The Resident Evil video game franchise has spawned quite a few adaptations. After 7 live action films, 3 CG films and an animation series, the first live action series has now started. Netflix’s Resident Evil not only divided the criticism, but also caused more hate right from the start than any other contribution to the horror series – wrongly so.
Resident Evil finally dares something new, without denying your own gaming roots. And that’s a lot better than the many outraged “fans” on the internet would have you believe.
Resident Evil is breaking new ground on Netflix
At first glance, the Netflix series could not go further removed from a classic Resident Evil story be. Well-known characters from the games shine with their absence and in their place the two teenagers Billie (Siena Agudong) and Jade Wesker (Tamara Smart) step into the center of the story.
Watch the trailer for Netflix’s Resident Evil series here:
Resident Evil – S01 Trailer (German) HD
They didn’t just deal with any amount teen problems but also with the secrets of her father, Albert Wesker (Lance Reddick), who works for the Umbrella Corporation in the planned town of New Raccoon City, South Africa. Wait, Albert Wesker? Yes, the nasty and actually long dead Resident Evil villain is hardly recognizable here. Whether he really is Wesker is one of the great mysteries of the series.
Of the Typical Resident Evil action horror is outsourced to a second time level. In the year 2036 (ie 14 years later) we follow the adult Jade Wesker through the post-apocalypse. She must defend herself against hordes of undead and monsters, dangerous cults and brutal Umbrella soldiers.
It’s a bold move that Resident Evil is taking here. The world known from games and films a whole new genre lens to look at gives the franchise more opportunities to evolve rather than always relying on well-known narrative patterns, characters and settings. But is that still Resident Evil at all?
Crashing Horror: There’s more Resident Evil in Resident Evil on Netflix than you think
Even if the first episode in particular puts off many fans by turning away from the familiar, the series has a lot more Resident Evil to offer than it appears. On the one hand, there would be the fact that the entire Canon of Games also part of the series is (it’s a quasi-sequel) and is referenced multiple times without degenerating into clumsy fanservice.
But more importantly, Resident Evil retains many popular ones elements and feel of video games – and that doesn’t mean the appearances of numerous well-known monsters, such as Licker, the Chainsaw Man and zombie dogs. A few first-person shots and the Stealth and mystery moments (including piano puzzle) in episode 5 are lovingly interspersed references to the origin – even if this does not mean that the Netflix series feels like a video game, such as Resident Evil: Retribution.
©Netflix
resident Evil
Even if the teen chapter, all the Games cheesyness distilled, cannot convince every fan, Resident Evil delivers all the more on the horror front with the future timeline. The monsters appearing in it (many known from the games) take care of that chilling and disgusting sequences. A man gets pierced by a monstrous spider’s leg and ripped in half, or ill-tempered lickers present themselves in their best live-action performance yet.
It’s amazing that the Licker CGI looks better here than it did in the movie Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. The big horror highlight, however, are the effective peaks of violence and partly handmade gore effects. For example, when Jade arms himself with a chainsaw and takes on a tough zombie leader, the blood begins to spurt in Evil Dead fashion.
Is Netflix’s Resident Evil a good series?
Resident Evil is far from that, to be a standout series for the horror genre. The constant change of the tonally fundamentally different time levels often destroys the narrative flow, the dialogues don’t exactly convince with their finesse and the use of needledrops is … special.
©Netflix
resident Evil
The positive aspects outweigh the negative however. The horror set pieces are fun, there are tons of clever easter eggs for gaming fans, and the mysteries of the series are interestingly designed. In contrast to many other Netflix productions, Resident Evil also does without the usual clean and overexposed Netflix look. Just know in the post apocalypse sequences the grainy look and the rusty set design to inspire.
The series is absolutely entertaining for the most part and doesn’t deserve all the scathing comments and ratings (currently a 3.4 on IMDB). Even without characters like the Redfields, Jill Valentine or Leon S. Kennedy appearing, Resident Evil stays true to the charm and core themes of the games and delivers a fresh and bold new look at the well-known zombie universe. Maybe this is even the best live-action adaptation to datethat spawned the Resident Evil franchise.
The Resident Evil series consists of eight episodes streaming on Netflix offer since July 14, 2022. The first five episodes served as the basis for this series check.
Will you give the new Resident Evil series a chance?