The house of horror will bring the Entity to the big screen.
Multiplayer horror game Dead By Daylight will be receiving a film adaptation courtesy of Blumhouse Productions and Atomic Monster. No release date has been announced.
Dead By Daylight is an asymmetrical horror game in which four survivors must outwit one killer and escape the map without dying. The series has proven to be immensely popular due to its varied cast of characters and engaging gameplay. This popularity has also made way for dozens of guest appearances from other horror icons, such as Ghostface, Sadako, Freddy Kruger, and Albert Wesker. Since the title is online-focused, there isn’t a strong narrative, but events that developer Behaviour Interactive runs often include Lore Tomes that flesh out character backstories, including some for licensed characters.
Fresh off announcing its own games division, Blumhouse will be helming the project along with Atomic Monster, with both studios in deep collaboration with Behaviour Interactive in the hopes of achieving the best adaptation possible. Blumhouse is known for its small-budget horror, with some of its premier titles being Get Out and the recently released M3GAN, and the studio is currently filming the upcoming Five Nights At Freddy’s film. Atomic Monster is a studio founded by James Wan, whose horror career includes credits for Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring, and Malignant.
At the moment, it seems Wan has little, if any, direct involvement with the project, which is currently without a director and a screenwriter. Wan does, however, show enthusiasm for the project, as in a press release given to Variety, he states, “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”.
The press release doesn’t detail what exactly the film will be about, but it’s possible that it will be the first piece for a larger transmedia push for the franchise. The series features a large roster of original killers and survivors, which could make for multiple films, with each being an origin for the characters similar to the way the Marvel Cinematic Universe was originally handled. If this is the case, each film could be a different style of horror, which could lead to more unique horror films in the future.
