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| awards =
| awards =
| language = English
| language = English
| budget = [[United States dollar|US$]]33 million<br/>([[Pound sterling|GB£]]16.5 million)<ref name="Worldwide" />
| budget = $33 million<br/>([[Pound sterling|GB£]]16.5 million)<ref name="Worldwide" />
| gross = $102,441,078<br/>(£61,220,539)<ref name="Worldwide" />
| gross = $102 million<br/>(£61 million)<ref name="Worldwide" />
| preceded_by =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by = ''[[Resident Evil: Apocalypse]]''
| followed_by = ''[[Resident Evil: Apocalypse]]''

Revision as of 16:56, 30 March 2010

Template:Two other uses

Resident Evil
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPaul Anderson
Written byPaul Anderson
(Screenplay)
Shinji Mikami
(Original Story)
Produced byPaul Anderson
Jeremy Bolt
Bernd Eichinger
Robert Kulzer
StarringMilla Jovovich
Michelle Rodriguez
Eric Mabius
James Purefoy
CinematographyDavid Johnson
Edited byAlexander Berner
Music byMarco Beltrami
Marilyn Manson
Production
companies
Constantin Film
Davis Films
Impact Pictures
Distributed byScreen Gems
Release dates
March 12, 2002 (2002-03-12)
(North America)
July 12, 2002
(United Kingdom)
August 31, 2002
(Japan)
Running time
94 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
United States
Germany
LanguageEnglish
Budget$33 million
(GB£16.5 million)[1]
Box office$102 million
(£61 million)[1]

Resident Evil is a 2002 science fiction horror film based on the same titled series of survival horror games developed by Capcom. Borrowing elements from the video games Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2, the film follows an amnesiac heroine Alice, and a band of Umbrella Corporation commandos, as they attempt to escape a secret underground facility that at one time was filled with people but is now overrun with zombies. The film was directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. The film was commercially successful, grossing US$102,441,078 worldwide; however, it received many negative reviews from critics.

Although Resident Evil received negative reviews, financially it has been successful enough to have several sequels made. Resident Evil was followed by three sequels: Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) and Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010). Anderson continued his involvement in the series, writing and producing the sequels, however, leaving directing to Alexander Witt and Russell Mulcahy. Resident Evil stars Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius, and James Purefoy.

Plot

Inside The Hive, a top-secret genetic research facility owned by the Umbrella Corporation located deep beneath Raccoon City, a lab technician tosses away a blue vial in a lab, exits, and seals the room. The vial breaks and the facility's security system, The Red Queen, detects possible infection, and in response, seals the Hive, killing everyone inside.

Elsewhere, Alice (Milla Jovovich) awakens in an empty mansion with amnesia. She and a police officer, Matt (Eric Mabius), are seized by a group of commandos and taken to an underground train station which leads to The Hive. They are joined by Spence (James Purefoy), who is also suffering from amnesia. The head of the commandos, “One”, explains that everyone in the group is an employee of the Umbrella Corporation. It is also revealed that The Red Queen is responsible for releasing a nerve gas in the mansion which has caused their amnesia. When the train arrives, the group opens and enters The Hive.

The group eventually finds their way to The Queen's chamber; however, as they attempt to disable her, four of the commandos, including One, are killed. The only commandos left alive are Rain (Michelle Rodriguez), Kaplan, and J.D. Alice and Kaplan then shut The Queen down, opening the doors of the facility, releasing the now zombified staff and other experiments into The Hive. During a battle between the group and some of the zombies, Rain becomes infected after receiving multiple bite wounds.

As the group moves throughout The Hive, Alice and Spence slowly regain their memory. Later, Matt and Alice are separated and J.D. is killed while Kaplan, Rain, and Spence remain in near The Queen's chamber. Still separated, Matt looks for information about his sister. Meanwhile, Alice encounters several dogs which were experimented on and surprises herself when she uses martial arts to defend herself.

Matt eventually finds his sister, Lisa, who is now a zombie. As she attacks him, Alice arrives in time to save him. Matt explains that he and Lisa unsuccessfully attempted to smuggle out a sample of the blue vial, the T-Virus, in the hopes of taking down Umbrella. Matt believes this to be the fault of Lisa's contact, who supposedly betrayed her. Alice, remembering she was Lisa's contact, remains silent.

Soon, the survivors are once more united at The Queen's chamber and are forced to switch her back on to find an exit; The Red Queen agrees to help them. As Alice and the others try to escape through the maintenance tunnels, they are ambushed by zombies. Kaplan is separated from the rest of the team on their way to the train. Alice suddenly remembers that an anti-virus exists that could cure T-Virus infection.

Upon their arrival at the lab, they find that the vials containing the T-Virus and anti-virus are gone. Spence, fully regaining his memory, is shown as the sole person who released the virus and stashed the anti-virus near the train. He points a gun at the survivors then traps them in the lab. He then heads toward the train, but before he can inject himself with the anti-virus, he is killed by a mutated creature called the Licker.

Back at the lab, The Queen offers to spare Alice and Matt if they kill Rain, who has been infected for the longest period of time. As the Licker attempts to bash through the lab window to get to them, a sudden power-outage occurs. The laboratory door opens to reveal Kaplan, who has permanently disabled the Red Queen.

The four survivors start the train before The Hive is locked in quarantine. As the train heads back to the mansion, the Licker kills Kaplan and attacks the group. Alice battles the Licker as Matt kills a now zombified Rain. Matt, after having been clawed by the Licker, opens a trap door on the bottom of the train, causing the Licker to be dragged along the track and burned to death.

Matt and Alice arrive at the mansion, and escape at the last moment when the doors close. Suddenly, Matt begins to mutate as the two are seized by Umbrella scientists. The scientists announce that Matt is to be part of the "Nemesis Program". Alice attempts to fend them off, but is ultimately subdued. The other scientists are then heard voicing their intentions to reopen The Hive.

Later, Alice awakens at the Raccoon City Hospital, locked in an observation room. After escaping the room and wandering the hospital's empty halls, Alice exits the building to find Raccoon City abandoned with signs of chaos everywhere. Alice takes a shotgun from a nearby police car, as the destruction of the city is fully shown.

Production

Pre-production

In 1999, Sony and Capcom greenlit a Resident Evil film with George A. Romero signed on as the film's director and screenplay writer. Romero's association with Capcom, the Resident Evil video game series creators, had extended from 1998 when Romero directed an ad campaign for Biohazard 2 (Resident Evil 2) in Japan. Romero stated in an official appearance in Universal Studio's Talk City chatroom that he had his secretary play the entire game through and record the gameplay so he could study it as a resource. Romero's screenplay revolved around the plot of the Arklay incident and included characters from the Resident Evil video games. Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine were the lead characters, involved in a romantic relationship. Barry Burton, Rebecca Chambers, Ada Wong and Albert Wesker were to also appear. The ending to the film would have been similar to that of the Resident Evil video game.[2] However, Romero's script was disapproved of and production was placed into development hell.[3] Capcom producer Yoshiki Okamoto explained to the editors of Electronic Gaming Monthly that "Romero's script wasn't good, so Romero was fired".[4] In February 2000, Romero revealed in an interview with DGA magazine that, "I don't think they were into the spirit of the video game and wanted to make it more of a war movie, something heavier than I thought it should be. So I think they just never liked my script."[5] As Romero's script was a close, but not full, adaptation of the game, Capcom believed fans would feel that the movie had been altered too much from the game, and that newcomers would dislike the premise.[5]

Hired by Sony, Paul W.S. Anderson wrote a screenplay, which was ultimately favored over Romero's.[5] In late 2000, Anderson was announced as director and writer, and Resident Evil re-entered pre-production stages.[6] Anderson stated the film would not include any tie-in's with the video game series as "under-performing movie tie-ins are too common and Resident Evil, of all games, deserved a good celluloid representation".[7]

Casting

In early 2001, Michelle Rodriguez,[8] James Purefoy[9] and Milla Jovovich[10] were the first of the cast to be signed on the project. David Boreanaz was intended to portray the male cop lead of Matt Addison; however, he turned down the role to continue work on the WB series Angel.[11] Boreanaz suggested that he was in negotiations to have a smaller role in the film claiming "Resident Evil is still there, a possibility, So, yeah, I'll see what happens",[11] however, he later declined the role. The role of Matt Addison was then given to Eric Mabius who was later cast in March 2001,[11] along with Heike Makatsch, who was cast as Matt Addison's sister Lisa Addison, an employee working for Umbrella's Hive facility.[12]

Production and story development

In early March 2001, it was announced that half of the film would be shot in Adlershof Studios in Berlin and its surroundings.[13] On 5 March 2001 shooting began principal photography at numerous locations including the then unfinished station U-Bahnhof Bundestag of the Berlin U-Bahn, Landsberger Allee, Kaserne Krampnitz and the Schloss Linstedt.[14] Locations included The Spencer Mansion and The Hive. The film's ending in Raccoon City was shot in Toronto, Canada.[15] Filming concluded and post-production on the film began on 19 May 2001.[16]

The film's score and soundtrack were composed by Clint Mansell,[17] Marco Beltrami and Marilyn Manson[18] during mid 2001. Manson described the score and soundtrack as being more "electronic" than any of his other previous work.[19]

The film was originally subtitled as "Resident Evil: Ground Zero"[13][20] when the movie was considered a prequel to the games, however the subtitle was removed in due to the 9/11 attacks.[21] The film's first plot as of 16 March 2001 revealed that Jovovich's character Alice and Rodriguez's character Rain were the leaders of a commando team sent in to prevent a viral outbreak from spreading to the rest of the world,[12] however those details were later changed.

Anderson initially toyed with the idea of the film being an allegory to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but the idea was not followed through.[14][failed verification] Despite that, the movie contains various references to the work.[22][failed verification] The obvious being the main character's name, another is the use of a white rabbit for testing the T-Virus. The wall that opens to the train station appears as a mirror (Through the Looking-Glass), the Red Queen and her behavior, wanting to behead/kill people, are references to the book; the Red Queen's first kill is actually a beheading. In addition to relating to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the Red Queen's character was added into the film's story as a homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey an allusion to HAL 9000.[14]

During production, professional dancers were hired to star as zombies as they had better control of their body movements.[21] While computer effects were used on some zombies, much of the undead appearances were accomplished through make-up while their movements were a more laissez-faire approach, as Anderson told the actors to move however they thought a zombie would, given their conditions.[21] Whilst filming, there was a shortage of manpower where the available dancers were not enough to represent the required numbers of undead, however some of Capcom's executives and several of the film producers including Jeremy Bolt agreed to make appearances.[21] The film's stunt coordinator also made an appearance as the dog trainer while Bolt's girlfriend and sister both appeared as zombies.[21]

Marketing and release

In March 2001, the official website was set up, which revealed the films original 26 October 2001 release[23] and a redirect to the film's distributor Constantin Films.[24] The website was fully opened in July 2001, and composed of images, plot info, character biographies and downloads.[25] The film was planned to have a R-rated classification, however was overruled by Anderson, claiming he wanted a PG-13 rating as it would best suit a younger audience.[26] In January 2002, the film was officially announced to contain a R rating.[27]

In May 2001, it was announced that Sony Pictures Entertainment would distribute the film in North America.[28] It was suggested by Capcom executives, that the film wouldn't be released in 2001, but rather in 2002[29] which was later confirmed by Sony in August 2001.[30] The film was set for release on 5 April 2002 before being pushed forward to a 15 March release.[31]

In December 2001, Sony gave fans a chance to design the film's poster with a prize of an undisclosed amount of cash, a free screening of the film, and with the final design being the film's poster.[32] On 16 February 2002, Nick Des Barres, a 23-year-old aspiring actor and ex-video game magazine designer, was announced as the winner of the competition.[33] The film's trailer and clips were released in late January[34] and early February 2002.[35]

Critical reaction and box office

The film opened in 2,528 theaters and was commercially successful, grossing US$17,707,106 on its opening weekend (15 March-17 2002). The film gained US$40,119,709 domestically and US$102,441,078 worldwide.[1] Resident Evil received many negative reactions from the critics and received a 34% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 110 reviews.[36] Robert K. Elder from the Chicago Tribune stated that the film "updates the zombie genre with an anti-corporate message while still scaring its audience and providing heart-pounding action",[36] however, Owen Gleiberman from Entertainment Weekly noted that the film is as "impersonal in its relentlessness as the videogame series that inspired it."[36]

Both Resident Evil and the sequel appear on Roger Ebert's most hated films list, published in 2005.[37] In the review of Resident Evil, Ebert describes the film as a zombie movie set in the 21st century where "large metallic objects make crashing noises just by being looked at." He also explains that the film's "characters have no small talk. Their dialogue consists of commands, explanations, [and] exclamations."[38]

After commercial success at the box office, a sequel, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, was released in 2004. In 2007, the third film Resident Evil: Extinction was released. Anderson did not direct the films due to commitments to Alien vs. Predator[39] and Death Race[40] but instead functioned as the scriptwriter and producer on both. The sequels were directed by Alexander Witt and Russell Mulcahy respectively. Anderson did, however, return to direct the 4th film in the franchise.

Relationship to the games

Various elements are borrowed from numerous video games including Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis,[21] where Alice's character awakes in Raccoon City Hospital with a viral outbreak occurring in the city. There are several references to characters and organizations such as the Umbrella Corporation, the Nemesis program, the underground train bearing the moniker "Alexi-5000" a reference to Resident Evil Code: Veronica's villain Alexia Ashford (the train is from Resident Evil 2, but in the game it reads "Galaxie-5000" instead of "Alexi-5000") and a police cruiser, from which Alice takes out a shotgun, has a "S.T.A.R.S." logo on the hood.[21] Jason Isaacs appears in the film as an uncredited masked surgeon (which is a reference to William Birkin). The character of Dr. Isaacs (played by Iain Glen) in the film's sequels is dedicated to or based on him.[21]

Other references to the first game include Alice examining the mansion by going outside; crows are visible for a very short moment. These crows were all digitized. In the video game series, crows are minor enemies that the player encounters throughout each game.[21] Alice finds a picture of her wedding day with Spence, which is the same style as the photos in the first version of the Resident Evil game: in black and white with the foreground image (in this case, Alice and Spencer) noticeably spliced onto the background (the room behind them).[21] On the newspaper at the end of the movie, the words "Horror in Raccoon City! More Victims Dead!" are shown in the upper right corner. This is a reference to the same newspaper in the censored opening of the original Resident Evil game and the prologue chapter for the Resident Evil: The Umbrella Conspiracy novel.[21] Near the beginning of the film, Alice examines a statue after the wind blows its cover off. This statue is similar in design to one in the mansion of the first game, and which contains the map of the ground floor.[21]

When going back to the Red Queen's chamber, Kaplan points out that the four bodies of the group's dead crew from the Glass Hallway Trap sequence are gone. This is a reference to a noticeable trait in the games, where when a character leaves the room where they've killed zombies and then comes back, the bodies that were once there have disappeared.[21] The film also borrows a plot element from Resident Evil 2 in which Leon and Claire have to escape the underground labs by taking the train and have a showdown with a large creature in the back of the car. When the survivors make their escape from the Hive with a countdown as they fight the final boss, this is a reference to every Resident Evil game (except Resident Evil 5) which ends with a five minute countdown during which the boss must be defeated.[21]

A faux newspaper created by Screen Gems for Apocalypse, The Raccoon City Times, indicates hours after the initial outbreak, creatures began appearing in the Arklay Mountains feasting on victims. This is similar to the opening of the first video game.[41]

Anderson has stated that the film's camera angles and several shots allude to the video game's camera angles, such as the fight between Alice and the security guard.[21] These include a scene near the beginning where there is a close up of Alice's eye. This is a direct reference to the title screen of the first game.[21] In another scene, Alice awakes and hears a creepy sound which is also a reference to the plot of the first game.[21]

Numerous elements from the film have been referenced in several of the Resident Evil video games after the film's original release. This includes the laser corridor sequence which appeared in both Resident Evil 4 (where Leon S. Kennedy has to evade a security trap)[42] and Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (where Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine have to evade a trap in Umbrella's Russian facility).[43] The film's font is used for the North American version of Resident Evil: Outbreak.[42] The character of Red Queen made an appearance in Umbrella Chronicles as a computer database system.[44]

The main 'boss' in the movie, (the T-virus injected human tissue) is a "Licker" from the game Resident Evil 2.

Home video

Resident Evil was released on DVD on July 30, 2002 in the United States,[45] April 14, 2003 in the United Kingdom[46] and October 2002 in Australia.[47] It was a special edition release, with a number of documentaries including five featurettes, one of which explained the making of Resident Evil, the film's score composition, costume design, set design, zombie make up tests, and the music video for a remixed version of "My Plague" by Slipknot.

A Deluxe Edition of Resident Evil was released on September 7, 2004, which included new special features such as an Alternate ending with director Paul Anderson's video introduction, a clip compilation for Apocalypse, From Game to Screen featurette, a Storyboarding Resident Evil featurette, and 6 other exclusive featurettes: The Creature, The Elevator, The Train, The Laser, Zombie Dogs and Zombies.[48]

Screen Gems released Resident Evil Resurrected Edition, a 2-Disc package containing Resident Evil and Resident Evil: Apocalypse, on September 4, 2007.[49][50]

On January 1, 2008 A Blu-ray edition of the Resident Evil trilogy was released.[51]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Resident Evil". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  2. ^ Romero, George A. (1998-10-07). "Resident Evil Original Screenplay". Dailyscript.com. Retrieved 2007-11-26. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Resident Evil Film News". Computerandvideogames.com. 2001-01-27. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  4. ^ "Deep Dark Thoughts". Houseofhorrors.com. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  5. ^ a b c "TNMC Movie News: Resident Evil". tnmc.org. 1999-11-29. Retrieved 2006-01-27.
  6. ^ "Info & Tidbits On Resident Evil". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  7. ^ "Resident Evil Director explains character and story line changes. Details and explanations..." News Spong. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  8. ^ "Michelle Rodriguez to take on "Resident Evil"". countingdown.com. 2001-03-14. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  9. ^ "James Purefoy Joins Film". countingdown.com. 2001-03-14. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  10. ^ "Milla Jovovich ready for Action!". countingdown.com. 2001-03-14. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  11. ^ a b c "David Boreanaz cast in". countingdown.com. 2001-03-14. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  12. ^ a b "Official Information Released". countingdown.com. 2001-03-16. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  13. ^ a b "Shooting Locations for "Resident Evil"". countingdown.com. 2001-03-14. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  14. ^ a b c "Resident Evil". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  15. ^ "Filming Locations for Resident Evil". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  16. ^ "Box offic/business for Resident Evil". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  17. ^ "Clint Mansell Will Handle Music". countingdown.com. 2001-03-14. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  18. ^ "Marilyn Manson Talks About Scoring Film". countingdown.com. 2001-11-15. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  19. ^ "Marilyn Manson Talks About Scoring Film". countingdown.com. 2001-03-15. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  20. ^ "Small Title Change". countingdown.com. 2001-08-11. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Paul W.S. Anderson (2002). Resident Evil Commentary (DVD). Sony Entertainment.
  22. ^ "Movie Connections to Resident Evil". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  23. ^ "MORE Resident Evil scoops". countingdown.com. 2001-05-07. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  24. ^ "Official "Resident Evil" Site Spotted!". countingdown.com. 2001-03-14. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  25. ^ "Official "Resident Evil" Site to Open in June!". countingdown.com. 2001-05-01. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  26. ^ "Resident Evil To Be Rated PG-13". countingdown.com. 2001-05-09. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  27. ^ "Resident Evil Official Rating". countindown.com. 2002-01-22. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  28. ^ "Sony to Handle North American Distribution". countingdown.com. 2001-05-10. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  29. ^ "Capcom Officially Announces "Resident Evil: Ground Zero"". countingdown.com. 2001-05-16. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  30. ^ "New Release Date". countingdown.com. 2002-08-19. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
  31. ^ "Resident Evil release date bumped up!!!!!!!". coutingdown.com. 2002-01-01. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  32. ^ "Design the 'Resident Evil' Poster". countindown.com. 2001-12-06. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  33. ^ "Let a Fan do the Marketing". countingdown.com. 2002-02-18. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  34. ^ "Direct Link to the Trailer". countingdown.com. 2002-01-23. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  35. ^ "5 clips from Resident Evil Online!!!". countingdown.com. 2002-02-04. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  36. ^ a b c "Resident Evil (2002)". Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  37. ^ "Ebert's Most Hated". rogerebert.suntimes.com. 2005-08-11. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  38. ^ "Resident Evil". rogerebert.suntimes.com. 2002-03-15. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  39. ^ "AVP Trivia". imdb.com. Winter 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  40. ^ "Resident Evil: Extinction Production Notes" (PDF). sonypictures.com. Fall 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  41. ^ Raccoon City Times - sonypictures.com last accessed - 2007-10-18
  42. ^ a b "Resident Evil 4 Laser Corridor". gamefaqs.com. 2005-03-15. Retrieved 2007-11-28. Cite error: The named reference "Gamefaqs" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  43. ^ Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles Laser Room (website). youtube.com. 2007-11-16. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
  44. ^ "Red Queen's appearance in Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles". imdb.com. 2002-03-15. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
  45. ^ "Amazon". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  46. ^ "Resident Evil (2002) Amazon UK". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  47. ^ "Resident Evil (2002) EZY DVD". EzyDVD.com. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  48. ^ "Resident Evil (2002) Amazon". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  49. ^ "Resident Evil/Resident Evil: Apocalypse (Double Feature, ..." sonypictures.com. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  50. ^ "Deadly Bundle: Resident Evil Flicks Resurrected". kotaku.com. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  51. ^ "Oded Fehr talks Resident Evil: Extinction DVD". ign.com. 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-11-18.

External links

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