The “Resident Evil” film franchise has long been the poster child of bad video game movie adaptations. The Paul W.S. Anderson helmed movie series, of which there are somehow six, was notorious among fans for its soulless and often inaccurate recreation of the video games. Well, it being Hollywood and all, a reboot is readying to rise from the grave and shamble into theaters this November. While a new Resident Evil movie should excite fans, those who remember how the last half dozen went will be weary to get their hopes up.
New photos of the cast were just released to give fans a glimpse of the film’s interpretation of their favorite characters. As a “Resident Evil” fan myself, I thought the pictures were just some solid cosplays that appeared on my feed. When I found out that they were photos from the new movie, I was disappointed. It seems Hollywood has chosen another director who understands the look, but not the feel of Resident Evil.
In the first picture we have two iconic Resident Evil characters, Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield, looking down a hallway. Maybe it’s the lighting, or the fact that Leon lacks his iconic boomerang bangs, but the costumes they are wearing made me double check this wasn’t an ad tie-in with Party City (Welcome to Party City would not be a bad tagline if they did a little cross-promo). If these outfits were costumes, then I’d be returning a few after seeing the second photo. Jill is missing her beret, Wesker is missing his shades, and they left out an entire Barry Burton!
Thankfully, the third picture is nearly good enough to redeem things. Lisa Trevor looks as terrifying as a child test subject turned monster ought to be … which is very! It gives me hope that this film can still succeed if it taps into the franchise’s survival horror roots. At the end of the night, if it’s a scary enough movie to make your date hold you a little tighter, then it has succeeded in my books. I just hope mine doesn’t mind me grumbling about Wesker’s lack of shades afterwards.
