Fans ofResident Evilhave 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’sResident Evilseries, 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 beResident Evilin name only.
RELATED:Resident Evil: 10 Things Fans Didn’t Know About The T-Virus
With Constantin Film set to produce the upcoming Netflix series simply titledResident Evil(not to be confused with Netflix’s upcoming CG animated seriesResident Evil: Infinite Darknessor the live-action film reboot directed by Johannes Roberts also titledResident 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.
10Cut The Slo-Mo
Resident Evilmovies 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 getkarate kicked at 25% speedsomewhere in the series. IfResident Evilwere true to its roots, though, audiences would be more likely to see someone torn apart by zombies than engage in fisticuffs.
9Keep It Canon
WhileResident Evilhas had a pretty wonky storyfrom 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 solidResident Eviladaptation 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.
8Focus On The Characters
Milla Jovovich has more than adequately served asthe face of theResident Evilfilm franchisebut Alice, the heroine she’s played in six films, is a bit of a flatline in terms of characterization.
RELATED:How Resident Evil 3 Remake Changed Jill Valentine
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.
7Less 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 inPlan 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’sResident Evilhas 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 fromResident Evilthese days.
6Tone Down The Soundtrack
Starting with the first film adaptation ofResident Evilin 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.
5Hold The Cheese, Please
There’s a fine line between schlock and art and, unfortunately, much of theResident Evilfilm series is in the former category. True, the video games are not narrative masterpieces, but they didn’t includetoomuch eye-rolling idiocy. For example, Carlos Oliveira smokes a joint before his ultimate demise in the filmResident 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.
4Resident 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 RE4were met with harsh criticism, not to mention the film series that followed suit. It’s important to note that more recent video games, particularlyRE7, prove the series is returning to its horror roots in a big way. Fans hope the upcoming series does, too.
3Portray More Playable Characters From The Games
Unless they were introduced toResident Evilby 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 inResident Evil: Apocalypsewith 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 flimsyResident Evilpicture 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.
2Don’t Forget Why Resident Evil Is So Popular
Resident Evilstarted 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 Evilas 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 classicResident Eviland, as the seventh title in the main series showed us, they’re willing and able to revert toResident Evil’s creepy vibes.
1A 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’sLand 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 theResident Evilmovie reboot directed by Johannes Roberts. This is an easy opportunity for a newResident Evilsmartphone game at the very least.
NEXT:Resident Evil: Why 2021 Is Going To Be Huge For Capcom’s Horror Franchise
