HOW THE NEW
EVIL
RESIDENT
MOVIE HONORS THE GAMES
By Matthew Byrd
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City promises to be true to the video games, but does it really honor that legendary horror game franchise?
Welcome to Raccoon City follows a group of survivors trying to escape that town after a cataclysmic event turns many of its residents into zombies.
The survivors will instantly be familiar to any Resident Evil fan. The cast of characters consists of names like Chris and Claire Redfield, Jill Valentine, and Leon Kennedy.
Welcome to Raccoon City even features some of the games' most notable (non-zombie) villains, like legendary antagonists William Birkin and Albert Wesker.
While many of Welcome to Raccoon City's major characters will be familiar, the town of Raccoon City is a much bigger star in the movie than it ever was in the games.
Welcome to Raccoon City portrays Raccoon City as a company town in its final days. The dying town ends up being one of the film's biggest stars rather than a simple home for zombies.
However, many of the specific locations in that town are taken from the games. In fact, most of the action is split between Resident Evil's Spencer Mansion and Resident Evil 2's police station.
Of course, Umbrella is as big of a presence in the movie as it was in the games. There are even quite a few references to the company's history that only fans will notice.
Not every character's origin story survives the transition, though. Actually, many of the protagonists from the games have been altered in ways that will surely divide franchise fans.
Still, those fans may appreciate that Resident Evil is definitively a horror movie (with touches of action) whereas previous adaptations have ignored the game's revolutionary horror elements.
While Welcome to Raccoon City sticks a bit too close to the games, it's still the most noteworthy attempt yet at bringing as many iconic elements from those games to the big screen as possible.