Among the manifold of intellectual properties that Hollywood is currently hell-bent on resuscitating, video games seem to be the latest gold rush. This is particularly true within the horror or thriller genres, with titles such as HBO’s The Last of Us, the new Resident Evil movie, and the Five Nights at Freddy’s series. However, such movies are not a novel idea and often are not the successes initially imagined, which calls into question how important they are over more original projects.
The first ever video game film adaption was Namco’s direct-to-video Mirai Ninja, released in 1988. The first English-speaking theatrical release was the 1993 Super Mario Bros — the trailblazer which set an apt legacy for future failures such as Borderlands, Assassin’s Creed, Hitman: Agent 47, and The Witcher.
Despite the monetary success from some of the listed projects, they are still considered failures based off reviews and the failure to create successful franchises. Inherently, adaptations must live up to the standard of the games; many films such as Assassin’s Creed have been susceptible to poor writing compared to their counterparts.
Alongside this, writers and directors must stay true to the source material — creating something original whilst contending with fans who are wishing for an almost religious copy. This issue plagued The Witcher, forcing Henry Cavill to quit. Furthermore, the movie must condense the plot of a game into a feature film or show, void of any interactability, whilst also offering a reasonable introduction into the fantasy and sci-fi worlds for new viewers.
Lastly, constraints of budget can be fatal when presenting fictional elements, often resulting in rushed or botched CGI (cough, Sonic the Hedgehog, cough), fake sets, painful props, and costume design.
However, theatrical adaptations are becoming more warmly-received commercially, as is the case for the animated Mario Bros movies (both netting a ridiculous $1b.) This success can be attributed foremost to the already established fanbases for the IPs even before the film adaptations, yet it doesn’t fully explain the changes in success. It seems that Hollywood is steadily honing their ability to avoid these multiple pitfalls well. Regarding the new Resident Evil and The Last of Us, the two provide solid entry-points for beginners with impressively realistic productions. Markiplier’s Iron Lung and Amazon’s Fallout TV series have both been praised for their conviction to the canon. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was a major success for the IP whilst showcasing a completely original story.
Seemingly, thrillers are the genre that have had the most successful recent adaptations, most likely due to their suspenseful nature being applicable without requiring the viewer to directly interact with the game’s world. Even despite the low critical scores, the Five Nights at Freddy’s titles have been major successes with the public, actively proving that classic and genre-typical jumpscares and monsters can make a fortune given the right context. Besides this, more family-friendly titles may see success from the liberties taken to appeal to smaller children.
Undeniably, video game adaptations are easy successes for Hollywood nowadays, but it begs interrogation for whether they are in demand. The idea of ‘Marvel fatigue’ has been a real phenomenon in the past few years, alongside widespread criticism for the live-action Disney adaptations. The downturn in success for both IPs are noticeable, attributed mainly to the high rate and laziness of production. Many film lovers also justifiably criticise the prioritisation of these sequels, reboots, and adaptations over new projects which are a bigger risk for companies to take on rather than beloved IPs.
Currently, there are over 60 known video game films in development for release in upcoming years. This is a severe increase from previous rates, evidently affected by the recent consistent success of previous projects. Although audiences are currently happy with adaptations, the future reception for upcoming projects is uncertain.
Eventually, we may see a decrease or more cancellations as Hollywood attempts to steady the release of such titles.
For now, we can continue to enjoy loving a good adaptation and hating a bad one.
