“Phasmophobia,” a popular multiplayer supernatural horror game, just got something big announced for it: A film adaptation by Blumhouse studios. Blumhouse is well known for their hit “Five Nights at Freddys,” film adaptation with a sequel on its way, as well as having a “Dead By Daylight,” film adaptation in the works. But the question is, will Blumhouse hit the mark?
Blumhouse is no stranger to video game adaptations, as they have successfully handled them before, however “Phasmophobia,” presents one large issue, mainly that it isn’t really much of a story driven game. Sure the ground work is there. The player with or without several other players head into a haunted area, attempt to deduce what paranormal activity may be occurring and attempt to make it out alive. But other than that, it lacks an actual story to follow, which will leave a lot of work for the film as one requires a story. This is one of the biggest hurdles of video game adaptations, as video games don’t necessarily require a story to work, while movies need a story in order to function as a film. This difficulty of translation between mediums is often what breaks video game adaptations in the first place.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that “Phasmophobia,” will not work as a movie, but it does mean that Blumhouse will need to take extra care in creating a storyline that can effectively support a film and also effective in showcasing the game in a way that stays true to the source material. For now we’ll have to wait until the trailers start releasing to get a good feel for how the film will play out, but as of now it may be a good idea to patiently wait while staying fairly cautious.
