The player

Cult film-makers are turning their talents to video games, writes JOE GRIFFIN

ONE of the most talked-about trailers at Gamescom was for Lollipop Chainsaw. The third-person action game pits a power- tool-wielding cheerleader against a horde of zombies. It's tongue in cheek and violent, and has a hint of exploitation in its trailer; it admires its young heroine while presenting her as an object of desire. It shouldn't be surprising, so, that James Gunn is one of the creative forces behind the game.

An alumnus of the schlock studio Troma Entertainment (for which he wrote the comedy Tromeo & Juliet), Gunn went on to write the superior remake of Dawn of the Deadbefore directing the icky horror comedy Slither. The question isn't why he's dabbling in video games, it's why he's waited until now.

In fact, numerous film talents have found that the game industry might better suit their skills and needs; there’s more room for experimentation, the running time is longer (about 10 hours for a game) and the animation allows more scope than a live- action film. The interactive nature of the storytelling also adds a new challenge.

And while Gunn is a relatively young film-maker, more established directors are turning to the medium. John Carpenter is in a strange place in his career. The 63-year-old horror legend is seeing a number of films being remade and rebooted (including The Thing, Halloweenand The Fog) but hasn't been asked to work with the new horror studios, including Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes, which is remaking some Carpenter classics.

Carpenter was invited to be spokesman for the game F.E.A.Rand worked on the cinematic elements for a sequel, F.3.A.R. Of the latter he said: "Everyone is scared of the same things, so you can apply that to any kind of art. It's a universal language."

Another gifted writer from just outside of the Hollywood mainstream, John Milius, has lent his talents to the recent first-person shooter Homefront. As well as co-writing Apocalypse Now, the original Conan films and Red Dawn, Milius wrote the famous Dirty Harryone-liners (including "Go ahead, punk: make my day"). David Votypka, the general manager of Kaos Studios, told nygamecritics.wordpress.com that Milius was trying to write a modern Grapes of Wrathwith Homefront.

Many of these film-makers lack the clout they once had, but they’re blossoming in their new roles and gaining new fans in the game industry. For gamers, Hollywood’s loss is our gain.