A new horror video game film adaptation is in the works according to a fresh report fromBloody Disgusting– and there’s a foreboding feeling that it won’t be the cheesy Resident Evil type. Lionsgate has revealed that the studio will be working with the game developers at Red Barrels to bring a big-screen take onOutlastto theaters.
Horror-wise,Lionsgateis renowned for the studio’s work on the Saw saga, so Outlast may be in the proper hands to do the series justice. The first film in the Saw series, directed by James Wan, would go on to generate over $103 million in revenue on a budget of just around $1.2 million in 2004. Following that extremely-profitable debut, the entire slate of movies would go on to cross over $1.1 billion in sales worldwide.
Why The Horror of Outlast Works
Roy Lee will be heading the upcoming project as lead producer. Lee has pedigree in thehorrorgenre, having a recent history of working on It, It Chapter Two, The Turning andHBO’s Salem’s Lot adaptation. J.T. Perry, who worked with Red Barrels to develop the story, will be penning the script for the upcoming adaptation.
History Repeating Itself?
Lionsgate will likely want to follow in the earlier Saw series' footsteps and develop a project on a cheap budget that could potentially turn a large profit. The setting of the initial story makes that strategy conceivable. In the gaming series' first outing, Outlast sees investigative journalist Miles Upshur take an anonymous tip and venture into the Mount Massive Asylum to track down rumors of horrendous inhumane experiments that are said to be taking place within the psychiatric hospital. You can begin to extrapolate how the story develops from there.
The series spawned back in 2013 when the original Outlast hit the PC. It then landed on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One the following yearto solid reviews. Red Barrels was then able to expand the franchise across several other stories.Outlast 2would be released three years laterto even better reviews. And, beginning in July 2016, a comic book series entitled The Murkoff Account was published to further flesh out the gruesome universe.
Lionsgate is renowned for the studio’s work on the Saw saga, so Outlast may be in the proper hands to do the series justice.
Outlast 3 was announced in December 2017, but there doesn’t appear to be any finish line in sight for development at this point. Red Barrels also, however, developed a side project in The Outlast Trialswhich launched earlier this year. Though it can be played solo, the game encourages you to play cooperatively with friends.
The Outlast series is renowned for developing both agreat story and gameplayfor the user to experience. Time will tell if Roy Lee and J.T. Perry’s team can make this another horror hit for Lionsgate.
10 Best Story-Driven Horror Games
Much like a great horror movie, there’s one thing that separates an excellent horror game from all the rest: a captivating story.
