From Console to Screen: The Best and Worst of Video Game Movies (Part Two)

Into Darkness

Resident Evil

Resident Evil first came out in 1996 and pioneered the survival horror genre. Now with over ten main games the series has become a household name. In the first game you play as Chris Renfield or Jill Valentine as you investigate Raccoon City’s outskirts. This game sets up the continued fight against the Umbrella Corp Lab and the mutated bio-weapons that plague the world. Most recently Resident Evil has received a new addition to the franchise, Resident Evil: Requiem. This game follows another fan favorite character, Leon S Kennedy.  Resident Evil has continued to be one of the biggest powerhouses of the survival horror genre of video games and also continues to be one of the most challenging series to play because it is intense and doesn't hold the player's hand. 

There have been adaptations aplenty for this survival horror juggernaut, both live action and animated. However, the most recognized version is the series of films which ran from 2002 to 2017, starring Milla Jovovich and typically directed by Paul W. S. Anderson—who also helmed 1995’s Mortal Kombat. Each installment turned a profit financially, despite the reviews getting worse with every new film, before it concluded with The Final Chapter. The film franchise was rebooted in 2021 with Welcome to Raccoon City, and will be resurrected again later this year with a new movie from Weapons’s Zach Cregger.

While the video game is highly appraised and loved, the movies are constantly met with mixed opinions. The adaptations are often referred to as “dumb fun” or an entertaining action horror film but aren't considered faithful adaptations to the game series. Out of all the films the first one is considered the best and offers possibly the most ‘faithful’ adaptation (faithfully being used very loosely there). The movies kind of feel like they are just named Resident Evil for the recognition, over the actual adaptation of what is one of the most influential survival horror video games.

Silent Hill

Silent Hill shifted survival horror from action-oriented “B-Movie scares” to deep psychological horror. In the first Silent Hill (1999) you play as Harry Mason who searches for his adopted daughter Cheryl. He must navigate a fog covered main town that manifests the nightmares, and subconscious guilt of its visitors into a demonic other world. The Silent Hill games often involve a sinister local cult, The Order, and they are often attempting to bring forth their deity through rituals. They're one of the many enemies that you can encounter while playing a Silent Hill game. 

The other main entity you can encounter is the iconic Pyramid Head. The Silent Hill series now has over 15 games and it's mainly because it was a game that originally shifted the survival horror genre from B-movie scares to something that is deep and psychologically scary. It is one of the direct competitors to Resident Evil, because it challenges the way that Resident Evil approaches the survival horror genre by becoming something more mind-boggling than just visceral and scary. 

Silent Hill’s first film adventure was a 2006 outing from director Christophe Gans, focusing on a mother in pursuit of her missing daughter in the mysterious titular town. It earned a decent amount of money at the box office and was well-received by fans, with it continuing to grow a cult following even 20 years after its original release. It spawned two sequels—2012’s Silent Hill: Revelation and 2026’s Return to Silent Hill—but both of them earned minimal praise and were much less profitable.

The three Silent Hill adaptations all receive different reviews. The first film from 2006 is regarded as a cult classic that captures the atmosphere of the games and it's often praised for its set design and cinematography. The first film definitely deviates from the plot of the video game, but it still keeps the same horrific atmosphere which gains it a lot of praise. However, when we talk about the sequel Silent Hill: Revelation from 2012 it’s a poor and rushed adaptation. There was some hope for the third movie Return to Silent Hill (2026) but that movie was also met with poor reviews. While the first movie captures the horror of the games, the following two don't live up to the high expectations the video game franchise set. 

Until Dawn

One of the first of the interactive survival horror genre was Until Dawn by Supermassive Games. This game originally came out in 2015 and received a 2024 remake. In this game you play as multiple characters in a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ style game. Until Dawn was one of the pioneers of the games that feel like you're watching a movie and then get to make a choice to choose a different outcome. Until Dawn’s ability to keep the player’s attention and also deliver some of the heart dropping scares in horror games makes it one of the best horror games out there. It also has an extremely compelling and detailed story that has over 100 endings. 

Until Dawn is a classic horror scenario where a group of teens are in a cabin in the woods, have no connection to the outside world, and now they're being hunted by something. However, while it's a cliche setup for the story, Until Dawn manages to do so much new with the idea and really stands out as one of a kind, unlike its movie counterpart.

The movie adaptation takes the original premise and completely changes it to revolve around something else. The film focuses on a group of friends who become trapped in a time loop—where they are murdered by various creatures and brought back to life every day—leaving them in a race against time to survive until dawn. Despite earning $54 million in its theatrical run, the movie got mediocre reception from critics and fans, with many criticizing its deviations from the source material.

As an adaptation the Until Dawn film falls short. However, if it were to be a standalone movie without the Until Dawn name attached to it could possibly be worth a watch. But with the Until Dawn name attached to it the movie should have been a whole lot of different things. Until Dawn’s premise was one of the first of its kind in the video game world. It’s one of the first games that has over 100 endings and creatures that are underused in the media. The movie should have taken that and run with it. Instead the movie changed everything that made Until Dawn so incredibly phenomenal, making the film a horrible adaptation and adding a stain to the Until Dawn name.

Secluded Stories

Five Nights at Freddy’s

What's better than Chuck-E-Cheese? Putting a horror twist on a happy childhood memory.  In Five Nights at Freddy's you'll find animatronics turned bloodthirsty. The first game came out in 2014 and was a simple point and click horror survival game. In this game you act as the night guard and you have to manage limited power and monitor cameras to make sure the animatronics don't get to you. In the next few games this style of gameplay would be messed around with and changed over the years. 

In the 10 plus games there are numerous that are still point and click games, but there is also Security Breach which is open world and allows the player to explore the environment. Five Nights at Freddy's was one of the first indie horror games with a very low budget that became incredibly popular and so a movie adaptation was bound to happen. 

A film adaptation of this game had been in development for nearly a decade, before finally gracing screens nationwide in late 2023. It brought the beloved animatronic mascots to life in a whole new way, in a movie made for Freddy’s fans, BY Freddy’s fans. Their efforts paid off greatly, as it went on to become the biggest earning movie ever released by studio Blumhouse, even with primarily negative press. Its success led to a sequel in 2025, which earned similar results to its predecessor, as discussion for a potential third film currently remains ongoing.

This series came from humble beginnings and evolved into something much grander, beginning as a small independent horror game and expanding into a multimedia empire. Even now, as it makes waves on the big screen, new generations of fans are being introduced to Freddy’s through its multiple games, books, and endless other forms of merchandising. The result is a sleeper hit of a franchise, making a bigger impact than originally expected as it continues to enamor fans over a decade after it began.

The Mortuary Assistant

In 2022, The Mortuary Assistant, a first person psychological horror simulation game was released. This game dives into mortuary work like embalming bodies and burning them. The player navigates the game as Rebecca, who spends the night examining bodies and embalming them, while also looking for the one a demon is possessing. To survive the night and escape the demons' hold Rebbeca needs to make the right choice and burn the correct body. The Mortuary Assistant is one of the best horror games of the 2020s because it blends tension and body horror with simple scares that are done effectively to create an environment that is horrific and constantly makes you look over your shoulder. 

This game got one of the more obscure film adaptations on this list, being released in only a limited number of theaters before being put on streaming service Shudder as an exclusive. The movie focuses on a woman who takes a night shift at a mortuary, only for her shift to turn into a living nightmare when malevolent forces begin to plague her. On top of the lack of marketing and limited run, the film was lambasted by critics, while audience reception is arguably worse. But is it really THAT bad?

Let's talk about a criminally underrated film adaptation of an underrated game. The Mortuary Assistant game hit audiences fast and hard. Its story and premise captured everyone's breaths and had them terrified the whole time playing. The movie adaptation does such a good job of adapting almost every element within the game that it's what should be considered a perfect adaptation. The adaptation takes the story of The Mortuary Assistant and tells it perfectly while adding its own little flair. The minimal budget for the film didn't stop it from having an impactful story, horrific graphics, and phenomenal practical effects. 

Iron Lung 

Like The Mortuary Assistant, Iron Lung came out in 2022. This game takes a minimalist approach to horror to the next level. Iron Lung is intense, claustrophobic, and has an atmosphere so horrific that anyone who wasn't claustrophobic before playing would be when they’re done. In this game you play as a convict who is exploring the vast blood ocean of a planet in a submarine. The blood ocean makes it so that you can't see out the window of the submarine and the only way for you to see is to take pictures or to use the radar. 

When you take pictures, you only get a glimpse of what's out there and it's horrific each time you find something. An additional thing that Iron Lung does fantastic is it focuses on the atmosphere over scaring the player with jump scares. Iron Lung lets its silent horrific terrifying atmosphere speak for itself and doesn't over explain or make the game cheesy in any way whatsoever. 

So, how do you take a game built around a single isolated location and make a two hour movie out of it? YouTube icon Mark Fischbach—better known as Markiplier—found a way, in one of 2026’s most surprising successes. He not only starred in the film, but he also wrote, directed, and financed the project himself, making headlines for his ambition in bringing the movie to life. Though critics were split on the final product, fans went nuts for it, leading it to gross over $50 million worldwide. It also opened the door to other YouTuber-created movies, with the popular Jacksepticeye currently developing an animated adaptation of Bloodborne.

The adaptation of Iron Lung didn't have much to work with. The video game doesn't have much to begin with; it's a game that only takes an hour to complete. So when Markiplier took on the challenge of turning this hour-long game with very little story into something that is two hours long with a dense and impactful plot, he managed to succeed. Iron Lung (the movie) falls flat for the people who don't understand the significance of someone being able to take a concept and turn it into something so much more than what it was to begin with. The game and the movie sometimes seem very different, the movie adapts the game well and then manages to add more depth to the underdeveloped plot of the game.