The unthinkable has happened, as Dead by Daylight is set to be getting a live-action adaptation. If you are unfamiliar with the title, it is a multiplayer asymmetrical horror video game, where you either play as a survivor who must escape from a killer or a killer who needs to hook the four survivors in a match, sacrificing them to the Entity that brought them all to the Realm.
Part of the allure of Dead by Daylight is that in addition to the survivors and killers created by the developers of the game Behaviour Interactive, you can also purchase licensed characters from iconic horror films and games. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Hellraiser are among the franchises in the game.
We don’t know much about the movie, including whether it will include any of these other licenses in them either as cameos or as full-blown crossovers. But, the film is being produced by Blumhouse Productions and Atomic Monster Productions, and both companies have made many horror franchises over the years. So, we could easily see films from both companies drop in characters to have an authentic Dead by Daylight experience.
Here are 10 horror characters from both Blumhouse and Atomic Monster, that could appear and work well in the Dead by Daylight movie.
M3GAN from M3GAN
The robot doll from the 2022 film M3GAN would be an excellent Dead by Daylight killer. M3GAN took the world by storm last year, with the doll becoming a social media sensation for more than a few weeks. Compared to some of the other killers on this list, she would provide the humor and levity that would work well in a film like this while being as menacing as the others. This franchise is still active too, with M3GAN 2.0 in development, so including her would be some good cross-promotion. It would also be great to have some mixed heights among the group, with most of the killers on this list being taller than the doll.
The Beast from Split
The Beast, The Horde, Kevin, Patricia, whatever you would like to call him, James McAvoy’s character from Split and Glass would be a perfect fit for a Dead by Daylight movie. Now, if you’ve seen Glass, you might know that the character died in that universe. Well, that’s one great thing about a Dead by Daylight movie, characters wouldn’t have to be alive to be in it. We could have a Spider-Man: No Way Home situation, where the Entity brings people into the Realm before they have died.
With that being said, seeing Kevin and all of his different personalities interact with the other killers and survivors could prove him to be one of the creepiest characters in the film. Imagine if he started off as a survivor, with the killer nowhere to be found, only for him to change into The Beast. That’s something that you couldn’t do in the game but it could work really well in a movie.
Josh Lambert from Insidious
Our first survivor on this list, Patrick Wilson’s character from the Insidious franchise would make a great addition to the film’s roster. Josh Lambert is a bit of a skeptic in the first Insidious movie, but his ability to project into The Further could come in handy if he was in the Realm. He could spy on the killers by using his powers or use his abilities to talk to other survivors if he gets separated.
That’s even without mentioning that Wilson is a modern horror icon because of his roles in both the Insidious franchise and the Conjuring franchise. Lending his talent to the Dead by Daylight movie would give it the authenticity a film like this would need. Plus, Wilson’s directorial debut Insidious: Fear the Dark is set to release later this year, so the franchise isn’t exactly dormant.
Tree from Happy Death Day
If we aren’t getting Happy Death Day 3, at least use the main character, Tree, as a survivor in the Dead by Daylight movie. Jessica Rothe’s Theresa “Tree” Gelbman, has been in multiple killer time-loops because of the Happy Death Day franchise, so it wouldn’t be her first time to escape a horrific, murderous reality.
The character has a great personality, and that might be the best thing about those films. Inserting her sassiness into a Dead by Daylight movie would be amazing to see compared to the other survivors. She could even have a time-loop-based ability if the movie toys with abilities. Plus, there are some hardcore Dead by Daylight fans on Twitter that would be very happy if she were to appear.
Katie from Paranormal Activity
If the movie turns into what we’re suggesting it should turn into — a sort of celebration of Blumhouse’s horror movies— then there’s no way you can leave out the original Blumhouse killer, Katie from the Paranormal Activity franchise. For most of the original 2007 movie, Katie doesn’t do much damage to anyone, but she would make a terrifying killer with her demonic abilities.
Katie is one of the only characters on this list that actually possesses supernatural abilities, which is something that most of the good Dead by Daylight killers have. The only thing going against her being in the film is that there are a few killers in the game that are already similar to her, including the original killer, the Nurse.
Chris Washington from Get Out
You need someone with that jaded, “I just need to get out of here” attitude, and Chris Washington from Get Out would be perfect. Played by Daniel Kaluuya in the Jordan Peele-directed film, the entire premise of Get Out is that Chris is in an uncomfortable and dangerous situation and he is desperately trying to flee his captors. There really wouldn’t be much difference between his motivations in his film compared to Dead by Daylight.
The biggest thing that might stop him from appearing in the movie is Kaluuya’s star power, but if he did star in the film, his character would fit in perfectly. None of these characters need to necessarily be the leads of the film either, Kaluuya could easily pop in for a cameo.
Freddy Fazbear from Five Nights at Freddy’s
The only character from a movie that hasn’t been released yet is Freddy Fazbear from Five Nights at Freddy’s. This seems like such an obvious choice considering Freddy is one of the most asked-for collaborations from fans of the game. Plus, two video game adaptations crossing over would just add to the number of fans who would line up to see the movie.
Matthew Lillard is set to play the main antagonist of the upcoming Five Nights at Freddy’s movie, William Afton. But, rather than having just another human appear as a killer, having an animatronic bear who is possessed by a murdered child would be so much creepier.
Michael Myers from Halloween
Another fairly obvious choice on this list is Michael Myers from Halloween. Both Myers and final girl Laurie Strode appear in the Dead by Daylight game, with their appearances taken from the original 1978 film, John Carpenter’s Halloween. Adding his menacing presence to the group of killers in the Dead by Daylight movie might overshadow the other killers, but if he were to suddenly pop up with his theme playing it would be amazing.
While the original franchise was not produced by Blumhouse, the recent sequels by David Gordon Green were, so we could easily see Myers appear. It would probably be too much to ask for to have Academy Award-winning actor Jamie Lee Curtis appear as Laurie Strode, but we can always dream of that too.
Valak from The Nun
One of the main antagonists from The Conjuring franchise, Valak (Bonnie Aarons) would be an excellent addition to the lineup. She appears in both The Conjuring 2 and The Nun and is set to appear in The Nun 2. While Blumhouse was not involved with either of the films in which she appears, Atomic Monster Productions was, so Wan might be able to work out a deal to put one of the characters from that universe in Dead by Daylight.
The only negative to putting Valak in the film is that she would lessen the impact of some of the other killers who have similar powers. For example, just on this list, we have already suggested Katie from Paranormal Activity. But, there is also the Nurse, the Hag, and other licensed killers from the game.
Jigsaw from Saw
Now, for our last pick, Jigsaw from the Saw franchise. Technically, neither Atomic Monster nor Blumhouse had anything to do with any of the Saw films, as the franchise is owned by Lionsgate. However, the director of the first film, James Wan, is also the co-creator of Saw, together with Leigh Whannell. If there is anyone who could manage to bring characters from the movie into the Dead by Daylight film, it’s him.
Of course, there have been nine films in the franchise, with a tenth set to release later this year. Both Shawnee Smith and Tobin Bell will be reprising their roles in the movie, as Amanda and John/Jigsaw respectively, meaning both of their characters could easily pop up in Dead by Daylight. In fact, Amanda is already a character in the video game, which increases their chances of appearing in the movie.
Those are 10 characters from iconic horror and thriller movies from Blumhouse and Atomic Monster that would be perfect to be dragged into the Entity’s Realm for the Dead by Daylight movie. Are there any characters from Blumhouse films that you would kill to have in the movie? Or how about characters from horror films more broadly?
Let’s hope that they go the route of including licensed characters in the movie, but if they don’t we are still probably going to get to see Dwight, Meg, and the Trapper in live-action, which is awesome enough already.
Published: Mar 19, 2023 09:39 pm