The Resident Evil movies and video games have never shared the closest relationship, but just how accurate to Capcom’s survival horror franchise have the films actually been? Horror icon George A. Romero almost directed the first Resident Evil film, which was set to be a reasonably faithful take on the first game.

Instead, the Paul W.S. Anderson movie that arrived in 2002 took some BIG liberties with the premise. This would set a template, as the Resident Evil movie franchise would pull in characters and monsters from the games, but would largely feature their own unique storylines and continuity.

That’s one reason fans of the video games have largely disowned the film series. On the flipside, the films have their own following as B-movie guilty pleasures from audiences who have never played the video games.

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Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)

Resident Evil: Extinction is arguably the furthest the movies have gone from the games. The latter has never gone full post-apocalyptic like Extinction, with the third outing feeling like a mashup between Mad Max 2 and Romero’s Day of the Dead.

It follows Alice (Milla Jovovich) as she hooks up with a gang of survivors looking for a mythic safe haven, and they are pursued by the Umbrella Corporation. Despite barely resembling Resident Evil, there are still little pieces of the game series mixed into Extinction.

Alice is joined by game characters Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) and Carlos (Oded Fehr), while monsters like the Tyrant, zombie dogs and mutant crows appear. A diary also plays an important role in the narrative, just as they do in the games. Wesker (Jason Mara) also makes a useless little cameo.

6

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017)

Like Extinction, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is largely a Mad Max-style action adventure. It wraps up the story the film series had developed, revealing Alice’s backstory and her true connection to The Red Queen.

The last Milla Jovovich entry has multiple nods to its source material too. Although his backstory and motives are entirely different, The Final Chapter confirms that Umbrella scientist James Marcus created the t-Virus, while the triple-barreled shotgun from Resident Evil 5 is prominently featured.

Claire Redfield and Wesker (Shawn Roberts) return, while the flayed mutant Bloodshot from the sixth game fights Alice in a key scene. The Final Chapter also nods to the intro of the original game when the heroes are pursued by a pack of zombie dogs to The Hive lab.

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Resident Evil (2002)

While Paul W.S. Anderson wanted to make a Resident Evil movie, George Romero already had the gig when he inquired about it. Instead, Anderson developed an original zombie movie, but once Romero was fired, Anderson pitched his own screenplay to producers. Despite barely resembling the games, it was greenlit.

This first entry introduced Jovovich’s Alice, a character entirely original to the movies. While making Resident Evil, Anderson felt it could serve as a prequel to the game, detailing how the outbreak occurred. The film itself features no game characters, though the zombies, dogs and the Licker all feature.

Both the game and movie feature a hidden Umbrella lab where the experiments are being conducted, and the train that carries the team to The Hive is taken directly from Resident Evil 2. The ending also rivals the origin of the Nemesis monster and the start of the Raccoon City outbreak.

4

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)

Resident Evil: Afterlife opens with an action sequence that borrows liberally from The Matrix, including the use of psychic powers. This overblown prologue couldn’t be further from the survival horror tone of the games, but the action soon moves to a claustrophobic prison setting for most of the runtime.

Claire Redfield returns and is joined by her brother Chris (Wentworth Miller) in this fourth outing, a classic game character who wears his getup from Resident Evil 5. Their battle with Wesker in the finale is heavily lifted from the fifth entry too, as is the hulking Axeman monster Alice and Claire battle.

In general, Afterlife pilfers much from the aforementioned 2009 game sequel, which was fittingly one of the most action-packed of Capcom’s franchise. In terms of plot, however, Afterlife is very much doing its own thing.

3

Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)

Resident Evil: Retribution picks up right after the events of Afterlife, with Alice imprisoned in a huge Umbrella test facility. Retribution mixes in elements from across the franchise, adding fan favorite characters like Leon Kennedy (Johann Urb), Barry Burton (Kevin Durand), and Ada Wong (Li Bingbing).

Ada even brings her costume and gadgets from the fourth game, though Leon’s gruff persona is nothing like his game counterpart. Retribution also borrows the evil version of Jill Valentine and a car chase featuring gun-toting zombies from the fifth game, while the Las Plagas from Resident Evil 4 make an appearance.

The snowy setting and a snowmobile being knocked over during an escape also evoke a key scene from Code: Veronica. Even Retribution’s central concept of an underground lab with fake test environments feels borrowed from spinoff novel Underworld, by author S.D. Perry.

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Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)

Anderson directed four of the six Resident Evils and wrote and produced them all. He claimed that he was largely unfaithful in his adaptations because gamers would know what to expect, and he wanted to give them a fresh experience.

The closest the Jovovich/Anderson run came to being game-accurate was the second instalment, Apocalypse. This sequel is a loose adaptation of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, and it borrows several moments. It introduces Jill (Sienna Guillory) and Carlos – the heroes of the third game – in addition to the Nemesis himself.

It takes place inside a quarantined Raccoon City, it depicts the fall of the S.T.A.R.S. team as the zombies take over, and it even features Raccoon City being wiped out by a nuke in the finale. There’s a setpiece where zombies rise from their graves too, but there are many other differences.

Alice is the main character instead of Jill, Carlos’ teammate Nikolai is a good guy instead of an Umbrella agent, and it adds original characters like LJ (Mike Epps). It’s also way more concerned with action instead of horror.

1

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City was a ground-up reboot of the movie franchise, with director Johannes Roberts (The Strangers: Prey at Night) merging the first and second games. That means all the key characters (Chris, Claire, Leon, Wesker, etc) and settings (The Spencer Mansion, the RPD) appear.

Welcome to Raccoon City goes heavy on the Resident Evil lore. The tragic monster Lisa Trevor plays a key supporting role, the truck explosion from the second game is recreated and there’s even a nod to the Ashford Twins from Code: Veronica. On paper, it’s everything fans of the video games were asking for.

“Itchy, tasty” gets a mention, the creepy orphanage from Resident Evil 2’s remake is featured and it ends with a rocket launcher blowing up a monster. Still, it changes many details for no real reason; Wesker (Tom Hopper) is turned into a sympathetic villain while Chris (Robbie Amell) is like a surrogate son to Birkin (Neal McDonough).

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is certainly the most accurate to the games, but it’s still quite a flawed experience. Its CGI and digital blood splatters look cheap, and it tries to cram too much into a slim runtime.

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  Created by

  Shinji Mikami, Tokuro Fujiwara

  First Film

  Resident Evil

  Latest Film

  Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City

  First TV Show

  Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness

  Latest TV Show

  Resident Evil

  First Episode Air Date

  
  July 8, 2021
  

  “Resident Evil” is a survival horror franchise that originated as a video game series before expanding into films, animated movies, TV shows, comics, and novels. The franchise focuses on the outbreak of a deadly virus developed by the Umbrella Corporation, leading to a global apocalypse filled with zombies and other mutated creatures. Known for its tense atmosphere, intricate puzzles, and engaging storylines, “Resident Evil” has become one of the most successful and influential franchises in both gaming and horror entertainment.

  
  

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  Resident Evil
  

  
  

  8/10

  Release Date

  March 15, 2002
  

  Runtime

  100 minutes

  Director

  Paul W. S. Anderson

  Writers

  Paul W.S. Anderson