The Dark Tower Meets Resident Evil In This 100-Minute Movie Based On A GRRM Story

The fantasy genre is packed with unique worlds, and one of its most recent additions is a story by George R. R. Martin that brings together the best things about The Dark Tower and Resident Evil. The fantasy genre is still one of the most popular ones across different media, with many fantasy novels eventually getting adaptations to movies, TV shows, or both, as is the case for franchises like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.

One of the biggest names in the fantasy genre is George R. R. Martin, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series, which went on to become the TV series Game of Thrones. The world of Game of Thrones continues to expand on TV and will soon branch out to film, but another story by Martin has already made it to the big screen. His short story “In The Lost Lands” was adapted to film in 2025, directed by Paul W. S. Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich and Dave Bautista.

Despite its source material and having two notable action stars in the lead, In The Lost Lands was one of the biggest disappointments of 2025. Still, In The Lost Lands is a movie that fantasy and action fans, along with those into Martin’s works, should check out, more so now that it’s easier to watch as it has found a home on Hulu.

In The Lost Lands Is Unlike George R. R. Martin’s Most Famous Works

In The Lost Lands takes the audience into the dystopian wasteland of the same name to tell the story of Gray Alys (Jovovich), a powerful sorceress who, due to a pre-existing agreement, can never refuse a request. While on the running, Alys is found by the Queen, who needs her help finding and killing a werewolf, taking its power, and bringing it to the Queen, who needs it by the next full moon.

Alys enlists the help of Boyce (Bautista), a hardened hunter, and they set out to find the shapeshifter the Queen needs. Together, they travel through lands infested by demons, church zealots, and more, and disturbing secrets are revealed in the process. In The Lost Lands has some notable similarities to Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, such as a post-apocalyptic setting, a shared archetype between Boyce and Roland Deschain, and their overall tone.

In The Lost Lands also shares some elements with Resident Evil, aside from its director and main female character. Both stories have a female lead with a difficult backstory whose mission takes place in lands infested with dangerous creatures, and they both favor action and fantasy over realism. In The Lost Lands brings together the best things about The Dark Tower and Resident Evil, making it stand out from most of Martin’s works.

In The Lost Lands is a self-contained story that focuses more on magic, monsters, and adventure rather than on political conflict, war, and a desire for power. In The Lost Lands is character-driven and is lighter than the world of Game of Thrones, so those expecting something similar might be disappointed, but it’s a different side to Martin’s work.

Why In The Lost Lands Didn’t Succeed

Gray Alys dual wielding pistols with an angry church soldier behind her in In The Lost Lands.

As mentioned above, despite its potential, In The Lost Lands didn’t succeed with critics or with general audiences. At the time of writing, In The Lost Lands holds a 24% critic’s score on Rotten Tomatoes, accompanied by a 48% popcornmeter score, both of them labeling it as “rotten.” Critics pointed out its visuals, stretched story, messy plot, and characters as the movie’s biggest flaws, with many noting that not even the star power of Jovovich and Bautista could save it.

In The Lost Lands was also a box office failure, grossing $6.5 million against a budget of $55 million, making it one of 2025’s most notable box office bombs. In The Lost Lands failed to translate the world created by Martin to the big screen, with badly done CGI, a story with many plot holes, inconsistencies, and lacking depth, leaving even more plot holes and questions. Still, fans of fantasy action movies and George R. R. Martin’s works might want to check In The Lost Lands out and judge for themselves.