Resident Evil’s Best Movie Yet Just Dropped, But You Can’t Catch It in Theaters

If someone’s only base of reference for the Resident Evil franchise was the live-action Milla Jovovich movies, their perception of the series would be starkly different than someone’s who loved it because of the games. These movies basically belong to their own alternate universe, as do all the peculiar and zany Resident Evil movies or TV shows that’ve come out that inherit the IP by name alone.

Now, it’s a big unknown how Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil movie will turn out as an actual source material ‘adaptation.’ That’s why the latest Resident Evil Requiem trailer is so alarming and astonishing—the bar was low before, but it is remarkably faithful to the world it inhabits, and it’s also technically the best Resident Evil ‘movie’ of them all as a result.

Resident Evil Requiem’s New Trailer is Stunning

Resident Evil Requiem’s new trailer is essentially a three-and-a-half-minute live-action short film that depicts a mother’s survival (and eventual demise) during the Raccoon City Incident. It’s startling and fantastic to see Raccoon City the way it is envisioned in this trailer, looking precisely as if the Resident Evil 3 remake’s Raccoon City opening sequence was adapted one-to-one in live-action.

Complete with RPD and Umbrella logos, this trailer is undoubtedly established in the world of the Resident Evil games, which makes sense, obviously, with it being a trailer for the upcoming ninth mainline Resident Evil game. It’s only so shocking because this level of fidelity and quality isn’t typically ascribed to a live-action Resident Evil project.

Resident Evil Movies Don’t Hold a Candle to This Short Film

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Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, for example, has some high highs, such as Robbie Amell’s Chris Redfield being an inspired casting choice, and some low lows, such as Leon S. Kennedy’s character assassination having him written as an inept idiot. Resident Evil Requiem’s trailer chooses to center its short runtime on an original character—played by horror icon Maika Monroe, no less—but the atmosphere is tonally in tune with the games.

We know that Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil movie will be “obedient to the lore of the games, it’s just a different story.” If we’re lucky, this could mean it has the same flavor as the Resident Evil Requiem trailer, and maybe it elaborates more on an original character’s story, similar to the gameplay loop of Resident Evil Outbreak.

If anyone could theoretically bring Resident Evil’s source material to life in a feature film, and so long as it is faithful to the games in the ways that actually matter, it being done by one of the biggest names in horror filmmaking nowadays is incredibly exciting. Of course, this poignant short film gives it a high bar to clear.