344. Resident Evil - Welcome To Raccoon City; movie review

 

 

RESIDENT EVIL - WELCOME TO RACCOON CITY

Cert 15

107 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong bloody violence, gore, horror, language

It's four years since Resident Evil Final Chapter which I thought had denoted an end to this long-running franchise.

But it shouldn't surprise anyone too much that a film studio should want another easy payday.

I have never understood the lure of zombies but I have to accept that there is a substantial audience for them.

So much so that this is the 12th feature film to have a connection to the video game series which hit the market in 1996.

This movie epitomises the downside of the everyfilm quest. I knew I wouldn't like it and I didn't. Some might ask why I should waste an hour and three-quarters in such a way. It is just the way that everyfilm rolls.

Johannes Roberts' film is apparently a reboot of the first and second of the video game series.

It begins in the 1980s when Claire and Chris Redfield are children in the grimmest, darkest orphanage imaginable run by the evil William Birkin (Neal McDonough).

Ten years later, Claire (Kaya Scodelario) hitch-hikes back to Raccoon City after seeing a dire warning on the internet, posted by a man who fears local chemical company Umbrella is contaminating the water supply.

It transpires that Umbrella and Birkin are involved with work which is even more sinister and the townsfolk are bleeding from their eyes and losing their hair.

Thus, she wants to tell her now-estranged brother (Robbie Amell) of the warning but he is a police officer who is called in to investigate mysterious events at The Spencer Mansion.

Needless to say, zombies are afoot and the longer the film progresses, the more crazed they become.

The film descends into the good and not-quite-so-good guys trying to defeat the villainous corporation and an army of the undead.

Aside from being pretty damned dull much of this 'action' takes place in the dark!

Those who have knowledge of the video game will understand the nuances of the mansion, the orphanage and the characters.

I did not so, without that prior buy-in, didn't really care if they lived or died.

All I know was that the dialogue was perfunctory, the action was predictable and there was no allowance for anyone watching this as a one-off. 

Reasons to watch: If you need yet another bloody zombie film

Reasons to avoid: Follows dozens of cliches

Laughs: None

Jumps: Two

Vomit: Lots of gunge but not sure about vomit:

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 2/10

Did you know? Director Johannes Roberts is a huge John Carpenter fan and for the film, he drew inspiration from two of Carpenter's films with Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) and The Fog (1980) as these disparate group of characters coming together under siege.

The final word. Johannes Roberts: "The big thing for me in this film is the tone. What I loved about the games was that they were just scary, and that's a lot of what I wanted, that atmosphere. It's raining constantly, it's dark, it's scary, Raccoon City is a rotten character." IGN

Share this post