Fear Effect film plans updated

Supercop director Stanley Tong in talks to bring franchise to the big screen; Hollywood Reporter claims next-gen sequel in works.

In the mid-1990s, Miramax Films subsidiary Dimension Films began rereleasing Jackie Chan action-comedies in hundreds of theaters across North America. Though dubbed in English, films such as Rumble in the Bronx, Supercop, and First Strike were all solid hits, and helped make Chan a bona fide star in the US.

The director of all three aforementioned films, former stuntman Stanley Tong, found himself beset with offers to direct Hollywood blockbusters. However, his first--and so far only--Western film, the 1997 Leslie Nielsen comedy Mr. Magoo, was excoriated by critics. Since then, Tong has only directed two Hong Kong films, preferring to produce instead.

Now, however, Tong may be on the verge of his second Hollywood effort, thanks to an upcoming game adaptation. Today's Hollywood Reporter claims that Tong is in talks to bring the 2000 PlayStation title Fear Effect to the big screen. The news will be a relief to fans of the series, as it means infamous filmmaker Uwe Boll's Fear Effect project is apparently no longer in the offing.

According to the Reporter, part of the reason Tong is being considered to direct is the film's primary location of Hong Kong, his former stomping ground. The film is being given a lower-end budget of around $25 million, and will begin shooting later this year for a 2008 release.

At the end of the article, the Reporter almost nonchalantly mentions that "Eidos is developing a third Fear Effect game for next-generation consoles." No specific platforms were mentioned, though no Fear Effect title has ever been developed for a non-Sony platform. Eidos reps, however, denied any such project was in development.

Published by Eidos and developed by Kronos Digital, Fear Effect drew praise for its detailed near-future storyline, which concerned a trio of mercenaries trying to recover a Chinese business magnate's kidnapped daughter. It spawned a sequel, Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix, in 2001. A PlayStation 2 entry into the series, Fear Effect: Inferno, was canceled in 2003.

74 Comments

  • planetgloom

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 4:53 am PT

    I just wish they would finish Inferno it looked so sweet and woud encourage me to blow the dust off my ps3 and play something that isn't my 360!

  • Seraphim_24

    Posted May 19, 2006 9:37 am PT

    Blah, the marketing on the first was good enough to convince me I needed this game, yet its messy contril style, long load times, and insaine difficulty lead me to hate it. They have a lot to fix with this series to make it work for me.

  • samuraibambi

    Posted May 19, 2006 4:32 am PT

    interesting. the girls on that game are...well, nice

  • Rtisan

    Posted May 18, 2006 11:44 pm PT

    I hope they make a PC version also.

  • LordGamer0001

    Posted May 18, 2006 7:59 pm PT

    we will have to wait and see if this is any good.

  • FuguNabe

    Posted May 18, 2006 3:33 pm PT

    I hope they retain the stylish art style of the original game. More polygon and same title would mean nothing if they complately change the art style.

  • xc13runner

    Posted May 18, 2006 3:22 pm PT

    This is great news; I love Fear Effect. Was so disappointed when Inferno was cancelled...

  • a_nevels666

    Posted May 18, 2006 2:45 pm PT

    Ghsacidman, read the last paragraph of the article:

    "Published by Eidos and developed by Kronos Digital, Fear Effect drew praise for its detailed near-future storyline, which concerned a trio of mercenaries trying to recover a Chinese business magnate's kidnapped daughter. It spawned a sequel, Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix, in 2001. A PlayStation 2 entry into the series, Fear Effect: Inferno, was canceled in 2003. "

  • ghsacidman

    Posted May 18, 2006 2:29 pm PT

    Whats Fear Effect? They say sequal but..... I don't remember there being a first one. Oh well, looks cool.

  • rev_blade_sword

    Posted May 18, 2006 11:33 am PT

    YES! Oh how awesome I was so upset when they cancelled inferno but oh man it's back! So Awesome!

  • Kounji

    Posted May 18, 2006 10:01 am PT

    Fear effect would actually make an excellent occult film if done right. The only problem is I'm a bit wary of hong kong film makers doing films for hollywood. I don't have very hi hopes but i thought the property was fun and movie worthy. They're just going to have horrible marketing problems until they come out with the new game. Most people don't know what fear effect is anymore its a semi dead property

  • chrisdojo

    Posted May 18, 2006 9:23 am PT

    meh.

  • nytrospawn

    Posted May 18, 2006 9:04 am PT

    Jeez, not Action Spandex Lesbians again.

  • sabru8

    Posted May 18, 2006 8:28 am PT

    sweet, about time.

  • Nico4

    Posted May 18, 2006 7:57 am PT

    Yay! more lesbian horror games.

  • kabuki_tanooki

    Posted May 18, 2006 7:54 am PT

    yes! yes yes yes yes!
    i was just about to revisit the first two games back to back.
    YES!

  • foxer_2005

    Posted May 18, 2006 6:52 am PT

    Guess a remake

  • RoboticZombie

    Posted May 18, 2006 6:48 am PT

    i don't care about the movie as long as the game makes it to the next gen im good. the second fear effect was awesome.

  • gonzax

    Posted May 18, 2006 6:08 am PT

    i dont really give a damn about the movie but this is incredible news, i love this game. I hope it will be a next-gen version of Inferno cause it looked great.
    By the way, Hana was not a lesbian, she was bi-sexual!

  • edubuccaneer Site moderator

    Posted May 18, 2006 5:53 am PT

    Ah... the game that most people didn't like. I love it, though. Awesome graphics.

  • dwmorrow

    Posted May 18, 2006 5:47 am PT

    Hey, I remember this game from the old PS days. Dunno about a movie, though...the title "Supercop" doesn't bring back good memories.

  • barulez

    Posted May 18, 2006 5:31 am PT

    hopefully it will be better than the ps version.

  • OPOLO

    Posted May 18, 2006 4:26 am PT

    This is great news, because I enjoyed this game

  • gametester1424

    Posted May 18, 2006 3:56 am PT

    Great news, the game had a cool cel shaded art style for a PS1 game. It also had some sick death scenes, lesbian action, and a cool story to boot...what's not to love. Maybe speed up the gunplay and focus on solid gameplay and you can't lose.

  • BAT

    Posted May 18, 2006 2:15 am PT

    Wow ! great news ! I had given up hope for another Fear Effect game. And that the movie is not done by boll is even better !

  • Spookhouse1

    Posted May 18, 2006 12:57 am PT

    thats excellent news about Fear Effect 3, really hope its getting PS3/360 release.

  • Carpe_Noctum

    Posted May 18, 2006 12:36 am PT

    Sweet, if it's exlusive to PS3 than I now have a 4% chance to buy one. That game was dope. I love the art-syle.

  • EvanO_O

    Posted May 18, 2006 12:28 am PT

    I have never heard of that game. I know I'm still missing out on so many gems for the playstation.

  • grayfox_2k

    Posted May 17, 2006 11:41 pm PT

    i don't care about the movie !!!!
    I'M EXCITED ABOUT A THIRD FEAR EFFECT, THAT SERIES ROCKED HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!!

  • xavier14

    Posted May 17, 2006 10:57 pm PT

    hmm sounds good. i'm all ip 4 fps's

  • DrKill09

    Posted May 17, 2006 10:07 pm PT

    No thank you.

  • neoand12

    Posted May 17, 2006 9:02 pm PT

    I hope those puzzles are not there

  • jsstlh

    Posted May 17, 2006 8:33 pm PT

    sweet

  • gdogg4210

    Posted May 17, 2006 8:17 pm PT

    which reminds me, i still have to get to playing the original

  • titogod

    Posted May 17, 2006 8:14 pm PT

    yes i can wait for this lesbian sequel!

  • thekey

    Posted May 17, 2006 6:33 pm PT

    It better come to Xbox 360, MICROSOFT ARE YOU LISTENING!!!!!

  • Eclipse_ShinRa

    Posted May 17, 2006 6:25 pm PT

    Uwe Boll is gone? This movie might be = crap.. now...Good news that got rid of Uwe Boll the movie may get a better score, the what it would have..XD-

  • Doolum

    Posted May 17, 2006 6:20 pm PT

    i'll pass

  • cloudstrife75

    Posted May 17, 2006 6:02 pm PT

    I wish i played the first 2... i have heard so many good things about the game. Bring it on!

  • mustacheo

    Posted May 17, 2006 5:57 pm PT

    I wanted FEAR when it came out but alas my PC was too sluggish. So I really cant wait for this game.

  • spinmaster69

    Posted May 17, 2006 5:39 pm PT

    Great series even if it had problems being released for the ps2. Glad to see some coming of age of this series. Way too long!!!

  • JoeF

    Posted May 17, 2006 5:21 pm PT

    Hey! I reviewed that first game!

  • cloud819

    Posted May 17, 2006 5:05 pm PT

    the fear effect games suck on top of being incredibely short

  • Supersonic2000

    Posted May 17, 2006 5:02 pm PT

    Oh Thank God. Uwe Boll you lose again. And there's finally a sequel to a game that definately deserved it.

  • sonicsam6

    Posted May 17, 2006 5:00 pm PT

    hmm i have been wondering whay INFERNO got cancelled for like more than 3 years...

  • WolfSkill5544

    Posted May 17, 2006 4:52 pm PT

    I don't get it though, how come such a horrible director still buys the rights for game to movie. And thank god he won't be directing Fear Effec.

  • Schillinger

    Posted May 17, 2006 4:51 pm PT

    I'M SO HAPPY!

  • elessartelrunya

    Posted May 17, 2006 4:51 pm PT

    Oh man, the original on the PS1 was great. I really hope they bring this to the PS3 so i can play the series again.

  • johnhummel

    Posted May 17, 2006 4:51 pm PT

    Great news - I liked the first two games. If they clean up the controls a bit (more Resident Evil 4, less Resident Evil 1-3), then this could be a killer game. Nothing like lesbian assassins and horror to make a game.

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