Adapting a video game into a movie has proven too challenging for many. Humanity is long past the era of universally terrible examples, but the lion's share remains less than impressive. Picking the ideal source material is often half the battle. Some interactive experiences translate better than others. Horror seems an obvious candidate. Amnesia: The Bunker might not provide the same feeling of desperation on the big screen, but its story and scares would fit perfectly.
The Amnesia series has enjoyed a strange trajectory. It's an anthology in which each entry has few things in common with its predecessor. The original, The Dark Descent, was a relatively unknown indie gem elevated to a worldwide phenomenon through the subtle art of YouTube Let's Play videos screaming at it. Its sequels never quite attained the iconic status of the first entry, but each has its unique appeal.
What is Amnesia: The Bunker about?
Amnesia: The Bunker takes place in 1916, well into World War I. The game follows French soldier Henri Clement, who enters a battlefield to rescue his best friend, Augustin Lambert. He finds his cohort trapped in a crater, just in time to be struck with an artillery shell. Henri wakes up sometime later in the titular bunker with a crippling case of the eponymous amnesia. His new domicile seems to be abandoned. He's in a French garrison with an unexplained Beast. The high-ranking officers left their posts immediately, but not before caving in the only exit. Henri is trapped in an inescapable underground structure with a monster that is only stopped by bright lights. He finds a watch set to count down the moments before the bunker's generator runs out of fuel. If the lights go out, Henri is doomed. Henri will have to discover the truth of the monster's identity and find a way out of the nightmarish bunker or suffer the fate of his brothers-in-arms.
Amnesia: The Bunker is perfect for a movie adaptation
The obvious takeaway from a brief summary of Amnesia: The Bunker's narrative is that the premise already sort of sounds like a horror movie. That's not to say that the gameplay isn't a critical part of the experience. The calming effect of the game's safe rooms juxtaposed against the tense risk/reward of every voyage out is something few games can match. The Bunker can give players panic with the slightest movement in the shadows. It can also grant power with a lighter or a flashlight. That hands-on immersion won't be present in a cinematic take on the material. Instead, a film adaptation would need to replace immersion with characterization. The situation and premise are perfect for a tense, claustrophobic war horror film. Several entries in the genre recognize the terrifying potential of being trapped in a garrison with something deadlier than the enemy soldiers. With an excellent elevator pitch, all the movie would have to do is give the audience characters to latch onto.
Like most of the franchise's protagonists, Henri Clement doesn't have much going on. He's primarily dedicated to acting as an avatar for the player. He would need to be relatable and recognizably human to bring Amnesia: The Bunker to the big screen. Horror movies frequently invite their viewers to imagine themselves in the position of the protagonist. Henry's situation is terrifying. His actions have to be understandable. He can't wander around for half an hour trying to find the fourteenth photo. This should be a tight, focused, claustrophobic horror film in which Henry wakes up in a terrible situation and spends the next 90 minutes fighting to get out. It practically writes itself.
Other Amnesia games could make good movies
Each Amnesia game has a lot of elements that would work brilliantly on the big screen. Granting Daniel from The Dark Descent, Oswald Mandus from A Machine for Pigs, or Anastasie "Tasi" Trianon from Rebirth a live-action spotlight would be spectacular. A Machine for Pigs, in particular, would be a stunning sight in the model of something like Crimson Peak. That game has a narrative that would fit a full-length feature film better than a game. The film's runtime may be shorter than most games, but it uses all that time to focus on the narrative. The entire franchise would make a great series of movies or a wonderful anthology series.
Amnesia: The Bunker has a brilliantly simple premise with an engagingly complex payoff. It's perfect for the three-act structure of a film. Horror games have often made it to the big screen, but Hollywood only seems to select those that borrow too much from movies to begin with. Resident Evil or Silent Hill are fine film pitches, but using their source materials as inspiration hasn't worked out. Amnesia: The Bunker could be a rare example in which the filmmakers don't have to do too much work to bring it to the new medium