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RESIDENT
EVIL review by Joseph B. Mauceri
REVIEW: Oh, another film based on a popular computer game. Hell no! Director Paul Anderson, who blew audiences away with his screen version of "Mortal Combat," brings his love for horror films and the game together in a film that redefines the relationship between horror and action. You love the game; you'll be blown away! You love horror/zombie movies; strap yourself in for one hell of a ride! As
a film, RESIDENT EVIL is as much homage as it is based on the mythology
of the popular Capcom game, which has spawned four installments,
toys and a series of novels from Pocket Books. Overall, European
horror films influence the film more. Set designs, character archetypes,
monsters, and a portion of the setting are taken from the game.
Particular sequences pay homage to films like Romero's Sound, sets, and effects are orchestrated to hit those high notes of tension, suspense and dread. It would have been easy to come up with a slight enhancement on the images from the games. However, Anderson uses a hybrid of prosthetic makeup and computer enhancements to rock the RESIDENT EVIL universe. The zombies are based on an anatomically correct look of corpses. But when we get the opportunity to see one close up, you get the impression that there is something more sinister lurking beneath their flesh. And, man, those dog zombies rule. Considered outside the framework of the story, the design and execution combination is pure genius, and rivals anything we've seen in the past five years, even the work Industrial Light & Magic did on both "Mummy" films. Some of the sets used in the film reflect environments found in the games, but Anderson combines with set decoration and art direction that transcends the game. For example, as the cast roams the steel corridors, we can see the distorted images on the Undead lurking beyond the corners. Kicking all these visuals up yet another notch is the sound design. It's crisp, it's creepy, and when all else fails, Anderson went back to the game to pull some sounds he could augment to fully flesh out these nightmares. The cast is mostly made up of second stringers, but I think there is a method to Anderson's madness. Ridley Scott used a similar casting formula in "Alien," which allowed him to focus on his female lead. Not since "Alien" has a female lead come along with enough hustle, muscle and screen presence to take audiences by storm. That is until Milla Jovovich explodes in this film. Jovovich was good in "The Fifth Element," impressive in "The Messenger," but secures her place alongside Weaver and Hamilton with her work in RESIDENT EVIL as a lethal beauty. Anderson has a lot of fun with the rest of the cast. You can't help but feel that these actors where chosen for their abilities as much as for their looks, which also pays homage to games and some of the films I've previously mentioned. Anderson's RESIDENT EVIL will pump you up! Not since George Romero out did himself with "Dawn of the Dead" has a zombie film broke new ground and genuinely scared the hell out of an audience. Once in awhile a film comes along that redefines the boundaries of a genre. In 1999 the Wachowski brothers set the possibilities of science fiction cinema ablaze with "The Matrix." Now, Paul Anderson rocks the very foundation of the horror cinema with a sexy and savage modification of the already intense RESIDENT EVIL universe. RESIDENT EVIL, an instant horror classic? Hell, RESIDENT EVIL redefines what a horror classic is for the 21st Century. OFFICIAL
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SYNOPSIS:
A secret experiment, a deadly virus and one fatal mistake. Something
terrible is lurking in the Hive, a vast underground genetic research
facility run by a faceless bioengineering conglomerate