“I’ve been a bad, bad girl.”
As a diehard Resident Evil aficionado dating way (way) back to the original 1996 PlayStation game, I was super-psyched when Resident Evil finally hit cinemas in 2002. After it was over, I was super-confused, I think. After all, it bears very little resemblance to the original game, or any of the games that had come out in the interim. Sure, there was a licker and some zombie dogs. Yeah, there was a mansion and the evil Umbrella Pharmaceutical corporation. But where were all the iconic game characters? And why was it so computer-future feeling?
That reaction couldn’t be helped; After all, this thing came with baked-in expectations. But even so, walking out of the theatre I found myself a bit confused in a different way. This wasn’t Resident Evil in the purest terms, but I didn’t completely care because what I got was a hoot, indeed. It’s a showcase for Milla Jovovich as an action star, it’s gay AF, it’s silly AF, and hey, like I said, there are zombie dogs. What’s there to complain about?
I like the way so many posters for the film feature Milla and MRod—sure, they were the biggest draw at the time, but it also goes to show that Resident Evil is indeed a queer horror masterpiece.
DOESN’T IT??
Ah, the Playstation longbox version that started me on this big beautiful Resident Evil journey. It brings a tear to the eye!
If you’re reading this yet somehow still haven’t watched the 2002 film from Paul WS Anderson, just imagine that
<— this and this —>
had a baby and also Milla Jovovich is there. (aka imagine Heaven)
If you’ve played the original version of Resident Evil 2, you’ll see how amazing it is that George A. Romero distilled it down to a 30-second spot—a live-action one, no less! It’s perhaps the closest faithful game-to-screen adaptation we’ve had so far…but there’s a big difference between 30 seconds and 90 minutes. Could that vibe be sustained? We’ll never know what could have been! But if you’d like to learn more about the failed Resident Evil from George A. Romero, check out George A. Romero’s Resident Evil, a 2025 documentary that gets into it. Huh? Why don’tcha?