Paul W.S. Anderson Promises a "Very, Very Scary" Adaptation of THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD
Paul W.S. Anderson is heading back into the world of horror as he is preparing to tackle The House of the Dead. Over 20 years after Uwe Boll’s widely panned adaptation, Anderson (Event Horizon, Resident Evil, Mortal Kombat) is set to bring a fresh, terrifying take on SEGA’s iconic zombie shooter.
Anderson, who is writing and directing the project, recently sat down with Variety and gave an update on his vision for the film. His goal for the film is to make it as intense and immersive as possible.
“It’s going to be immersive and very, very scary,” Anderson says. “It’ll all play out in real time, so it reflects the experience of playing the video game. The only time it stops is when you beat the game or you die. That’s going to be the only way out.”
The while filmmaker has helmed several video game films, he insists this will be a different kind of beast. “I’m really going to push the envelope on this one. It’s going to be something different for me.”
Anderson also confirmed that the script is nearly complete, and the plan is to begin shooting in the fourth quarter of this year.
Unlike the original House of the Dead game, Anderson’s adaptation will specifically focus on The House of the Dead 3 (2002), which takes place 20 years after the previous entry.
The story follows Lisa Rogan and Agent G as they search for Lisa’s missing father, only to stumble upon a fresh zombie outbreak.
Anderson previously talked about the game saying: “I’ve loved the video game since the ’90s. Back then I was a big player of video games in arcades, which is how I happened upon Mortal Kombat. And pretty much at the same time, I was also playing a lot of House of the Dead.
“It’s a title I’ve always loved. The IP has grown in strength, and now it’s really cross-generational. I was one of the original players, but now I have teenage kids who also play. That is the real attraction for me, that you’ve got a cross-generational piece of IP.
“We’re going to base the movie on House of the Dead three, and if you know the mythology that is all about family conflict, amidst the action and scares. It’s about a woman, Lisa Rogan, who’s attempting to rescue her father.
“And it’s also about Daniel Curien, who’s the son of the man who caused this mutant outbreak in the first place and who has to deal with the sins of the father.
When talking about his approach to making the film, the director 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 fast moving. This is a full-on terror ride.
“It’s different than what we did with Resident Evil, where there were lots of traps and puzzles and things to be figured out. House of the Dead is at heart a light rail shooter game, so it drags you straight into the middle of the action.
“I’m going to make a movie that mirrors that approach and plays out in real time, dragging the audience straight into the action. It’s not going to be kind of lumbered with a whole bunch of back story that might exclude people who know nothing about House of the Dead.
“Everyone’s going to be on the same page. Everyone’s going to get sucked straight into the action and learn about the characters and the plot, as they have 90 minutes to basically escape the most extreme haunted house you’ve ever been in.”
As a longtime fans of the franchise, I’m cuurious to see what Anderson does with this, even though I’m not really a fan of his previous films. Maybe he’ll surprise me, though.
Stay tuned for more updates as production gears up.