Resident Evil (2002)

Monsters cycle in and out of fashion just like everything else. They never truly go away, but they ebb and flow in popularity. A particularly clear example of this is the Buffy to Twilight-era vampire boom and bust of the late-90s to early-10s. Now that I've brought up vampires in a post about zombies, I need to include a brief aside about terminology (CAUTION: The fact that I am an academic is about to become suuuuper obvious).

 I consider "vampire-undead" as a distinct sub-genre as from "zombie-undead." Both are undead and infect victims by biting (so I guess it's a saliva-transmitted affliction?). The distinction for me comes in the undead's intention. Vampires maintain significant cognitive function and are selective predators. They choose their victims carefully to maintain relative anonymity among the population. The true horror of Bram Stoker's Dracula (the novel, not Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula) is an outsider infiltrating British high-society and luring British women to their demise. Zombies are a mindless feeding machines targeting anything in their path. They are aggressive and their numbers spread rapidly (making them excellent video game villains). This 'preys' more on our fear of contagion and pandemic.

But I digress...

In 2024 zombies are at a 'low' in popular media. Unsurprisingly public appetite for horror related to contagion and pandemic is limited at the moment. But I'd argue that media saturation was causing the zombie's decline in popularity well before the double tap of the COVID-19 pandemic. The world is still recovering from the last zombie-boom (zombie apocalypse?) which began in the mid-90s and spawned the franchise that is the (actual) subject of today's post.

  *A general note about the reviews for this blog: I won't be covering much of the plot to hopefully keep things as spoiler-free as possible. Instead I'll be covering my overall impression of each film.*

This movie serves as a prequel to the video game series. It covers generally how the Umbrella Corporation's virus breaks out of their top secret underground research facility. Milla Jovovich stars as Alice, an action girl not previously introduced in the video games. Michelle Rodriguez also gets top billing in the film - likely an attempt to cash in on the recent success of The Fast and the Furious. It's not that her character isn't important, but it's not certainly not the second most important character in the film. I can't think of another reason she'd have second billing here besides that she just had a really good agent.

I thought I had seen this before, but I either completely forgot most of the plot or only caught the last bit on tv. Once the movie started, it was basically like I was watching it for the first time. The first thing that struck me about the film was the 2000s style. The hair and clothing gave me an instant hit of nostalgia from the first scene. Blue hues dominate the sets (particularly in the underground bunker) while pops of red help Alice and her red dress stand out as the focal point. We also get lots of Milla Jovovich fan service (Paul W.S. Anderson and Milla Jovovich ended up as couple after this film and I believe are still married). Early on the film establishes itself as a survival horror film with our main characters pitted against growing hordes of zombies as they try to escape from the Umbrella Company laboratory/underground bunker. The CG honestly looked better than I was expecting. That may have been because I watched this film on DVD, which probably helped hide the rough edges of the graphics. Apparently this movie has gotten a 4K UHD treatment that is reviewed favorably, so I'd be curious watch an updated version to know how that holds up. 

Action girl Alice doing a parkour to a zombie dog

The film was critically panned on its release, and I can understand why. The dialogue is nothing special and the plot is somewhat formulaic and predictable. But I'd argue that's not really what you're there for when you watch a zombie film. Despite the critic's consensus, it was a commercial success making an estimated $103 million off a $33 million budget. This success gave rise to multiple sequels and gave a boost to the video game adaptation genre as a whole.

Overall I really enjoyed watching it. It's quick-paced with (somewhat predictable) twists and turns and it's a fun watch. I did not find it to be particularly scary - it was maybe more of  a survival-action film rather than a survival-horror film. Learning that Milla Jovovich did most of her own stunts really boosts my opinion of her - she's great here. Michelle Rodriguez is a scene-stealer herself and I'm glad they expanded her role. Honestly this delivered everything I want from a zombie movie. I'd recommend grabbing some popcorn and giving it a watch.

My rating of the film: 4/5

Does it work as a video game adaptation?

I think my answer would have to be yes but this is a bit tough since the film was designed to be a standalone narrative within the Resident Evil franchise. And they succeeded - the film does stand on its own as an independent entry. If you didn't know this was based on a game it wouldn't take away from the experience. I've actually never played the Resident Evil games, but watching the film did make me interested in checking it out. I would have to think that playing the game would be a lot scarier than watching the movie. My guess purely from watching the movie would be that the games are zombie-shooters with some puzzle elements? You'll have to let me know if that's right. Everwake mentioned to me that the Resident Evil 2 (1998) game is supposed to have a good remake, so I might have to amend this section if I go on to play the game in the near future.