Anyone with even the slightest connection to video games knows the Resident Evil franchise. And of course they know the Resident Evil movies. But beyond Paul W. S. Anderson’s movies, the truth is that the franchise isn’t all that well known. It almost seems as if Zach Cregger’s new movie, which has gone over well with critics, is the franchise’s first reboot. Or the first movie that isn’t Anderson’s. Both answers are wrong.
That’s why we’re going to dissect the movies and series in the franchise that go beyond its most popular version to date. Are they good? There’s something for everyone. And of course, much more than what people always say this particular franchise offers.
Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008)
Directed by Makoto Kamiya, a famous special effects director who’s done spectacular work over the years throughout Godzilla’s Heisei era (the one that runs from Godzilla vs. Biollante to Godzilla vs. Destoroyah), this movie takes place at some indeterminate point in the plot of Resident Evil 2. It may not be spectacular and looking like a CGI cutscene that lasts 90 minutes, it has everything we expect from Resident Evil: absurd dialogue, lots of action, zombies, and constant tension. Which is already more than we can say for most of the movies in the franchise. Highly recommended for fans of the franchise.
Resident Evil: Damnation (2012)
A continuation of the previous one, again directed by Kamiya, and a modest commercial success in both Japan and the US. Better put together than Degeneration and with a greater emphasis on action, especially in the final stretch of the movie, it has one particular feature fans will love: Matthew Mercer plays Leon S. Kennedy in one of his first leading roles, if not the first, in the English dub. A movie worth revisiting, and exactly what those who wanted a movie from Cregger closer to the video games were hoping for.
Resident Evil: Vendetta (2017)
A sequel to the previous two, but changing directors to Takanori Tsujimoto, who had been making effective B-movie action films and who after this would end up becoming, and still is today, a regular director of Ultraman episodes. The movie is divisive, to be kind, and Makoto Fukami’s script, the author of the Psycho-Pass novels, doesn’t manage to save it. But the action is once again what stands out most in a movie where all the value lies there: either it enchants you or horrifies you because of how they play out and depending on whether its intense and numerous scenes of violence make up for it.
Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness (2021)
To cover the events between Resident Evil 4 and 5, Capcom made this miniseries directed by Eiichirō Hasumi that Netflix aired and that ends up being somewhat watered down. Although the horror moments work, it doesn’t manage to sustain the tension throughout the whole runtime and ends up not working as a whole. But at least it tries to add something new to the franchise’s story.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)
the first reboot of Resident Evil’s film universe, directed and written by Johannes Roberts, and an obvious misstep. The movie was trying to be faithful to the video game, but while still working as its own movie, and it ended up in a strange no-man’s-land where it took itself too seriously, but at the same time it was too camp and absurd. This meant it wasn’t really scary or have the level of action it needed. But it was a noble attempt to recreate what Resident Evil is, even if it didn’t quite pull it off.
Resident Evil (2022)
A Netflix series developed by Andrew Dabb that might well be declared the worst adaptation of Resident Evil. If not the worst work to bear the name Resident Evil. With little or no connection to the games, but without developing a personality of its own and with a distinctive Netflix visual and narrative tone, it ends up being a Stranger Things with Resident Evil elements that’s practically impossible to defend. An absolute disappointment.
Resident Evil: Death Island (2023)
the latest Resident Evil movie before Zach Cregger’s, Eiichirō Hasumi returns to directing duties and Makoto Fukami to script duties. But unlike Infinite Darkness, here the pacing is better handled and both the horror and action moments are much more intense, resulting in a much more enjoyable movie overall. Even if script-wise it still remains a relatively simple movie. But let’s be frank, are we really coming to Resident Evil expecting complex and elaborate narratives?
