All 7 Live-Action Resident Evil Movies Are Terrible, But There’s Hope on the Horizon

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To mark 30 years of the Resident Evil series, I watched all seven of the live-action movies. The first six films starred Milla Jovovich and were largely directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, who helmed four of them. The seventh movie was a reboot called Welcome to Raccoon City, but it didn’t quite work. Honestly, all seven movies are pretty bad, but they’re entertainingly so at times.

I have vivid memories of seeing the first Resident Evil movie when it was released. Being a fan of the games, I was really excited. However, I was completely confused by it. While the movie borrowed some things from the games, it didn’t actually tell any of their stories. Instead, it created its own strange science fiction, horror, and action-packed zombie tale, simply using the Resident Evil name and aesthetic.

The original Resident Evil movie started a trend of disappointing films that only loosely connect to the video games they’re based on, and often fail to capture the spirit of those games. However, even with their flaws, these movies can still be somewhat enjoyable.

This article will have MAJOR SPOILERS for all of the Resident Evil movies

My Name is Alice, And I Wish I Could Forget These Movies

Okay, so there’s a whole series of Resident Evil movies – the first six are just called Resident Evil, then Apocalypse, Extinction, Afterlife, Retribution, and finally The Final Chapter. Basically, they all follow this character Alice, played by Milla Jovovich, who gets infected with the T-Virus but instead of turning into a zombie, she gets superpowers! She spends the whole time fighting against the evil Umbrella Corporation. It’s pretty cool if you’re into zombie action!

I always loved the beginning of the first Resident Evil movie! Seeing the T-Virus actually break out in one of Umbrella’s labs – and that elevator scene is still wild – was a great way to start things off. For a minute, I thought they were going to stick pretty close to the game with that big mansion looking like Spencer Estate. But that idea didn’t last long! As soon as the Umbrella guys showed up, everything shifted to that underground lab, the Hive, and it was all action from there.

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Okay, so the first Resident Evil movie definitely has some scenes that stuck with me. I always remember the Red Queen’s line, “You’re all going to die down here,” it’s just so over-the-top. And that laser hallway? It’s cheesy, but I can’t help but laugh! It’s kinda cool that Capcom actually acknowledges the movie in the games too. Like, Leon just walks right through that same laser trap without any problem, which is hilarious when you remember all those poor Umbrella soldiers getting totally wrecked by it.

Following a terrifying battle with a computer-generated monster, Alice is the only one left alive. Her friend Matt is forced into the “Nemesis” project, and the film ends with a shocking reveal: Raccoon City has been completely taken over by zombies.

The Resident Evil Movies Constantly Fail to Capitalize on Their Cliffhanger Endings

Following the events of the first movie, Resident Evil: Apocalypse is rare in that it actually continues the story from a previous cliffhanger. The film increases the action and includes more characters and creatures from the video games, such as Jill Valentine, Carlos Oliveira, and the Nemesis monster. However, it suffers from fast-paced, confusing editing and a weak script.

One of the movie’s funniest, though likely unintentional, moments happens when Dr. Charles Ashford says his daughter is at school. The scene then cuts to show her in class, followed by a completely unnecessary shot showing where they are – even though the location was already clear.

The Apocalypse film concludes with Alice being rescued from an Umbrella Corporation lab, but hints that Umbrella still has some influence over her. Extinction then shifts the story dramatically, portraying a world devastated by the T-Virus, essentially becoming a zombie-filled version of Mad Max – though it doesn’t quite live up to that comparison. The film ends with Alice facing an army of her clones, a conflict quickly resolved at the start of Afterlife. Afterlife sees the heroes seemingly defeat Albert Wesker, only to be ambushed by Umbrella, featuring a mind-controlled Jill Valentine, reminiscent of Resident Evil 5. Retribution quickly resolves that conflict in its opening minutes, unexpectedly brings Wesker back, and disappointingly leaves out characters like Claire Redfield and K-Mart, who had been developed in the previous two films.

While not perfect, Retribution is generally considered the strongest of the live-action Resident Evil films. It introduces popular characters like Barry Burton, Leon S. Kennedy, and Ada Wong, and surprisingly brings back characters previously killed off. The movie’s plot, where Alice and her allies battle through different dangerous environments, is reminiscent of the Resident Evil: Underworld novel. The film concludes with a hopeful scene of Jill, Wesker, Ada, Leon, and Alice united at the White House, preparing for a massive final showdown to save humanity.

I was totally shocked when The Final Chapter just… skipped the big final battle! Seriously, everyone dies, but it happens off-screen except for Alice. It’s like the filmmakers just avoided the whole climactic fight. Can you imagine if the eighth Harry Potter movie just skipped over the Battle of Hogwarts? Five movies building up to this huge showdown, and we don’t even get to see it!

The movie revisits Claire, but she doesn’t mention her brother Chris or K-Mart – or if she did, I completely missed it. Milla Jovovich plays an older Alice, but the makeup isn’t convincing, and it might be her weakest performance in the whole series. It’s quite a challenge to pull that off.

Welcome to Raccoon City

I really disliked the previous Resident Evil movies, so I was thrilled to hear the series was getting a fresh start – and one that would stay true to the original games. While Welcome to Raccoon City is much more faithful to the source material, it unfortunately isn’t a very good movie.

Rather than just recreating the atmosphere of the original game – a creepy mansion filled with monsters and traps, which was great – the movie Welcome to Raccoon City awkwardly combines the storylines of the first two games. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work, and the movie fails to make Raccoon City feel like a real place. It feels strangely empty, as if the main characters are the only residents.

While Welcome to Raccoon City includes many references for fans of the games, it feels flat and the characters don’t resemble their video game counterparts. The film ends with an unresolved cliffhanger, likely because the Resident Evil series is being rebooted again, and hopefully this time, we’ll finally get a movie that truly does the franchise justice.

Save Us Zach Cregger

The newest Resident Evil movie is coming to theaters on September 18th. It’s directed by Zach Cregger, known for his critically acclaimed films Barbarian and Weapons. While it won’t directly follow the story of the original video game, early signs suggest this film will be a big improvement over previous Resident Evil movies.

Zach Cregger’s upcoming Resident Evil movie will feature Austin Abrams as Bryan, a medical courier, and Paul Walter Hauser as Carl. Zach Cherry and Kali Reis will also appear, though their roles are currently unknown. Johnno Wilson has been cast as Max. While details are scarce, many believe Cregger’s direction will make the 2026 Resident Evil film the strongest entry in the franchise yet.

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2026-03-23 16:05