‘Dead By Daylight’: James Wan & Blumhouse To Adapt Survival Horror Video Game For The Big Screen

Following the killer success of M3GAN just weeks ago, James Wan and Blumhouse are tackling a different kind of digital horror. Variety reports that Wan’s Atomic Monster label and Blumhouse will craft a “scary cinematic adaptation” of the hit survival horror video game, Dead by Daylight, into a feature film.

The search for a writer and director is on, so it doesn’t appear that Wan will take on those duties himself. Dead By Daylight was first published in 2016, begins when a melevolent supernatural force known as the Entity is awakened and forces Killers to hunt and kill Survivors as sacrifices to keep the Entity alive. The game is an asymmetrical multiplayer game, where one player acts as the Killer, and four players take on the roles of Survivors.

One of the coolest aspects of the game are the downloadable skins that allow you to play as any of a number of legendary horror characters, such as Leatherface or Freddy Kruger if a Killer, or Laurie Strode from Halloween if a Survivor. Fun stuff.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to work with Jason Blum and James Wan, two giants of the horror film industry, to further expand the ‘Dead by Daylight’ universe,” said Stephen Mulrooney, executive vice president at Behaviour Interactive. “At Behaviour, our motto is to create unique moments, together, forever. Atomic Monster and Blumhouse are the ideal partners to craft ‘Dead by Daylight’s’ killer entrance onto the big screen.”

Wan added: “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.” “We know there are so many fans of ‘Dead by Daylight’ out there and think it’s imperative we find someone who appreciates and loves the world as much as we do, to help us bring the game to the big screen.”

Travis Hopson
Travis Hopson has been reviewing movies before he even knew there was such a thing. Having grown up on a combination of bad '80s movies, pro wrestling, comic books, and hip-hop, Travis is uniquely positioned to geek out on just about everything under the sun. A vampire who walks during the day and refuses to sleep, Travis is the co-creator and lead writer for Punch Drunk Critics. He is also a contributor to Good Morning Washington, WBAL Morning News, and WETA Around Town. In the five minutes a day he's not working, Travis is also a voice actor, podcaster, and Twitch gamer. Travis is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and Late Night programmer for the Lakefront Film Festival.