Resident evil (2002)

RESIDENT EVIL (2002)

This is one of those movies that my sister and I watched after a long browse at good old Blockbuster, and so has a touch of nostalgia value for me. Although, unlike many films i loved when i was younger, upon a few re-watches 'Resident Evil' still holds up as a pretty solid horror-action movie. Turns out its based loosely on a game series of the same name (with the gamers generally tearing the film to pieces due to this 'looseness'; gamers are ruthless, you know), which I had no idea about and have never played, no doubt freeing me from any specific expectations and further contributing to my enjoyment of the film.

The film begins with the underground 'Umbrella corporation' facility 'the Hive' that is controlled by an artificial intelligence-the Red queen-Being locked down and the employees seemingly killed due to the T virus being released in the facility. Alice (Milla Jovovich) awakens at the Hives surface entrance, not knowing who she is, why she is there, and what has happened. A 'cleanup team' is sent in to investigate the incident, and take Alice down to the Hive as they uncover exactly what happened and who is responsible. Turns out the Red queens actions where too late, and the Hive employees soon turn into flesh eating zombies (like there is any other kind...). The team must escape the facility before it seals forever in order to stop the virus from spreading, and meet more than a few nasty’s along the way. Meanwhile, Alice's memories slowly come back and reveal her identity and what a few more secrets.

Now thats what i call a strategically placed shower curtain!

All right, so lets start off with some positives. Right from the get-go the film establishes a creepy, suspenseful and even claustrophobic atmosphere. This is assisted by the films setting, with the refined, sterile and metallic interior of the Hive creating a great contrast with the ensuing violence and horror. Characters are also developed well enough for the type of film it is. A good 30 Minutes are used for us to get to more or less know these characters- as well as build some much appreciated tension- and give for us to give a LITTLE more of a shit about them when they meet their demises (however this did create a pacing problem, I'll discuss that later). Milla Jovovich does a great job of making Alice a strong ass-kicking character in a sexy -if not terribly useful- red dress. Michelle Rodriguez also does well with her bad-ass character Rain (although she basically went on to play the same bad-ass-bitch in all of her future rolls).

Just a Licker doing its job...Licking...

The stylized action sequences are no doubt a highlight of the film, with one involving zombified dogs (seen below) being particularly well executed as is a scene involving a hall of lasers. What makes these scenes so effective is a combination of a perfect score by Marilyn Manson- who's heavy metal/electronic elements work extremely well with the visuals of the film- and how the sequences aren't over-done, over-long or unrealistic. Another creature that is well worth a mention is the 'licker' (staying true to its name as pictured above), arguably the films main antagonist. This horrifically creepy looking critter is pulled straight from the Resident Evil games, and is brought to life using a combination of great looking computer animation (outdated by todays standards, but still pretty damn good) and animatronics. The film also has a few 'mystery' elements about it, and we as the audience really don't know much more than Alice as things unfold, which is another nice touch. Another nice little touch, however underused, are a few 'Alice in wonderland' motifs used throughout the film (and rather unevenly for the rest of the series). For example, the lead character being Alice, the 'Red queen' as the artificial intelligence controlling the Hive, a little cameo from a white rabbit and a few others. The ending- again incorporating a fantastic score- is a great cliffhanger and setup for a sequel (too bad the sequel was pretty damn average).

Slow motion neck-breaking kick? FUCK YEH!

And now for the negatives, of which there aren't too many. The previously mentioned 'characterization', although beneficial, does create a bit of a pacing problem. Since things don’t pick up until a little more than 1/3 into the move, there isn't as much time for zombie-ass kicking as i would have liked left. In turn, by the time Alice realises she is a super sexy walking killing machine, the movie is nearly finished and it just left me wanting a little more. This could have been fixed by a longer running time, but that would have just given critics another thing to dislike.

Our main characters: Alice (left), Rain (centre) and Matt (right).

 A fairly minor issue the film has is a lack of gore, especially being more or less an hour and half zombie shooter. Not to say the film isn't violent, its just not QUITE as gleefully gory as it could have been. This can probably be attributed to the American film classification board still being pretty strict with their ratings back in 2002 at the time of the films release, causing the filmmakers to hold back a little. The dialogue, look, it is a little cheesy at times and even chuckle inducing, but if your expecting anything more then you shouldn't be watching a movie based in a video game in the first place. Personally it didn't bother me that much. I also would have liked more time spent on Alice's back story and the relevant characters in the film that get very limited screen-time. In the movie novelization there was quite a bit of time spent on this; would have been good to not cut so much of it out for the final product.

zombies attacking? there is always time for a cool pose with big guns.

Resident evil has managed to still hold up whenever i watch it these days, providing me with some nostalgia and a great action-horror experience. Despite its few downfalls, this Resident evil is still crap loads better than its four sequels (although Resident evil: extinction got pretty close) that seemed to throw away most of the things that where good about this one. If your a fan of the games your likely to be disappointed, as to my knowledge the film bares little resemblance story-wise to the first game, but if your not id recommend Resident evil as a great way to get a stylized, zombie filled horror-action fix.

4/5

recommended classification: 15+ for strong stylised horror/action violence, coarse language and brief nudity

Resident Evil's trailer: