LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood is breaking ground on the silver screen by putting movie fans in the seat of trigger-happy game players as it tries to cash in on gaming's popularity this Friday with a film adaptation of the classic title "Doom."

In a novel sequence lasting several minutes, the movie offers a taste of the first-person-shooter gaming style introduced in the original "Doom" title, but whether the gimmick will lure fans awaits weekend box office results.

"Doom," based on the blockbuster video game series considered to be the granddaddy of this generation, pits an elite team of Marines against chromosomally mutated monsters on Mars. When the film's action peaks, the camera's perspective changes to that of Karl Urban's "Reaper," the movie's hero, as he blasts a series of gruesome aliens to bits.

An unapologetically violent film, "Doom" joins a long list of video game-inspired movies such as 1995's "Mortal Kombat. Such efforts have had mixed results in theaters. A film based on "Halo," Microsoft Corp.'s hit futuristic action game, is scheduled for a 2007 release.

But the first-person shooter scene in "Doom" marks a departure from the straightforward action in films like "Kombat," and while it has met cheers from some game enthusiasts at screenings, others don't intend to give it the time of day.

Jeff Gerstmann, a GameSpot senior editor and long-time "Doom" fan, cited the sequence as his key reason for refusing to see the film.

"It sounds so hokey. It's just a horrible cliche," he said, noting if he wanted to see a video game, he would play one.

But the scene's originality appealed to nongamer Julia Webb, an executive vice president at biometrics firm Bioscrypt, who attended a recent Los Angeles screening.

"It worked for me. It made you actually feel what the character was going through," said Webb.

DOOMED "DOOM?"

"Doom" co-producer John Wells said a lot of time was devoted to making certain the film would appeal to people who aren't fans of the game."

Wells said film makers worried about the length of the sequence because when the "Doom" game came out in December 1993, its first-person-shooter perspective sickened some gamers, including Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who started playing in college and stars as "Sarge" in the film.

"There is always a risk that it becomes physically disorienting ... It's not a visual experience we are used to having" in a film, Wells said.

Webb said the film makers struck the right balance.

Breaking new ground is important for the film's distributor, Universal Pictures, which will be challenged to win over the hard-core fans who are the backbone of the $25 billion annual global video game industry.

Video gamers are notoriously fickle when it comes to supporting movies based on their favorite titles. Back in 1993, "Super Mario Bros" flopped at box offices with $21 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters, but two years later "Mortal Kombat" scored a modest hit at $70 million.

"Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," starring Angelina Jolie as the big-busted super heroine proved a blockbuster hit in 2001 with $131 at domestic box offices, but two years later "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" made half that.

"Doom" has had a long road to the movie theater. Universal was the first to option "Doom" in the mid-1990s, but let those rights expire. Two more studios optioned it, but never made a film. And news that the two young men responsible for the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado played the game also put a chill on the project.

Interest was rekindled with Universal in 2002 when game developer id Software showed off "Doom 3" -- a visually rich game that took a technological leap forward.

Now Universal and the "Doom" filmmakers are hoping their novel first-person-shooter sequence will spark the same sort of interest at box offices.