Dutch newspaper The Volkskrant has published a longread article on the recent release of the new Resident Evil film, asking if the critically acclaimed horror comedy has lifted the curse on video game adaptations. In it, I reflect on the history and current state of video game adaptations.
The article (in Dutch) discusses video game adaptations starting with 1993’s Super Mario Bros and recognizes a shift from pulp productions to more recent celebrated films and shows such as The Last of Us. Author Berend Jan Bockting (who I still know from more than twenty years ago when we were both involved in Xi, the magazine for Media and Culture students at the University of Amsterdam) identies six rules for a good video game adaptation. I then reflect on matters such as translating gaming tropes, environmental storytelling and also gameplay itself to film. When it comes to Resident Evil, I point out that:
“this film lets you discover step by step [what happened], just like a game. It is important that it is shown, not said, because in games such set pieces are also explored by the player. It’s classic show, don’t tell.”
It’s a fun film, go see it. The full article can be found online on the Volkskrant’s website.
A version of this article also appeared on gameresearch.nl.