Fans of Resident Evil have weathered decades of film adaptations that always omitted key beloved aspects of the survival horror video game series. The prevalent criticism voiced among gamers is that Constantin Film's Resident Evil series, helmed by Paul W.S. Anderson, did not handle the source material properly, resulting in a string of action-packed zombie science fiction monster films that appeared to be Resident Evil in name only.
With Constantin Film set to produce the upcoming Netflix series simply titled Resident Evil (not to be confused with Netflix's upcoming CG animated series Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness or the live-action film reboot directed by Johannes Roberts also titled Resident Evil ), there's a sense of reservation among gamers regarding whether or not they should get their hopes up. There are a few things fans would appreciate included in this series and, perhaps more importantly, some things everyone would like left out completely.
10 Cut The Slo-Mo
Resident Evil movies have long overly depended on slow-motion action scenes to really punctuate the indulgent visual effects. Constantin Film seems to insist on more and more action in every film and, if the new series is a natural evolution from its predecessors, chances are high we will see somebody get karate kicked at 25% speed somewhere in the series. If Resident Evil were true to its roots, though, audiences would be more likely to see someone torn apart by zombies than engage in fisticuffs.
9 Keep It Canon
While Resident Evil has had a pretty wonky story from the get-go filled with strange narrative decisions and improbabilities by the boatload, fans deserve a little effort from the production team to deliver a solid Resident Evil adaptation that stays true to its own conventions. If this series is a continuation from the films released over the past two decades, it would serve the franchise well to treat its predecessors as canonically sound, no matter how silly they've become.
8 Focus On The Characters
Milla Jovovich has more than adequately served as the face of the Resident Evil film franchise but Alice, the heroine she's played in six films, is a bit of a flatline in terms of characterization.
At the start of the first film she wakes up from an amnesiac episode and it seems she never fully figures out who she is other than a post-apocalyptic kung-fu super killer which, while visually stimulating, doesn't do much for the drama department.
7 Less Dependence On CG
Bad computer graphics are infinitely less desirable than bad practical effects. Think of Ed Wood's famous UFO dangling from a fishing line in Plan 9 From Outer Space, it's beloved for its simplicity and inspired future filmmakers because B-movies can be made without an over dependence on post-production effects. Constantin Film's Resident Evil has a mixed bag of awkward CG and clunky prosthetics, but the licker creature effects from the first film are just unforgivable and fans demand better from Resident Evil these days.
6 Tone Down The Soundtrack
Starting with the first film adaptation of Resident Evil in 2002, the films' soundtracks always favored hard rock, techno, and industrial music to accentuate the action scenes. While the music itself was critically acclaimed, coming from such popular acts like Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Depeche Mode and The Crystal Method among others, it did a disservice to the minimalistic soundtracks from the games that focused more on atmospheric ambiance than adrenaline-pumping rockers.
5 Hold The Cheese, Please
There's a fine line between schlock and art and, unfortunately, much of the Resident Evil film series is in the former category. True, the video games are not narrative masterpieces, but they didn't include too much eye-rolling idiocy. For example, Carlos Oliveira smokes a joint before his ultimate demise in the film Resident Evil: Extinction, but some fans might get a chuckle out of a Resident Evil character smoking green herb, a common healing item. Is that how the game characters ingested it all along? This is forgivable in small doses, but there will hopefully be only a minimal amount of similar cheese in the upcoming series.
4 Resident Evil Needs More Horror
After the film series kicked off in the early 2000s it became apparent that Capcom wanted its survival-horror franchise to flirt more and more with the action and thriller genres. This wasn't necessarily a poor decision, but the resulting games after RE4 were met with harsh criticism, not to mention the film series that followed suit. It's important to note that more recent video games, particularly RE7, prove the series is returning to its horror roots in a big way. Fans hope the upcoming series does, too.
3 Portray More Playable Characters From The Games
Unless they were introduced to Resident Evil by the films, most fans were disappointed to see very little attention was paid to the characters they controlled in the original games. While Jill was portrayed at least aesthetically consistent in Resident Evil: Apocalypse with her Nemesis-era tube top and skirt, there doesn't seem to be much concern in the films for the actual characters many fans love so dearly. Isn't it weird that Milla Jovovich's Alice was never a playable character in any of the games, yet she's the star of a film series based on video games? The films are paint by numbers action movies inside flimsy Resident Evil picture frames. It would be a favor to diehard fans if the series pays attention to the popular characters like Chris, Barry, Jill, Leon, Claire, Rebecca and many more.
2 Don't Forget Why Resident Evil Is So Popular
Resident Evil started off as a zombie horror series. There's not a sign of martial arts or techno music anywhere to be found in the original PlayStation titles that were on the market when the first film adaptation hit theaters. After making its mark at the box office, Resident Evil as a brand seemed to favor a lot of the stylistic choices the filmmakers made and followed suit on consoles. As time went on fans yearned for the simplicity of a classic Resident Evil and, as the seventh title in the main series showed us, they're willing and able to revert to Resident Evil's creepy vibes.
1 A Game Tie-In Would Be Nice
This series takes viewers 30 years into the future, which will likely achieve a tone similar to George A. Romero's Land of the Dead. If a game in this cinematic world were announced, interest in the series would increase exponentially. Fans are more likely to get their wish for a video game to play alongside the TV granted by the Resident Evil movie reboot directed by Johannes Roberts. This is an easy opportunity for a new Resident Evil smartphone game at the very least.