Outlast is coming to the big screen, in collaboration with The Ring producer

The Outlast series has been a solid entry in the survival horror series, with its terrifying set-pieces, twisted antagonists, and disturbing content. Trials was the most recent outing, which took things in a more online co-op direction, but now Red Barrels is looking to bring its franchise to the big screen.

In a recent post on X, the Outlast studio has said there will be an adaptation of the series, which will be in collaboration with Lionsgate. There’s no word on whether it will retell the story of one of the games or whether it will be its own original idea set in or around the antics of the Murkoff Corporation.

As well as teaming up with the studio responsible for the likes of the John Wick, Saw, and Hunger Games films, Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee is said to be attached as producer. If you’re not familiar with the name, you’ll be familiar with work attached to him, such as The Departed, The Ring, The Strangers, It, and – dare I say – The Lego Movie.

How visceral will it be, I wonder…

It seems Lee is something of an Outlast fan, with a quote from the producer that says the games themselves – since the first one, which released in 2013 – “changed the landscape of horror gaming, setting a new standard for immersion in the genre.”

Lee continues:

Its deep, emergent lore has provided a perfect foundation for creating a film that delves into the psychological and physical horrors at the core of the franchise. I’m excited to bring this unique world to life for both new viewers and the series’ dedicated fans.

It’s also good that the games’ writer J.T. Petty is attached, so you know it’s going to be an authentic Outlast adaptation.

I recently started playing the second game again. Possibly because we’re in Halloween right now. In any case, I’m more than aware of how violent, bloody, and deranged each entry in the series is. I still remember the mutilation scene in the Whistleblower standalone DLC the player is all but forced to watch. That moment lives on in the dark recesses of my mind.

I can only imagine what kind of ideas the developer and everyone involved has in-store for when they translate the Outlast universe to the big screen. We don’t know when it’s likely to be released, but we are promised that it will capture the games’ “immersive atmosphere, chilling sound design, and relentless suspense.” Probably not one to watch with your Grandma, then, I suspect.