Resident Evil is a 2002 science fiction horror film loosely based on the Resident Evil series of survival horror games developed by Capcom, and the first in the series of the Resident Evil trilogy. Borrowing elements from the Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2 video games, the film follows the amnesiac heroine Alice, along with a group of Umbrella Corporation commandos, as they attempt to escape a secret underground facility full of zombies. The film was directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, and was released in the United States on March 15, 2002, and in Japan on August 31, 2002. The film stars Milla Jovovich as Alice, Michelle Rodríguez as Rain Ocampo, Eric Mabius as Matt Addison and James Purefoy as Spence Parks.
Resident Evil was followed by two sequels: Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007). Anderson continued his involvement in the series, writing and producing the sequels, however, leaving directing to Alexander Witt and Russell Mulcahy in Apocalypse and Extinction.
Resident Evil was followed by two sequels: Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007). Anderson continued his involvement in the series, writing and producing the sequels, however, leaving directing to Alexander Witt and Russell Mulcahy in Apocalypse and Extinction.
The film begins in The Hive, an underground research facility located beneath nearby Raccoon City. A man loads the T-virus and its cure into a case, then tosses a vial of the virus inside a lab. Minutes later, the automated security system in the facility kills everyone inside through various means. Elsewhere, Alice later awakens in the shower of an empty mansion with no recollection of her identity. As she explores the mansion she is confronted by a man, however the two are immediately seized by a group of commandos. The man, Matt Addison, reveals himself to be a police officer, but the commandos handcuff him regardless. The team then open a mirror-door to an underground train station, discovering Spence, another unconscious victim suffering amnesia, while on transport. Alice recognises Spence from a wedding photograph in the mansion, and looking at her wedding ring, she sees the inside of it reads: Property of the Umbrella Corporation.
Alice and Spence, as well as the commandos, are explained to be employees of the Umbrella Corporation, and it was the Umbrella Corporation that sent the commando team to investigate why the Hive's defensive computer, the Red Queen, killed all Umbrella staff. She is also responsible for releasing a nerve gas in the mansion which has caused Alice and Spence's amnesias, but throughout the film Alice begins to have glimpses of her past. The crew find their way to the Queen's chamber, however, as the bulk of the team attempt to disable the Red Queen they are trapped in the corridor leading to the Queen's Chamber and torn apart by a laser grid. This leaves Alice, Spence, Kaplan, J.D., Rain and Matt as the only survivors. Alice and Kaplan shut the Queen down, but in doing so open the doors of the facility, releasing the undead staff and experiments from the laboratories in which they were imprisoned. Rain becomes infected after receiving multiple bite wounds, and a battle ensues in which Matt and Alice are separated and J.D. is killed. Alice discovers that Matt was not a police officer, and used the title as a cover in his goal to help take down the Umbrella Corporation. Matt, with the help of his sister, Lisa, attempted to smuggle a sample of the T-Virus, the cause of the zombies, but the two were unsuccessful. Matt believes this to be the fault of Lisa's contact, who supposedly betrayed her. Throughout the film Alice has flashbacks, showing herself as Lisa's contact, but Alice is not fully aware of her role in the events.
Soon, the survivors are once more united at the Queen's chamber and are forced to switch her back on for aid in an exit. Kaplan overrides the Queen's circuit-breaker, causing the next time she is disabled to be permanent, and the Red Queen somewhat agrees to aid the team. As Alice and the others try to escape through the maintenance tunnels, they are ambushed by zombies. Rain becomes severely injured and begins to weaken, while Kaplan is separated from the rest of the team and is assumed dead. On their way to the train, Alice remembers that an anti-virus exists that could cure the ailing Rain. However, arriving at the lab, they realize that the vials containing the T-Virus and anti-virus are gone. Spence, gaining his memory, is then shown as the person who released the virus. He points a gun at the survivors, and threatens them, trapping the others in the laboratory and making for the train where the case containing the anti-virus is. Before he can inject himself, however, he is killed by a Licker, a mutant-creature created by injecting the T-virus directly into living tissue. The Queen offers to spare Alice and Matt's life if they kill Rain, who has been infected for the longest period of time. As the Licker attempts to bash through the lab window to get to them, the enraged Alice smashes the Queen's monitor, and there is suddenly a power-outage. The laboratory door opens to reveal Kaplan, who has permanently disabled the Red Queen.
The protagonists hurry to get to the other end of the underground railway before it shuts down in a quarantine attempt, however, the Licker is on the train. It scratches Matt and kills Kaplan. Alice battles the Licker and Rain, who, despite being given the cure, has turned into a zombie. Matt and Alice emerge as the only survivors, and escape at the last moment when the doors close. Matt begins to suffer a mutation from an injury inflicted by the Licker, and the two are seized by Umbrella scientists. The scientists mention sending Matt to the "Nemesis Program", an allusion to the next film. Alice beats many of the scientists but is ultimately subdued. As the struggle fades to black, the words of one of the head scientists are heard, "We're reopening the Hive, I want to know what really went on down there." Sometime later Alice wakes up at the Raccoon City Hospital, having gone through extensive testing, and breaks out only to find the city in chaos and abandoned. She picks a shotgun from a nearby police car and prepares to face the coming apocalypse and the terrors that lie ahead.
The zombies
To make sure that the zombies (though the word zombie is never used during the film) would move appropriately throughout the film, professional dancers were hired because they had better control over their body movement than most. The most notable is the axe-wielding, bald scientist. The entrance scene where a shot of the zombie's dislocated ankle is shown did not require any special effects, because the actor could actually dislocate his ankle. While computer effects were used on some zombies, much of the undead look was largely accomplished through make-up.
Paul Anderson noted that when a director gives examples of how a zombie "should" move, almost every actor is going to do just that, with little variation. The resulting shot is laughable instead of terrifying. So, Anderson took a more laissez-faire approach: he told his actors to move however they thought a zombie would, given their condition, and left it at that. The actors, forced to be independently creative for their movements, came up with a wide variety of physical affectations, and the result was a large number of non-repetitive zombies.
Regardless, there was a shortage of manpower throughout the production, which is why people otherwise not affiliated with the film were used as zombies. Most notably producer Jeremy Bolt appears as a zombie twice during the film. He is seen in a brief shot where J.D. guns him down, and he also bites Rain's arm when she tries to save J.D. The stunt coordinator of the movie also appears as the dog trainer. Bolt's girlfriend and sister also appear as zombies: his girlfriend is the zombie who bites Kaplan's leg while his sister portrays the drowned scientist.
To make sure that the zombies (though the word zombie is never used during the film) would move appropriately throughout the film, professional dancers were hired because they had better control over their body movement than most. The most notable is the axe-wielding, bald scientist. The entrance scene where a shot of the zombie's dislocated ankle is shown did not require any special effects, because the actor could actually dislocate his ankle. While computer effects were used on some zombies, much of the undead look was largely accomplished through make-up.
Paul Anderson noted that when a director gives examples of how a zombie "should" move, almost every actor is going to do just that, with little variation. The resulting shot is laughable instead of terrifying. So, Anderson took a more laissez-faire approach: he told his actors to move however they thought a zombie would, given their condition, and left it at that. The actors, forced to be independently creative for their movements, came up with a wide variety of physical affectations, and the result was a large number of non-repetitive zombies.
Regardless, there was a shortage of manpower throughout the production, which is why people otherwise not affiliated with the film were used as zombies. Most notably producer Jeremy Bolt appears as a zombie twice during the film. He is seen in a brief shot where J.D. guns him down, and he also bites Rain's arm when she tries to save J.D. The stunt coordinator of the movie also appears as the dog trainer. Bolt's girlfriend and sister also appear as zombies: his girlfriend is the zombie who bites Kaplan's leg while his sister portrays the drowned scientist.
Reaction and aftermath
The film was commercially successful, grossing $17,707,106 on its opening weekend (March 15-17 2002). The film gained $40,119,709 domestically and $102,441,078 worldwide.[34] Resident Evil received many negative reactions from the critics and received only a 34% fresh, on Rotten Tomatoes, which counted 36 "Fresh" of a total 110 reviews.[35] Tom Sander from the South Florida Sun Sentinel stated "It's spooky, suspenseful and jump-out-of-your-seat scary", however, Dave Grove from Film Threat noted that "I'll bet the video game is a lot more fun than the film."
Both Resident Evil and the sequel appear on Roger Ebert's most hated films list, published in 2005.[36] In the review of Resident Evil, Ebert describes the film as a zombie movie set in the 21st century where "large metallic objects make crashing noises just by being looked at". He also explains that the film's "characters have no small talk. Their dialogue consists of commands, explanations, [and] exclamations".[37]
After commercial success at the box office, a sequel, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, was released in 2004. In 2007, the third film Resident Evil: Extinction was released. Anderson did not direct the films but instead functioned as the scriptwriter and producer on both. The sequels were directed by Alexander Witt and Russell Mulcahy respectively.
The film was commercially successful, grossing $17,707,106 on its opening weekend (March 15-17 2002). The film gained $40,119,709 domestically and $102,441,078 worldwide.[34] Resident Evil received many negative reactions from the critics and received only a 34% fresh, on Rotten Tomatoes, which counted 36 "Fresh" of a total 110 reviews.[35] Tom Sander from the South Florida Sun Sentinel stated "It's spooky, suspenseful and jump-out-of-your-seat scary", however, Dave Grove from Film Threat noted that "I'll bet the video game is a lot more fun than the film."
Both Resident Evil and the sequel appear on Roger Ebert's most hated films list, published in 2005.[36] In the review of Resident Evil, Ebert describes the film as a zombie movie set in the 21st century where "large metallic objects make crashing noises just by being looked at". He also explains that the film's "characters have no small talk. Their dialogue consists of commands, explanations, [and] exclamations".[37]
After commercial success at the box office, a sequel, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, was released in 2004. In 2007, the third film Resident Evil: Extinction was released. Anderson did not direct the films but instead functioned as the scriptwriter and producer on both. The sequels were directed by Alexander Witt and Russell Mulcahy respectively.
Relationship to the games
The film borrows many plot elements from the video game series. Although the film is a prequel to the video game series,[38] elements are borrowed from numerous video games including Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis,[38] where Alice's character awakes in Raccoon City Hospital with a viral outbreak occurring in the city. There are several references to characters and organizations such as the Umbrella Corporation, the Nemesis program, the underground train reading out Alexi-5000 (which is the exact train from Resident Evil 2 and reference to Resident Evil Code: Veronica's villain Alexia Ashford) and where Alice takes out a shotgun from a police cruiser reading out a S.T.A.R.S. logo on the hood of the police car.[38] Jason Isaacs appears in the film as an uncredited masked surgeon (which is a reference to William Birkin). The character of Dr. Isaacs (played by Iain Glen) in the film's sequel's is dedicated to or based on him.[39]
Another reference to the first game includes where Alice examines the mansion by going outside to find crows visible for a very short moment; these crows were all digitized. In the video game series, murders of crows are minor enemies that the player encounters throughout each game.[38] Other references include where Alice finds a picture of her wedding day with Spence, which is the same style as the photos in the first version of the Resident Evil game: in black and white with the foreground image (in this case, Alice and Spencer) noticeably spliced onto the background (the room behind them).[38] On the newspaper at the end of the movie, the words "Horror in Raccoon! More Victims Dead!" are shown in the upper right corner. This is a reference to the same newspaper in the censored opening of the original Resident Evil game and the prologue chapter for the Resident Evil: The Umbrella Conspiracy novel.[38] Also, bear the beginning of the film, Alice examines a statue after the wind blows its cover off. This statue is similar in design to one in the mansion of the first game, and which contains the map of the ground floor.[38]
When going back to the Red Queen's chamber Kaplan points out that the four bodies of the group's dead crew from the Glass Hallway Trap sequence are gone. This is a reference to a noticeable trait in the games, where when a character leaves the room where they've killed zombies and then comes back, the bodies that were once there have disappeared.[38] The film also borrows a plot element from Resident Evil 2 in which Leon and Claire have to escape the underground labs by taking the train and have a showdown with a large creature in the back of the car. When the survivors make their escape from the Hive with a countdown as they fight the final boss, this is a reference to every Resident Evil game also ends with a five minute countdown during which the final boss must be defeated.[38]
The film borrows many plot elements from the video game series. Although the film is a prequel to the video game series,[38] elements are borrowed from numerous video games including Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis,[38] where Alice's character awakes in Raccoon City Hospital with a viral outbreak occurring in the city. There are several references to characters and organizations such as the Umbrella Corporation, the Nemesis program, the underground train reading out Alexi-5000 (which is the exact train from Resident Evil 2 and reference to Resident Evil Code: Veronica's villain Alexia Ashford) and where Alice takes out a shotgun from a police cruiser reading out a S.T.A.R.S. logo on the hood of the police car.[38] Jason Isaacs appears in the film as an uncredited masked surgeon (which is a reference to William Birkin). The character of Dr. Isaacs (played by Iain Glen) in the film's sequel's is dedicated to or based on him.[39]
Another reference to the first game includes where Alice examines the mansion by going outside to find crows visible for a very short moment; these crows were all digitized. In the video game series, murders of crows are minor enemies that the player encounters throughout each game.[38] Other references include where Alice finds a picture of her wedding day with Spence, which is the same style as the photos in the first version of the Resident Evil game: in black and white with the foreground image (in this case, Alice and Spencer) noticeably spliced onto the background (the room behind them).[38] On the newspaper at the end of the movie, the words "Horror in Raccoon! More Victims Dead!" are shown in the upper right corner. This is a reference to the same newspaper in the censored opening of the original Resident Evil game and the prologue chapter for the Resident Evil: The Umbrella Conspiracy novel.[38] Also, bear the beginning of the film, Alice examines a statue after the wind blows its cover off. This statue is similar in design to one in the mansion of the first game, and which contains the map of the ground floor.[38]
When going back to the Red Queen's chamber Kaplan points out that the four bodies of the group's dead crew from the Glass Hallway Trap sequence are gone. This is a reference to a noticeable trait in the games, where when a character leaves the room where they've killed zombies and then comes back, the bodies that were once there have disappeared.[38] The film also borrows a plot element from Resident Evil 2 in which Leon and Claire have to escape the underground labs by taking the train and have a showdown with a large creature in the back of the car. When the survivors make their escape from the Hive with a countdown as they fight the final boss, this is a reference to every Resident Evil game also ends with a five minute countdown during which the final boss must be defeated.[38]
Game and movie differences
Alice does not exist in any of the games. The only main (and playable) female characters in the Resident Evil series are; Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield, and Rebecca Chambers. Ada Wong, though playable, would not be considered as a main character despite being mentioned. Sherry Birkin, daughter of William Birkin was also briefly playable in Resident Evil 2. However, she is a supporting character.
Nemesis is the result of implanting an experimental parasite into a regular mass-produced Tyrant (a creature not featured in the film).
The mansion on the outskirts is only one part of an expansive estate used to house Umbrella employees and conduct viral research in secret. The house was built by architect George Trevor for Umbrella President Ozwell E. Spencer and is nicknamed the "Spencer Mansion" because of this. An Umbrella laboratory (Arklay Research Facility) is located in the mansion's basement level. On the opposite of the film, nobody lives in it.
Alice does not exist in any of the games. The only main (and playable) female characters in the Resident Evil series are; Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield, and Rebecca Chambers. Ada Wong, though playable, would not be considered as a main character despite being mentioned. Sherry Birkin, daughter of William Birkin was also briefly playable in Resident Evil 2. However, she is a supporting character.
Nemesis is the result of implanting an experimental parasite into a regular mass-produced Tyrant (a creature not featured in the film).
The mansion on the outskirts is only one part of an expansive estate used to house Umbrella employees and conduct viral research in secret. The house was built by architect George Trevor for Umbrella President Ozwell E. Spencer and is nicknamed the "Spencer Mansion" because of this. An Umbrella laboratory (Arklay Research Facility) is located in the mansion's basement level. On the opposite of the film, nobody lives in it.
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