Horror movies get a lot of attention each autumn, but I love watching them year-round. For me, it’s the atmosphere that sells the experience.

Much of the same can be said for some of my favorite games. Now that survival horror is enjoying a renaissance, here’s my wish list for five horror films that I’d love to see get video game adaptations.

The Blair Witch Project
When this was initially released, it shook up horror in a way few expected. I’d love to see a game that put you in the place of each of the three documentarians, and rotated between them at will and without warning. If this was created with a slow burn mentality, I think it could be terribly jarring and effective.

fear dot com
This movie wasn’t great by any means, but I think it has an excellent set up for a horror game. You visit a website and it instinctually knows what your greatest fears are. If there was a question and answer segment at the beginning, the game could tailor itself to your particular fears (a la: Silent Hill Shattered Memories) and psychologically scare the crap out of you.

Paranormal Activity (the series)
This series is actually what got me thinking about this topic in the first place. It struck me how effective it might be to play a game based on these films. Looking through the various monitors in a static location, trying to piece together what is happening within a finite time frame. Deciding when to break away from the monitors to play in first person. I think it could be interesting and unpredictable based on which monitor you were looking at when.

Stay Alive
I may be one of the only people I know who really likes this movie, and any time I think of it or put it on, I find myself wishing there was an actual Stay Alive game. The premise of the Bathory “legend” is ripe for this genre, and the locations even hinted at in the film would make excellent backdrops for tense horror action.

Trick ‘r Treat
This movie has style. The atmosphere is rich, dark, and full of energy. Of any horror movie, this one embodies the Halloween spirit more than any other. The vignette format would lend itself well to a game, and quite possibly multiple installments.

I find horror games to be scarier than horror films in no small part due to the player’s direct involvement in the action. Historically, licensed games haven’t been terribly great, but I’d love to see a developer out there give one of these a go. Sure, it’s a long shot that any of these would ever come to fruition, so until then, I wait patiently for Until Dawn.