Black Friday: Horror with Maria Lewis

October 6, 2017
Looking at the legacy of video games inspired by horror movies.

When it comes to the cross-pollination of the media landscape, the lines between cinema and video games are constantly blurring. Movies are incorporating more elements of first-person shooters (think that church scene from the first Kingsman), while video games are getting more and more cinematic (Horizon Zero Dawn). With the release of the new Tomb Raider trailer – which weaves itself so tightly with the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot that they’re almost indistinguishable – the two forms look like they’re going to be staying in bed together for the foreseeable future.

The phenomenon of horror video games inspiring big screen adaptations is well known and often lucrative for both industries, with titles such as Doom and franchises like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. However, something that’s less talked about is the reverse: when horror movies spawn their own video game counterparts. It’s not a new pop culture trend, with classics like Jaws (1975) and Evil Dead (1981) among the first. Yet with the critical and commercial success of Alien: Isolation, and Friday The 13th about to drop physically in stores on – yup, you guessed it – Friday the 13th next week, it looks like something we’re going to be seeing a lot more.

There aren’t a lot of video games based on horror films, but the first was Alien. Released in 1982, it followed the aesthetic of the film by using only black and green graphics. It was largely forgotten thanks to basically being an inferior Space Invaders. Just two years later in 1984 a bigger and better game was released – also based on Ridley Scott’s classic 1979 film of the same name – and was available on the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and other consoles that basically sound like jibberish now in 2017. While it was also the first, the Alien franchise is arguably the one that has had the longest life in the video game world: there were four video games based on Aliens, four on David Fincher’s shitty Alien 3 and another seven more before the critically-acclaimed Alien: Isolation dropped in 2014 (following the adventures of Ripley’s daughter, Amanda). Weirdly, Jaws has inspired three video games spread out over the course of the past 40-ish years – in 1987, 2006 and 2011 – with the middle one Jaws: Unleashed becoming a beloved cult favourite among gamers. Others that vary dramatically in quality include Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Nightbreed for Amiga, Blair Witch Project for PC, Blade II – which got several, Bloodwings: Pumpkinhead’s Revenge for PC (why Lord why), Fright Night – again for Amiga, Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes (whhhhy) and the Evil Dead franchise – the first debuted in late 1984 and the sixth in 2011.

Weirdly some of the most aesthetically pleasing horror movies to video games were the slashers, namely Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre (which were both released on Atari). If you have never had the pleasure of viewing either, you must check out vintage YouTube footage of the gameplay. As the player in Halloween, you have to try and keep yourself and a child out of the path of Michael Myers all while an 8-bit version of John Carpenter’s famous score plays in the background. It seems fitting that given Friday The 13th is one of the horror genre’s most enduring franchises with 12 films and counting, that it would also have a meaty legacy in video games as well. With several branded releases already, the latest spin on Jason Voorhees is about to hit Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Friday the 13th: The Game has been available across a bunch of platforms and the cinematic franchise’s built-in audience have seen it sell more than 1.8 million unit sales. Put out “in all of its gory glory” by teams at Gun and IllFonic, studio head Wes Keltner said they have been blown away by the feverish response to the cinematic horror icon. “Jason definitely lives and it’s been an honour bringing him to fans, new and old.”

In an alternate dimension, there was a slew of gamers and horror fans alike who were able to play the hugely anticipated Hellraiser NES game. The reality was that it was cancelled, along with a project that would have kept the lines between film and games even hazier still: a Guillermo del Toro led Silent Hill. There’s also the horror television shows that have been adapted to the format, namely just one standout: Telltale’s The Walking Dead game. An episodic and interactive adventure game, it’s a unique entry into the genre of horror inspirations. Although John Carpenter’s Halloween already got the Atari treatment (again, watch that gameplay footage for a treat), his other classic The Thing had a much glitzier and technically impressive recreation with a 2002 game. Defined as a third-person shooter, it taps into some of the best elements of survival horror games while working within the narrative rules that Carpenter created in his original film. Considered a direct sequel to the events of the story, it captures the elements of paranoia that Kurt Russell and the cast portrayed so well. Just like them, the player is trained to trust no one… not even the snow.

As the forms of storytelling we love continue to adapt, the hope for horror fans is that the limited list of video games inspired by scary flicks will expand as well.

Maria Lewis is a journalist and author previously seen on SBS Viceland’s The Feed. She’s the presenter and producer of the Eff Yeah Film & Feminism podcast. Her debut novel Who’s Afraid? was released in 2016 with the sequel – Who’s Afraid Too? – out now. You can find her on Twitter @MovieMazz

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