired acting and a colorful cast of characters should find a lot to enjoy in this film.
8 Resident Evil: Extinction (6.2)
Although the second film in the live-action Resident Evil film series seemed to stick a bit closer to the “game source material,” it was back to new ideas and custom fabrications for the third installment. Scoring just as well as the second film, Resident Evil: Extinction continues to grow Alice’s immense powers and unravels more information concerning the sinister Umbrella Corporation and their experiements.
After surviving the Raccoon City incident, Alice and a band of survivors make their way across a Nevada desert in hopes of finding a new place to call home. Unfortunately, Umbrella has other plans, bringing the fight to Alice once more.
7 Resident Evil: Apocalypse (6.2)
Fans of the video game series that were hoping for a more faithful adaptation were rewarded with a handful of references in this sequel to the original film. The second installment sees Alice as she wakes up in a hospital in the city surrounding the Umbrella Corporation laboratory. Unfortunately for her, and a group of survivors, Umbrella is intent on wiping all traces of its “experiment” off the planet.
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Jill Valentine joins the crew this time as they attempt to flee a zombie-infested Raccoon City before the sinister corporation can lay waste to the area. It’s not exactly what game-faithful were hoping for, but it’s a high-octane adventure and features an appearance from the ultra-iconic Nemesis.
6 Resident Evil: Vendetta (6.3)
One of the most difficult aspects of making a film based on a video game is trying to portray the game mechanics and over-the-top action into a “real-life” situation. To alleviate some of this stress and better create visuals that feel at home in the industry, some creators opt to use 3D animation to tell their story. For Resident Evil: Vendetta, it allowed the director to better capture a feature-length affair that felt closer to what dedicated Resident Evil fans have become accustomed to in their beloved game series.
This particular tale follows Chris, Leon, and Rebecca Chambers as they do battle against a “merchant of death,” who has access to some of Umbrella’s most dastardly creations.
5 Resident Evil: Degeneration (6.5)
Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield are two of the most beloved characters in the Resident Evil series so fans were definitely happy to see the two of them get their own animated feature-length film. Although it’s based on the franchise, Resident Evil: Degeneration takes its own liberties with the series by offering up an original storyline that takes place seven years after the initial Raccoon City incident.
In this new struggle, Claire and Leon find themselves battle against the undead once more, as a grief-stricken man unleashes a portion of the T-Virus loose in an airport after suffering the loss of loved ones during the original Umbrella Corporation debacle.
4 Resident Evil: Damnation (6.5)
Another animated Resident Evil feature-length film, this one stars Leon S. Kennedy on a bit of a “side mission” compared to all the games and films he’s featured in. Although one can likely trace the issues back to the Umbrella Corporation, the underlying conflict in this particular movie doesn’t actually revolve around or reference the group.
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Leon finds himself in an Eastern European country after rumors popped up about possible Bioweapons being in use there. When the agency that he works for tells him to come home, Leon ignores their orders and instead heads out on his own to investigate the miniature war brewing in the area.
3 Silent Hill (6.5)
Although Resident Evil features heavily on this list thanks to its array of feature-length films, it’s not the only Survival Horror title to receive the big-screen treatment. Another monster-filled, puzzle-based third-person adventure had its own time in the sun. Silent Hill is one of the most beloved game series to ever grace the Survival Horror genre, although fans have been sorely disappointed in recent years thanks to a heavy drought in the franchise.
The film borrows a lot of enemies and elements from the iconic game series but doesn’t follow any of the storylines present in the games, instead opting to create its own. Fans of the second game will find a lot to love about the Silent Hill film as it features both the Nurses and Pyramid Head.
2 Resident Evil (6.7)
Here’s the original, a Resident Evil live-action film that started a rather lengthy franchise in its own right. The “first” release follows a team of soldiers sent to investigate an outbreak at The Hive, a secret facility run by the mysterious Umbrella Corporation. It’s there that audiences are first introduced to Alice, a film-crafted character that was subject to a mysterious past and finds herself rushing to escape a laboratory filled with ravenous undead and mutated monsters.
Although it’s not exactly the fan service that the Resident Evil game-loving faithful were hoping for, it’s still a pretty solid Action/Horror film in its own right, with a lot of tense scenes.
1 Detention (6.8)
Asian Horror is easily some of the most unsettling in the genre, with many supernatural stories and monster movies exceeding expectations due to their immensely creepy imagery and themes. Those looking for an Eastern film based on a Horror game will find a lot to enjoy with Detention, a “period piece” based on the White Terror martial law period, which took place in Taiwan in 1962.
The film features great acting, an incredibly unsettling setting, and some truly tense imagery. It’s one of the highest-rated Horror films based on a video game.
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