Dead by Daylight is getting the video game adaptation treatment. Atomic Monster (Aquaman director James Wan’s production company) and Blumhouse (the famed horror production company behind Megan and Get Out) announced on March 2 that they are working with developer Behaviour Interactive on a feature film adaptation of Dead by Daylight (h/t Variety).
Dead by Daylight is a 4v1 asymmetrical horror game that has a passionate fanbase. It often debuts new characters and villains that are tie-ins with popular horror franchises like Resident Evil and Stranger Things. Last year Behaviour Interactive launched a Dead by Daylight dating sim. Does this paint a clear enough picture?
The DBD movie announcement comes not long after Blumhouse declared plans to launch its own video game studio dedicated to creating horror games. Blumhouse Games will produce indie horror games with budgets of $US10 ($14) million or less — the initial development of Dead by Daylight reportedly cost $US2 million, so maybe Behaviour will also offer Blumhouse some advice while helping with the DBD movie.
Wan is best known as a horror director and writer (his credits include the much–memed 2021 film Malignant, The Conjuring and Insidious franchises, and Saw I and III), but he’s also directed some big-budget blockbusters like Furious 7 and Aquaman. Wan even contributed to the story for last year’s cult hit, Megan.
According to the press release, the two companies are looking for a director and screenwriter, so it seems Wan may not be set to helm the Dead by Daylight film. But a girl can dream — Wan has demonstrated a keen understanding of the thin line between horror and humour, which is tonally perfect for a DBD film. Plus, he seems genuinely excited per the press release:
In Dead by Daylight the Behaviour team has created a love letter to the world of horror, building an incredible environment teeming with atmosphere and terrifying villains — perfect for a scary cinematic adaptation. We’re big fans of the game at Atomic Monster, and are thrilled to be teaming up with Blumhouse to bring this frighteningly visceral world to the big screen.
It’s unclear just how Dead by Daylight will translate to film considering there’s virtually no in-game narrative and an entire cast of scary monster villains like The Wraith, The Trickster, The Hag, and more. But I’d bet some money that the film will follow a scrappy cast of snarky teens (think Bodies, Bodies, Bodies) who have to try and outwit and outlast a big baddie. Jury is out on whether that’ll be good, but considering how popular The Last of Us series is, expect DBD to be just the beginning of a new push for video game adaptations. Hold on to your hats.
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