Paul WS Anderson, who directed or produced a half-dozen Resident Evil films that collectively grossed more than $1 billion and later directed the poorly received Monster Hunter film, is embarking on another video game project . Anderson is directing a film based on Sega's The House of the Dead series.
House of the Dead, which debuted in 1997, is familiar territory for Anderson, as the game focuses on an agent battling a group of zombies. Specifically, the film is based on 2002's The House of the Dead 3.
Anderson told Deadline that he has always been a fan of the series, dating back to the arcade days.
“I was one of the first players, but now I have teenagers playing too. That's what really attracts me, is that there is intergenerational intellectual property,” he said. he declared.
The story follows a woman, Lisa Rogan, who is on a mission to save her father. The story also explores the life of Daniel Curien, who is the son of the man who started the zombie outbreak. He must deal with the “sins of the father,” Anderson said.
“My approach will be to reflect what this hyper-immersive kinetic video game is, which is why Zack Snyder took these creatures and made them move quickly,” Anderson said. “It’s a real terrorist adventure.”
While the Resident Evil series features traps and puzzles, Anderson said his film The House of the Dead would follow the game's style of throwing players “straight into the middle of the action.”
“I'm going to make a film that reflects that approach and takes place in real time, drawing the audience right into the action. It won't be cluttered with a bunch of storylines that might exclude people who don't know anything about it. The House of the Dead will be on the same wavelength,” he said.
Essentially, Anderson said his film aims to be a 90-minute film that aims to be “the most extreme haunted house you've ever been in.”
It's still early for the House of the Dead movie, and there's no word yet on casting or a release date. Before the Resident Evil and Monster Hunter films, Anderson directed Mortal Kombat in 1995. It's also not the first House of the Dead film to be made: famed director Uwe Boll was responsible for the first one in 2003.
The House of the Dead film is Anderson's second project in the works, joining the fantasy film In the Lost Lands, which is based on a story by George RR Martin and will be released in 2025. Anderson has not released a film since Monster Hunter in 2020., based on the Capcom game. It was poorly received and only grossed $42 million worldwide.
House of the Dead is the second video game in as many days to be the subject of an announced adaptation, following the announcement of an Outlast film made by the Saw company Lionsgate.