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For those who’ve only known an existence with home gaming consoles, it might feel wild to realize that the video game movie genre is still quite young. The first movie to be based on a pre-existing video game was Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel’s mangled-by-studio-interference adaptation of “Super Mario Bros.,” a massive box office flop that caused studios to tap the brakes on future excursions in this newfangled genre. While 1995’s sensibly budgeted “Mortal Kombat” turned a sizable profit for New Line, video game movies weren’t viewed as potential blockbusters by the studios until “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” grossed $275 million worldwide in 2001. The floodgates opened over the next decade, but the movies were, with very few exceptions (Paul W.S. Anderson’s first “Resident Evil” and Christophe Gans’ “Silent Hill”), about as bad as movies get.
The video game movie turns 32 this year, and, amazingly, you can count the number of films in this genre that don’t belong in a dumpster on two hands. Why have filmmakers failed so resoundingly to make watchable, let alone great cinema out of a medium that, at its best, can be as immersive as losing yourself in a classic novel? A-list filmmakers like Guillermo del Toro and Gore Verbinski have been attached to direct big-screen renditions of games like “Halo” and “BioShock,” but these are first-person shooters with pedestrian narratives. People would rather be playing these games than watching a filmmaker replicate the first-person experience via photoreal visual effects. The “Doom” movie tried to do this, and there’s a reason we don’t talk about the “Doom” movie anymore.
Are there any truly great video game movies? According to review aggregator Metacritic, there’s at least a very good one.
Werewolves Within is a rare video game movie winner
With a MetaScore of 66, Josh Ruben’s “Werewolves Within” is currently the best-reviewed video game movie in existence — and rightfully so! Based on Ubisoft’s 2016 social-deduction VR game, this adaptation, written by Mishna Wolff, is a witty, gory delight. Sam Richardson stars as a forest ranger assigned to police a small community riven by a dispute over an intrusive pipeline. Richardson is coldly received by the locals, but finds a sympathetic ear in a perky postwoman played by Milana Vayntrub (best known as Lily in countless AT&T commercials). Soon enough, Richardson and the townspeople are forced to reckon with an apparent werewolf who’s picking them off one by one.
“Werewolves Within” is a monstrous whodunnit riff on Jonathan Lynn’s “Clue,” as well as a spiritual sibling to “Hot Fuzz” and “The Wicker Man.” The ensemble cast hits all of the right quirky notes, while Wolff’s ultra-clever screenplay keeps you guessing right up until the final lycanthrope reveal. It all works due to Ruben’s deft direction, which, as Edgar Wright did with “Shaun of the Dead,” strikes a perfect balance between the grisly and the goofy. Though I’ve never personally played the game, the clever, mystery-solving premise of it makes for a far more ideal film adaptation than, say, “Fortnite.”
Alas, “Werewolves Within” wasn’t as well-known as these previously mentioned titles, so it didn’t get the budget or commercial push afforded “Sonic the Hedgehog” or “Angry Birds.” If you’ve never seen it, it’s currently available for you to discover on Shudder. Stop denying yourself joy and get on it!
