The Simsis pretty horrible when you really think about it. You’re controlling every action of a family of ordinary people, as they’re forced to eat what you want them to, form relationships with whoever you choose, and spend every waking moment unable to function as human beings unless you beam an idea directly into their heads. There’s a real existential terror behind The Sims that’s largely unseen by people who don’t have an unhealthy obsession with horror, and it’s something thatthe recently announced Sims movieshould lean into.
While the entire idea of a Sims movie sounds like someone at EA saw how well Barbie did and wanted a slice of the pie, there are some directions that the project could go that would make it far more interesting. For example,my colleague James Troughton suggested that a movie in the style of the Truman Show, in which Sims gain independence and realize they’re part of a manufactured world, would be a lot more fun than the Bella Goth romcom we’re almost definitely going to get.
However, that got me thinking about how truly horrifying it would be to have absolutely no control over your surroundings while a potentially evil, omnipresent force had free rein to do whatever it pleased. We all know how absolutely diabolical those who frequently play The Sims can be, and I can almost guarantee that all of you reading this have removed a ladder from the pool while your least favorite Sim was swimming, just to watch them eventually tire out and helplessly drown. Even I’ve locked a Sim or two in a tiny, empty room for a few days, just to see what would happen. Spoiler - nothing good.
There are plenty of ways for Sims to meet their doom, ranging from meteor strikes to death by laughter, all of which can be brought about more easily by a cruel and unforgiving player tweaking a few settings in a Sim’s personality. The Sims has always delighted in giving players strange ways to off their families, so why not embrace that supernatural aspect of the series?
A Sim can also die by getting too angry, being mean to a chicken, embarrassing themselves, being crushed by a Murphy bed, making a wish at an angry wishing well, or being bitten by a rodent. The possibilities are almost endless.
On top of that, there are multiple ways in which a player can deliberately age up their Sims, whether it be through birthday cakes or the scent of a death flower. Imagine how disturbing it would be to go to sleep one night, and then wake up to find a previously youthful family member is now a pensioner with one foot in the grave.
The myriad ways in which players can inflict misery on a Sim makes it perfect material for a supernatural horror movie along the same lines as Final Destination. A group of Sims could break free of the simulated world they find themselves in, only to be systematically bumped off by an invisible dictator that wants to regain control. If they tried to make food, the oven could catch fire before the door and windows mysteriously vanish, eliminating the exits. If they go to buy something from a vending machine, it could fall over and crush them. And if they ever end up in a pool…
This is also a series that has madewerewolves, ghosts, aliens, and vampires as common as a middle class family of five.It’s a silly bit of fun while you’re playing the games, but you can’t have a series of iconic monsters roaming around a small suburban village and then tell me that The Sims isn’t prime material for a horror movie. It’s built in already, and along with the existential dread of the entire game, that gives you multiple genres of horror that you could experiment with.
I’m well aware that none of this will ever happen. The Sims is a family-friendly game, despite all the things listed above, and EA probably doesn’t want to run the risk of scarring children for life with a brutal horror movie that shares the same name as their favorite cozy PC game. But if EA was feeling brave and a bit mischievous, they would lean into the underlying terror of the series and give us a video game movie adaptation like no other.
The Sims 4
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Developed by Maxis, The Sims 4 is a life simulation game in the vein of its predecessors. It launched in 2014, becoming one of the biggest-selling PC games of that year. In 2022, the base game became free-to-play, while paid DLC continues to be released on a regular basis.
