It is early in the 21st century when Umbrella Corp. has become the largest commercial organization in the United States. It produces computer technology, medical and health care products, but also collaborates with military intelligence on new weapons of war and research in genetics. Unfortunately, the sabotage of an experiment causes a leak of biological material from the research laboratories, which infects everyone in the huge facility.The company's security department is dispatched to the site to check what has happened and in the hope of finding survivors. With them are the two guards protecting the entrance, disguised as a dwelling, to the road leading "to the hive" (Umbrella's laboratory). The search will not yield the desired results, and it will soon become apparent that the central system, called "the Red Queen," has acted autonomously, activating security measures to prevent any human presence from leaving the facility. Even the soldiers will not have a better fate, decimated by the hidden traps. But the defense systems are not the main problem once they are deactivated: the corporation's employees, as a result of the virus put out by the unknown saboteur, have mutated and become an instrument of death. Hordes of "zombies" rage in the area in search of fresh meat, while the survivors will have to find an escape route and report to the authorities what has happened. But further unforeseen events add to the already desperate situation....
Film inspired by a famous video game, Resident Evil by Paul Anderson is a classic example of a not-so-successful transposition to film. Not that it is completely throw-away: action and some suspense are not lacking, as are some good special effects. But the subject of zombies is not the easiest to deal with and the terms of comparison with Romerian films are wasted. So here the classic clichés are brought up: failed biological experiments, the military trying to remedy the situation, the starving undead, and so on. All elements already present in numerous films in the genre, making this work only a decent clone. Even the actors' acting, which is rather anonymous, fails to provide that famous extra touch. We shall see how the already announced sequel will turn out.
Review by Maxena
