The first official trailer for Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City was released today, and so far, it seems like the fan response has been somewhat mixed. When it was first announced, fans were hopeful that the film would be able to truly capture every aspect of the early Resident Evil games, as the movie is meant to adapt the first and second titles. However, now that there are two minutes of footage on display in the trailer, many fans are complaining that it seems corny and like the kind of film's quality resembles something that would go straight to DVD.
While those observations are certainly accurate, one can't help but wonder if that's the entire vibe that Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is going for. It's certainly fair for fans to want a serious and well-made Resident Evil film following the previous RE film franchise's disregard for the game series' canon, but if they were looking for a tonally and thematically accurate adaptation of the games, it seems like Welcome to Raccoon City might just be it.
Looking to Resident Evil's Cheesy Past
With the release of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, it seemed like the franchise was headed in a much more serious direction. There were plenty of b-movie horror tropes packed into the game, but they were very rarely played up for laughs, instead leaning into the horrific nature of Ethan Winters' situation. Resident Evil Village played much of the absurdity of its plot in a more heavy-handed way comparatively, but still took things relatively seriously. That said, those two games are outliers in terms of Resident Evil's approach to its plot.
Because the most recent RE titles took things in a much more serious direction, it seems like fans were hoping that Welcome to Raccoon City would follow suit, but the trailer is actually embracing the tone of the first two games quite well. It's pretty safe to say that the original Resident Evil games were poorly written, but leaned into the bad writing to create a mix of horror and camp. This helped the franchise stand out from more serious Japanese horror games of the early PlayStation era like Silent Hill, and the self-aware camp of the franchise reached a peak with Resident Evil 4.
Fans clearly have a fondness for the campy elements of the franchise's earlier entries, as many praised the Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes for staying true to the original tone of the series despite their writing not lining up with more modern takes on the horror genre. It's curious, then, why the reaction to the Welcome to Raccoon City trailer is so mixed, as it seems like it's leaning into those elements in a very tongue-in-cheek way.
The Resident Evil B-Movie Connection
As stated above, those pointing out the poor looking special effects, melodramatic acting, and downright goofy CGI in the trailer are absolutely right. However, if Welcome to Raccoon City is truly meant to be an adaptation of the first two games, then it seems like including those elements might have been purposeful. There's certainly nothing wrong with being turned off by the trailer's b-movie vibes, but the franchise was established using those tropes, so it's appropriate to use those sorts of elements in the film itself.
It's unfortunate for anyone looking for a more serious film adaptation of the franchise, but at the end of the day, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City looks like it will be worth a watch for anyone who enjoyed the original two RE titles. At the very least, it'll likely be a better adaptation than the previous Resident Evil film franchise, which makes it a step in the right direction.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City releases on November 24.