Resident Evil is a comedy first and a thrilling nightmare second

Anderson’s Resident Evil hit theaters in 2002, video game movies were largely seen as a niche. Films like Mortal Kombat and Tomb Raider had proven that big-screen game adaptations could be successful, but the commercial and critical failure of projects like the 1993 Super Mario Bros. And while Anderson’s vision of Raccoon City might have captivated audiences on the whole, many hardcore fans of Capcom’s games were left disappointed by the way the original movies wildly deviated from the source material. Resident Evil also stars Zach Cherry, Will Merrick, Zoé Bellas, Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Griffin Newman, and Magdalena Sittovaas.