Fan films have been around for decades, as amateur, or even professional, filmmakers try to recreate the worlds or characters they love. Many popular film franchises have had dozens of films made in their image, but the other medium that is consistently recreated is video games.
Video game films have been hit and miss with more misses than hits, unfortunately. The same goes for the fan films they have sparked, while every filmmaker that has completed a film gets my applause and respect for the effort it took, it is simply a daunting task to create anything that comes close to capturing the essence of blockbuster games when working with the small budgets most of these films are made on. There are, however, some shining exceptions to the norm. Here are ten video game fan films worth seeking out for yourself.
Red Dead Redemption: Seth's Gold
This fan film works as a great Western action-short without even adding the Red Dead element. However, what truly elevates it is the iconography of the game is ever-present. The costumes, setting, and even the style all remind the viewer of Red Dead, which makes the film feel like it does take place in the chaotic world of the Rockstar games, instead of just some non-descript Western setting.
Fallout: Nuka Break
This short from Wayside Creations was so popular back in 2011 that the group went on to turn it into a web series. It follows a group of survivors as they trek the wasteland of Fallout. Complete with iconic outfits and weapons, robots, and cheesy animations the game truly comes to life.
What sets this short apart is that even though it follows the tense day to day of surviving, it has the same sense of humor that makes the game so special. There are genuinely funny jokes and moments throughout the standoffs that make up the short.
Shadow Of Mordor By Corridor Digital
The Youtube channel Corridor Digital has made a name for themselves by putting out high-quality fan-films for an assortment of popular games. One of their best is this short inspired by Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor.
The film features orcs with fantastic practical effects, that are then, of course, dismembered by the supernatural ranger that leads the game series. The action is well-shot and the visuals of both his powers and the kills is some of the best on this list. Fair warning, the short is almost as brutal as the game that it is emulating.
Super Mario: Underworld
This one comes from the famous Youtube team Nukazooka. It imagines what comes next for Mario after he misses a jump and falls off the map, with terrifying results. Mario finds himself in a desolate, dark world of fallen Marios and vile imaginings of the games' creatures.
The effects in this short are astounding and they do an excellent job of bringing a ton of classic Mario bits to life, including a mutated Goomba, a cannibalistic Luigi, Lakitu and his cloud, and even a massive Bullet Bill.
Claycat's Doom
Speaking of shorts that are brutal, this one comes from renowned claymation filmmaker Lee Hardcastle. It recreates Doom with richly detailed claymation sets, and features every iconic weapon and creature from the games. It also mixes the retro look and gameplay with the 2016 reboot's brutal execution moves. It's a short, frantic film that is sure to make any fan of games smile. Plus, seeing the brutality of the game recreated with clay is a sight to behold.
Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy
This film was made back in 2009 and is considered one of the first great fan-films. It is borderline feature-length, and looks decent for what it is. The plot is well-developed and seeing the world of Metal Gear in film format is something many people never thought would be possible.
Unfortunately, even with how huge a feat the film is, it lacked the money to really do the chaos of Metal Gear complete justice, and it ends uncomplete as the team never fully funded the rest of the series they were working on. It is still a remarkable effort and will remain the best film version of the iconic game series until Jordan Vogt-Roberts attempts to usurp it with his film adaptation in the next few years.
Metroid: The Sky Calls
Sam Balcomb's Star Trek.
The short features most of Samus's famous abilities and makes the morph ball not look ridiculous, which is a challenge in and of itself. The only thing missing is alien monsters. It would be incredible to see what a creature like Ridley looks like in this world.
Croft
This twenty-minute short from 2013 comes from Hollywood stuntman Trevor Addie. His background as a stuntman on a number of big productions shows as the whole film is full of well-choreographed action and risky stunts.
Clearly inspired by the Tomb Raider reboot the film follows a woman as she risks life and limb to save a little girl taken hostage by mercenaries. It features everything a fan of the game could hope for, with the scaling of mountainous terrain, bow and arrow stealth kills, climbing pick focused related fight-scenes, and then finally dual pistol chaos.
Portal: No Escape
Before director Dan Trachtenberg took on the nearly impossible task of making a good Cloverfield sequel with 10 Cloverfield Lane he took on the nearly impossible task of making a great film out of Portal, a series designed completely around using portals to solve mind-bending puzzles.
Never count this guy out, as he has managed to prove fans wrong twice now. His short film, based on Portal 2, is impressive in scope and execution, with dazzling special effects, well-designed action, and an ending that fits the game's tone perfectly.
Uncharted: Live-Action
Director Allan Ungar brings Uncharted to life in a fan film that stacks up better than many features. He casts the fan-favorite choice of Nathan Fillon as Nathan Drake and the two capture the spirit of the game so well that it is a genuine shame that a feature-length version of this film won't ever exist.
The short follows a captured Drake as he is interrogated and tortured, but it is done with the wit, whimsy, and tone that has made Uncharted into one of the best game series of all-time. The film is shot and acted brilliantly, and it is fifteen minutes that fly by, leaving you sad that it is over.
