Credit: Dead Space
John Carpenter is a legend when it comes to horror. The master filmmaker revitalized the slasher genre thanks to Halloween, which is still going strong over 40 years later. However, Carpenter has produced other classics such as The Thing, Escape from New York, The Fog, and Assault on Precinct 13. It’s safe to say that Carpenter understands the world of horror and how to truly scare an audience; however, the most interesting part is that a live-action Dead Space movie has not been made yet.
To recall, Dead Space is about engineer Isaac Clarke, who gets stranded aboard the Ishimura, a mining ship. What seems like a simple repair job is anything but, as Clarke discovers that the crew has been slaughtered by a group of alien mutated monsters called the necromorphs. Clarke must repair the ship and fight for his survival in order to escape the horror inside of the Ishimura.
Credit: Dead Space
When Dead Space burst onto the scene back in 2008, the video game blew fans away with its creepy atmosphere, strong story, and fun gameplay. Dead Space is considered one of the best survival horror video games of the last 20 years, and the sequel further established the series as this generation’s Resident Evil.
Unfortunately, Dead Space 3 disappointed many fans due to the franchise going in a more action-orientated route, and while the third installment isn’t a bad game by any means, it turned off enough fans to the point where sales were abysmal for the franchise. The Dead Space brand became cold, and it was during this time that there were actually talks of doing a live-action film of the popular video game.
Carpenter expressed his interest in developing a Dead Space movie in the past; however, a live-action film of the once-popular franchise never can to fruition despite promises made by EA. Nearly a decade later, the world was shocked with a surprise trailer for a remake of the survival horror classic, and Dead Space is set to arrive for the new generation on January 27, 2023. With audiences excited again for the upcoming Dead Space remake, surely talks of a live-action film will heat up should the game turn out to be a success. Well, if Dead Space does eventually get a live-action release, then surely John Carpenter would be at the top of the list.
Credit: Dead Space
Speaking to The AV Club, Carpenter was questioned on which video game he would love to adapt, and the filmmaker didn’t hesitate to say the popular survival horror game, “The only one I can think of, and I’ve mentioned it before, it before, is Dead Space. That would make a real great movie. I could do that.” Carpenter is even open to doing a Dead Space 3, which as previously stated, isn’t the most popular version in the series, “Well, any of them were really good. I even like the last one, the action one that nobody else liked.”
Dead Space would be the perfect video game to translate over to film. The lore and world alone would attract both mainstream and franchise lovers, and with the right director and script, it could easily be up there in the ranks with Alien or The Thing. Again, the success of the Dead Space remake could reignite possible talks of a movie. Electronic Arts originally announced the adaptation at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2013, but not much else has been said about the feature since then.
Meanwhile, Carpenter remains a busy man in Hollywood. The filmmaker was actually a composer for David Gordon Green’s Halloween Ends. Carpenter touches on several aspects of horror in general, what it means to create a scary scene, his view on elevated horror, and thoughts about the final chapter of Laurie Strode and Michael Myers.
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