ROTTEN TOMATOES: Video Game Veteran to Direct the "Castlevania" Flick

Video Game Veteran to Direct the "Castlevania" Flick

by Scott Weinberg | November 03, 2005

While we were all busy chuckling over Uwe Boll's plan to release "Dungeon Siege" in two feature-length chapters, that "other" video game-centric director has been signing a few contracts, too. The short version is this: Paul W.S. Anderson is directing a "Castlevania" movie.

Says Variety: "Pic will focus on the origins of Dracula and the uprising of the Belmont Clan, a vampire-slaying family who supposedly become humanity's last hope.

"Castlevania" was first released in 1986. The latest version, "Castlevania: Curse of Darkness," comes out Stateside on Nov. 8."

Paul W.S. Anderson is generally well-remembered for directing "Event Horizon." His other movies include "Resident Evil," "Alien vs. Predator," "Mortal Kombat," and "Soldier."

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(1-20 of 25 posts) | Reply

Aoiboy writes:
on Nov 03 2005 05:00 AM

Let the shredding begin...

(Reply to this)

Blue Arc writes:
on Nov 03 2005 05:56 AM

Well...at least it's not Uwe Boll...

(Reply to this)

pokthecat writes:
on Nov 03 2005 06:32 AM

It's going to suck because no Hollywood video game movie sticks to the game's storyline. They have to make up their own bullsh*t and that is when it goes to crap.

(Reply to this)

ssmithy writes:
on Nov 03 2005 06:44 AM

It�s true that most video game inspired movies do suck, but I really wouldn't blame Hollywood entirely. To begin with a game like Castlevania doesn't have THAT complex of a storyline to fill out an entire movie, so of course they are going to have to take liberties and add story elements to the movie. Gamers, myself included, think that the awesome level of game play felt while playing the game (in this instance, Castlvania) can somehow be recaptured by a movie. The truth is that this is nearly impossible, especially for games that have very little story. That would be why a great deal of the video game movies based of off original Nintendo games have mostly flopped. In the end, video games and movies are two different mediums. When bridging the two, sacrifices inevitably happen.

(Reply to this)

Bob* writes:
on Nov 03 2005 08:03 AM

I agree with ssmithy, there can't be a good videogame-based movie because videogames storylines are not suitable for movies. Mixing them it's a big mistake.

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mizzoucritic writes:
on Nov 03 2005 08:03 AM

"And the title for the week's biggest dissapointment goes to..."

Paul Anderson doesn't know what the hell he's doing. Did anyone notice in Alien vs Predator (yeah, actually watched it but didn't pay anything) when weapons disappear and suddenly appear again? Either he's just lazy and/or doesn't have a clue.

Would it have been that hard to get a real director instead of Anderson (or Boll for that matter)?

Now that I think about it, Zack Snyder should have directed. His good balance of horror and action (seen in Dawn of the Dead) would have been perfect for Castlevania.

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elziard writes:
on Nov 03 2005 10:17 AM

[b]close to my heart[/b]
but i've seen the movie they will base this game on already.
it was called van helsing.
to be honest, if van helsing had been 'castlevania: the movie' i wouldn't have minded. seriously, what can you do with a side-scrolling game as far as content? how you seriously fight the grim reaper is beyond me. the more recent castlevania games are getting richer and nicely adding story content. no need to reinvent the wheel. but we all know someone will rehash van helsing which was over-CG'd and nice to look at but no real merit.

now if they took and indy-approach (complete with whip): a quest, a few battles with classic monsters, who know? there were element in the second game that were interesting: with the curse on your family and dying and having to gather pieces to rebuild dracula so you can destroy the curse; i could see that as interesting.
think the first sandman book when dream needs to gather pieces of himself and the hands that those pieces fell into; nice three or four major scenes with alchemists(raising mummys), dr. frankenstein, medusa or sirens(depending if the ghost pirate ship makes an appearance). and if you want total 'way-too-many-characters' you can have alucard and syfa help you.

if they could turn a theme park ride into a decent movie(pirates) there is always a chance.

(Reply to this)

Insert_witty_name writes:
on Nov 03 2005 10:49 AM

In reply to this comment (#827342)
Ssmithy is absolutely right. The mediums are just too different and the result will always turn out bad. Video game based movies always suck, as do movie based video games. Does everyone remember when Eddie Murphy tried singing, or when DMX tried acting? Same parallel applies here.

(Reply to this)

VML writes:
on Nov 03 2005 11:11 AM

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HE'S GOING TO KILL IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Reply to this)

Paul_Is_Drunk writes:
on Nov 03 2005 12:00 PM

They're all going to laugh at you!

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Vejadu writes:
on Nov 03 2005 12:24 PM

I don't blame him for how Alien vs. Predator turned out. He was directing it as an 'R' movie and the studio decided to make it PG-13 less than two weeks before the film's release. Therefore, the movie got all chopped up in the frantic push to hit it's release date.

While he's far from the best director out there, Resident Evil was decent and he did direct the most faithful video game to movie adaption thus far -- Mortal Kombat.

At least Mr. Boll isn't attached!

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lovelykeira writes:
on Nov 03 2005 01:44 PM

Yea I thought Resident Evil was all right and Event Horizon was pretty damn cool, so I'll give this a chance.

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FEENXFIRE writes:
on Nov 03 2005 02:00 PM

[b]It's...[/b]
It's a generational thing. What the hell does Paul WS Anderson know about Castlevania? Forget that he's never made a good movie, how can we expect him to respect the property in the way of the fans?

It's also a regional thing. Castlevania is Japanese, crafted with the same unique sensibility of many Japanese games. Hollywood would never dare take a risk and emulate that exact tone.

You're wrong to think video game movies can't capture the spirit of the games- it's just never been done before. Doom is probably the closest thing, but that was Doom. Not so far away from whatever other schlock Hollywood had in the pipeline. In all, the video game industry is far more intelligent and innovative than mainstream Hollywood; and Hollywood's crapping its pants at the notion that when the younger generation grows up, they'll be sending their entertainment dollars somewhere else.

Don't worry about Castlevania, don't complain about it, just sit back with some popcorn and watch Hollywood in its final, ever so desperate death throes. Yum!

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RJMacReady writes:
on Nov 03 2005 02:28 PM

[b]WTF?[/b]
Okay, well thats another film I wont be going to see. Being a huge fan of the videogame franchise, his attempts at Resident Evil were absolutely dire, to say the least. He's a mediocre director, and knows when to shout 'Action!' or 'Check the gate!' but he cannot write a feature film even if his life depended on it.

I've noticed the comments about Event Horizon. Yeah, the film was OK, but it wasn't exactly Ben-Hur was it?

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SIRxxxTMG writes:
on Nov 03 2005 07:18 PM

He's made the most faithful videogame movie, that being Mortal Kombat. And he's also made some other pretty decent movies like Event Horzion. Maybe he can pull of Castlevania in a way thats not entirely laughable.

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dylan21484nj writes:
on Nov 03 2005 07:40 PM

maybe with means he'll give up the Resident Evil franchise, so someone who can actually WRITE and DIRECT can make a good Resident Evil film.

a guy can dream, can't he?

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JTHuG writes:
on Nov 03 2005 08:09 PM

Wow, CastleVania are the #1 Games of all time.

Why oh why of why is Anderson doing this? *cries*

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evilralphwiggum writes:
on Nov 03 2005 08:41 PM

*cries* damn't not one of my other favorite game series on the chopping block. screw video game movies. DAMN THEM ALL!! I love Castlevania!

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Callpacas writes:
on Nov 04 2005 08:11 AM

You must ask yourself what is the essence of Castlevania? What keeps the gamer glued to the screen....its not the cutscenes ( the story..same as Devil May Cry), its the action. The hack and slash with the rpg elements. The insane mix of monsters and enemies. ( when is it that you can find a skeleton dragon rider with a meerman and floating heads together any where else) A faithful adaptation would just be a mess of an action film. So how could you blast the film for being unfaitful when the success of the game itself is based on such qualities? with no sensible connection between the monsters and a forgetable storyline. This is going to be the same with the movie. Its obviously a cash in.They want to make something meaningful, video games would be the last on the list of possible sources. They would, and i would rather start afresh with a new frachise. Or they could always revive Anne Rice's vampire chroncles starting with the Tale of The Body Thief or the vampire lestat. Why out your expectations so high when the source material is barely eligible?

(Reply to this)

scottybarkbark writes:
on Nov 04 2005 10:02 AM

it would be awesome if they make mortal kombat: shaolin monks into a movie

(Reply to this)

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