Alone in the Dark is often referred to as the grand daddy of all survival horror games before the genre even had a name. Created by I-Motion and award winning developer Hubert Chardot, the AITD series spanned several titles and landed on numerous platforms including the PC, PlayStation, Game Boy Color, the 3DO, and even the DreamCast. While the first three titles remained faithful to the original time-line (early 1900's) the fourth title in the series, Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, jumped light years ahead into modern times and recreated the popular lead character Edward Carnby as an edgier, trigger happy paranormal investigator.

The reason that Hubert Chardot's original games were so popular is because they combined action elements, adventure and puzzle solving elements with a H.P. Lovecraft influenced story and atmosphere. While the fourth title in the series didn't win any accolades and certainly strayed far from the path of the originals, it did remain faithful in some respects.

The Alone in the Dark film is not based on Hubert Chardot's original masterpiece, but is rather based loosely on the plot of Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare (PSOne, DreamCast, Game Boy Color and PC - released on late June, 2001 ) developed by Darkworks (who are currently working with Ubisoft on a new edgy survival horror action game called Cold Fear). The Darkworks game is set in the modern day, though it still features the "Supernatural Private Eye" in the same line of work.

The upcoming Lion's Gate film, Alone in the Dark: Evil Awakens, takes poetic license with the storyline from Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare. In the film Edward Carnby (played by Christian Slater) is a paranormal investigator with a personal interest in "things that go bump in the night", having witnessed first hand a horrible truth about it as a child, and haunted by dreams of whatever it was ever since.

When Edward is called in to investigate the mysterious disappearance of 19 people, he comes face-to-face with the very thing that has haunted him most of his life. The disappearances only have one thing in common - all the victims grew up in the same orphanage as Edward. Edward turns to Aline Cedrac (Tara Reid), long-time friend, anthropologist and former flame for help in unraveling the mystery behind an ancient artifact of immense power found in a shipwreck, along with the ancient evils connected to it, lost civilizations that they uncover, and a possible government conspiracy to cover it all up.

Alone in the Dark: Evil Awakens had a rocky start when it began production but director Uwe Boll did his best to keep the project alive. Boll appreciated the complexity of the characters of the videogame and the complex plot and is trying to bring the same creepy atmosphere to the big screen. Boll is no stranger to bringing videogames to the realm of film, having directed House of the Dead - a film based on the Sega game of the same name.

“All the kids that Edward grew up with – why have they disappeared but he hasn’t? Suddenly his work as a paranormal investigator turns personal and he’s committed to finding these kids,” explains Boll. The character’s initial focus, he says, leads to a much more elaborate plot involving a shadowy government organization, ancient civilizations and evil creatures that have been hiding for thousands of years. “It’s a big movie, but it all comes together very well.”

Boll worked closely with producer Shawn Williamson and screenwriters Elan Mastai, Michael Roesch and Peter Scheere to create an action film that can stand on its own for general audiences while still satisfying the game’s loyal fans. Fans looking for a tie-in to the original Hubert Chardot game may be dissatisfied with the modern day settings and script, but those folks probably didn't find the fourth title in the series very palatable to begin with. The film hopes to at least capture the spirit of the game franchise while adding a dash of romance, lots of special effects and plenty of violent and fast paced gunplay.

You can learn more about the Alone in the Dark series by visiting fan site www.aitdgames.com - a nifty resource for anyone wanting to learn more about most of the AITD series. You can learn more about the film, which is set to premiere in theaters on January 28th nationwide, at aloneinthedarkthemovie.com . Just for fun, you can try out this simple web-based game based on the film here . Alone in the Dark is 96 minutes long and is Rated "R" for violence and language. You can find a complete listing of the cast and crew behind this film below:

THE CAST



Edward Carnby: CHRISTIAN SLATER



Aline Cedrac: TARA REID



Commander Richards: STEPHEN DORFF