RESIDENT EVIL is upon us...

[Griff [Mola]]

Okay, its almost here and I for one am really curious as to how this potential turkey turns out. For various conflicting reasons, I hope its a winner. Here's an interesting reaction to the movie by film maker Roger Avary (from http://www.avary.com ):

2002/03/13

Last night I went to the premiere (if you could call it that) of "Resident Evil". Samuel Hadida, the producer of "Killing Zoe" called to invite me...and despite the history of the film, or perhaps because of the history of the film, I eagerly accepted. What history you ask? Well, let's begin at the Sundance film festival circa 1993, when I met a young Brit director named Paul Anderson (not that Paul Anderson...drop the T.) who had a film there named "Shopping". The next thing I knew Paul was directing big, bad Hollywood films. One $60 million (or above) dollar film after another. Most of them atrocious (perhaps with the exception of the gothic "Event Horizon", which of his films I like the most). It baffled me how he could keep making these big movies. The one good thing I can say about Paul's work is that he has an excellent sense of design. So, a year and a half ago I was at the Sunset Marquis Hotel chatting with Sammy and Robert Kulzer of Constantin Films. I had heard that they were making "Resident Evil" (they had inquired about my interest at one time -- I'm a gamer and I had played the game tirelessly) with one of my favorite directors, the great George A. Romero. Kulzer smiled and calmly told me that they had fired Romero that day. He told me that George didn't understand the kind of film they were making. I was stunned. Weren't they making a zombie film?! Then, when they hired Paul Anderson, I damn near wept. Cut to last night. The movie begins and it is, without question, not a George A. Romero film. It's a slick Hollywood-esque zombie movie. But you know what? I found myself liking it. It's not one-tenth the film Romero would have made, but it's as if a huge fan of Romero's made the movie. Gone are any realistic human emotions -- but Anderson both mimes Romero and perfectly captures the feel of the videogame itself (the "Resident Evil" game was famous among gamers for its bad dialog and performances). You can tell that he loves the game, it shows. The one interesting biproduct of his love of videogames is that you never feel any jepordy for your characters -- it's almost as if you can simply start a new game if they're killed. Strange. Also, there's no real gore to speak of...which, I guess, is an achievement. And, I have to add this, Mila Jovovitch is hot. What's there not to like about her kicking zombie ass? When the various producers and executives were leaving the theater I wasn't sure if any of them liked the film they had made, but much to my surprise I really did. It's my worst nightmare come true...I'm going to find myself defending a Paul Anderson film. Will wonders never cease?

[I am 138]

Originally posted by Griff [Mola]:
It's not one-tenth the film Romero would have made, but it's as if a huge fan of Romero's made the movie.

But I've already seen The Dead Next Door.



------------------
"Anarchy means crossing when it says 'Don't Walk'" - TISM

[Latte Thunder]

I've got a grudge against this movie... Constantine fucking blew it.

[shawn]

"there's no real gore to speak of...which, I guess, is an achievement"

Hum... I've talked to 3 people that have seen early prints of Resident Evil, some of the opticals and sound FX's were incomplete but they all said it was very gory and violent... Damn I sure hope the MPAA didn't cut the cool shit out of this one...
I don't really give a shit what anyone says, I'm looking forward to this one. Yea its a Hollywood yank-fest, and Paul Anderson is far from being my favorite director, but when it comes down to it, its a ZOMBIE MOVIE!!! A Zombie movie released in theaters!!! Shit like this doesn't happen very often. When is the last time you saw a Zombie flick on the big screen? Day Of The Dead, Return of The Living Dead, Dellamorte Dellamore...Yes those will all probably blow away Resident Evil, but its still a fucking Zombie flick and I'll be there tomorrow first screening... Anyone looking forward to Blade 2??? That fucker is going to kick some ass...

[Griff [Mola]]

I'm sorry to say that I've never seen a zombie flick on the big screen as I've just never had the opportunity so that's one reason for me to at least give this one a chance. The other is that if this is a success, it could lead to other somewhat similar productions getting the go ahead. You know what I'm talking about...

Yes, I've got a massive erection for BLADE 2 on the strength of del Toro's enthusiastic ideas alone which work well for me. I wasn't too keen on the first one and Snipes can eat my arse but never the less, I've got high hopes for this sucker.

[ROBERT]

I'm a fan of the Resident Evil videogames, so I'll be seeing it this weekend as well. Part of what made those games successful was the creatures,tension and the GORE. I highly doubt we'll get the latter two,but if the creature designs are decent,I won't think it's a total loss.A new zombie film on the big screen is at least worth a look,Yet,I suspect there's not one person among us,that doesn't think this will probably end up as a huge shitfest.I'm sure the low expectations will help.

[howlermonkee]

I hope this movie doesn't blow

[ROBERT]

I just came back from RE.The irony here, Is I was thinking about Bruno Mattei's Hell Of The Living Dead,through much of it.How I long for those days of cheap ass zombie gore films. R.E substitiutes CGI effects for gore, and even those effects are kept mostly until the end.


SPOILERS


Zombies don't even appear for the first 40 minutes of the film.Instead it relies on creating suspense with limited success.When they do appear it's en masse and the results are quite bloodless.Who cares if the zombies get the characters, if we don't see the stomach churning results, of that happening?


With kicks to the head and off screen gun shot hits,taking care of business. Milla Jovovich is one of the film's only splatter highlights. That splatter being all the jizm sure to spray on the screen by fanboys. The film's plotting and dialoge is firmly drenched in videogame lore. It's really no better than the games, and ellicits about as much empathy for the characters.The film virtually ignores the game's gothic atmosphere, for a cyberfeel.Too bad it would have been another plus.The Cgi's nemesis monster is sparsely seen, but is well rendered,for an obvious effect.Predictably, the film closes on an anticlimactic note.Fucking joy. Overall, I can't really bring myself to bash Resident Evil,much. I knew what to expect going in, and that's pretty much, what I got.I was moderately entertained. Don't expect too much and you won't be disappointed.

[This message has been edited by ROBERT (edited 03-15-2002).]

[Remo D]

You remember how George Romero refused to make a Dead film for a major studio and a big budget if it meant cutting it down to an R? Ever wonder what the resulting film would have looked like? Wonder no more.

Okay, Milla Jovovich comes off quite nicely as the kick-ass heroine in the various revealing outfits. But who is this Michelle Rodriguez that I'm supposed to know--who gets equal hype in the ads? She spends the entire film with the same pouty expression...

EVENT HORIZON was my favorite film of its year, and I was lukewarm on SOLDIER--in short, no preconceived notions one way or another regarding Paul Anderson.

Yep--this will be more fun for you if you've NEVER seen a zombie film on the big screen. If you have--Romero's in particular--you'll be screaming "retread" throughout. The specific Romeroisms? Walking dead that eat the living, infectious bites... oh, and you kill THESE zombies by shooting them in the HEAD! How's that? Not enough? How about an elevator massacre, a character who says "You'll take care of me when it happens... I don't want to be one of them," and a flapping newspaper reading "THE DEAD WALK!???"

Perhaps there was a lot more gore when Anderson shot this, but as it stands now, only the waterlogged sets keep this from being one of the dryest zombie films EVER. There's almost NO gore until the last twenty minutes or so. And each and every attempted shock is staged in such a familiar manner that you'll see it coming a mile away--even if you haven't seen the TV ads a hundred times! Example: the underwater body? The way the camera zooms in on it AFTER everyone else has left the shot--what else is it going to do but open its eyes? NO scares. Not ONE surprise.

I guess there's some decent action near the end--the production values are good, and like I said, Jovovich keeps your attention. But wake me up when BLADE 2 starts--this one did absolutely nothing for me.

------------------
"Nya-nya, nya-nya, nyahh-nyahh... I made you eat your parents!!!" --Cartman

[ROBERT]

I don't think this film was meant to do anything for anyone. I had a discussion with someone after the film was over,about what Romero would have done with the material. It's a little disconcerting to think of what might have been. You can't really dwell on something like that and not get a little angry. About the best praise I can give Resident Evil is I didn't fall asleep.Just a warm up to Blade 2.

[I am 138]

While I didn't mind RE, I did get annoyed with three aspects:

CGI zombie make up...that's just dumb.
The dogs...why bother if they just look like dobies wearing a gore suit?
Constant "shocks." Is there anyone in the audience who gets anything but annoyed by these anymore?

The licker was great though, despite being CGI!
------------------
"Anarchy means crossing when it says 'Don't Walk'" - TISM


[This message has been edited by I am 138 (edited 03-17-2002).]

[Rich]

Ugh! What tripe this movie is!!!! I wasn't going in expecting a masterpiece but at least give me one fucking ounce of sauce, blood, slime, any fucking thing that is not candy coated in CGI bullshit, We Were Soldiers had ten times more gore than this! No plot, terrible acting, Jovovich's flat tits and that expression on Michelle Rodriguez's face like she just swallowed a big bad load of smelly jizz throughout the film, god-damn! This wasn't good at all, generic and not fun in the least bit. I was hoping the fuckers would be a bit witty and know zombies take it in the head. The best bits were the newspaper at the end with the headline "The Dead Walk!" obviously lifted from you know where, the poor swat team sods gett'in sliced by the lasers (which could have made a nice gorefest if handled properly) and the side view bush shot of Jovovich in which everyone in the theater laughed at. Everyone is looking forward to Blade 2, well I'm not because its going to be the same thing as all the other CGI incrusted offerings, the original Blade didn't have much of anything so why will the sequel? Call me an idiot but I'm waiting for Jason X. Excuse me while I go watch Return Of The Aliens: The Deadly Spawn.

------------------
"Some people don't have a lot to eat, but they got a lot forks and knives, gotta cut something." -Bob Dylan

[shawn]

Shit. Am I the only one on here that liked this? Just about everything you guys have said, I agree with, but I still managed to enjoy this one. Yes there is very little gore. But its not the first goreless Zombie flick. Return Of The Living Dead didn't have much blood. And anyone remember Shock Waves? Yes both of these are better films then Resident, but Resident did something for me. Maybe its because I love the video games. Not sure. Or maybe I've just accepted the fact that the good ol'days of gore films in the theatre are long gone. The late 70's-early 80's were a great time for Zombies and blood and guts. So to me it was cool to see a Zombie film on the screen again, and I'm very forgiving of certain things. The Zombies in Resident Evil were very fucking cool, the sets and the sound kicked-ass, the ending was fucking GREAT loved it!, the look of the film was real close to the game, the bad acting and stupid dialog was entertaining and fun. Milla Jovovich is fucking hot and we get to see some BUSH! And Michelle Rodriguez has the most beautiful DSL's (dick sucking lips) I've ever seen! The movie just has a great comic-book, video game feel to it. It really worked for me...When it comes down to it, this is a Pop-corn flick, leave your brain's at the door and have a good time! You guys are all sticks in the fucking mud...a bunch of fuddy-duddies...

[This message has been edited by shawn (edited 03-19-2002).]

[I am 138]

Dare I say it, but I think you're right Shawn. I would have really enjoyed it, as it was pretty true to the games (minus the bloodshed, of course, but hopefully there's an unrated version, too) except it was CONSTANTLY trying to shock/startle, which was just a bit annoying. I'm sure you're sick of that cheap tactic as well. Overall, I didn't think it was bad, esp. considering it was a movie based on a video game.

------------------
"Anarchy means crossing when it says 'Don't Walk'" - TISM

[shawn]

Wow! I am 138 and I agree on something! Now whats wrong with the rest of you! I'm actually going to see it again tonight...-shawn

[Remo D]

Old and jaded... perhaps. But I can't agree that RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD was relatively goreless (I'll give you SHOCK WAVES, but that wasn't a "flesh-eating" zombie movie, at least). And I should mention that I've never played the RESIDENT EVIL game in my life--I went in cold watching the movie as just that: a movie.

I just think that some films still work harder to genuinely shock and startle the viewer. Anderson's own EVENT HORIZON managed that quite nicely in my book, as did the new HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (both films took me by surprise when I wasn't expecting much). I'd just rather have a little more savage munch and crunch and a few less shots where everybody leaves the room, the camera zooms in on a "dead" body--and it opens its eyes.

If I can still get a big charge out of a film like THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE, then I can hold out hope that my old age isn't poisoning me against the new stuff...

...and for everybody who asked "Why do you care about BLADE 2?"--the answer is contained in the name of the director... Guillermo del Toro.

That said, RESIDENT EVIL didn't have me tearing my hair out in agonizing boredom the way MOTHMAN PROPHECIES did--but it didn't spark my emotions one way or another in the end, either.

------------------
"Nya-nya, nya-nya, nyahh-nyahh... I made you eat your parents!!!" --Cartman

[Latte Thunder]

I'm going to wait for video on this one. With fund limited, I'm saving my movie dollars for the few flicks I actually want to see this year. Blade 2, for instance...

Remo, if you have a playstation, I suggest you drop a few bucks on the first and second Resident Evil games. They're really, really good. The first RE is one of my all time favorite games, and I've been playing games since the days of the 2600!

Shawn: I'm not going to resign myself to the "gutmunchers are never coming back to the theaters, so I might as well take what I can get" thought. It's sad, but true. The days of gore and zombies are gone for good in the states, but there's still a world of great horror movies happening over seas. Romero's 4th dead movie is penned and WILL happen eventually, Australia has The Undead coming along at some point, Puking Zombies just played up here at the Boston Underground Film Festival and from the looks of the line up, it was the only movie worth seeing, unless you care about Penelope Spheeris' Ozzfest documentary. There's also a new Japanese zombie movie whose name is escaping me at the moment... I've already been told by several friends who've seen the movie and know my taste in horror that I probably wouldn't like Resident Evil at all.

[violentm]

Went to see this last night with the girlfriend not expecting too much, but was curious as to why people liked it. I didn’t think too highly of it. It wasn’t totally shitty. It was decent. I didn’t think it was a fun flick, I found it to be fairly repetitive and boring. Just the constant loud jolts of music every 2 minutes almost telling you “insert fright here, this is where you should be scared”. During the film my girlfriend even said to me how she found the constant soiled attempts to fright you annoying. I even think the actors were annoyed by that factor, I mean jesus, they were constantly startling one another, every two seconds on eof them were jumping. Being goreless and the bad CG effects was a huge downer as well. I mean the zombies looked like shit – white faced with blood out of their mouths, and to make things worse the wide mouthed hissing they did was retarded. Occasionally there were zombies with face rot, but that was just blatantly bad CG, and not to mention the terrible looking Licker creature. Man oh man, that was almost as bad looking as the CG in The Mummy Returns. That said, however, the movie pretty much stuck with the idea of the game (minus the gore), but it overused the fright factor of the game too much. I wouldn’t really recommend it (maybe with for the ending, giving some hope of a better sequel), but it did have “some” moments, Mila Jovovich, the laser sequence, and of course the ending.

As for Jason X that’s been mentioned in this thread, I’ve seen it, and its no great film. I could live without this entry into the series. I hated the music, and the characters with their annoying dialog, and the idea of it in space. I would have much preferred Jason back to his roots in the woods slashing young sex fiends!


But…..

SPOILER

Anyone think the sequence where Jason goes back to Camp Crystal Lake and beats the chicks to death with one another was cool?

“We love premarital sex” hehe

[shawn]

Oh well I liked RE, I'm probably insane, Or I've just killed too many brain cells... Watch Return Of The Living Dead again Remo, it is bloodless, violent and nasty, but bloodless...

violentm and any one else bitching about the new Friday film...

I really don't get the attitude about Jason and all the negative reviews. ALL OF THE FRIDAY THE 13TH FILMS HAVE SUCKED. All of them! You don't watch a Friday film for great acting, witty dialogue, or any of that shit. You watch it for the Cheesy dialogue, nudity, and Jason killing people. Right??? After 10 fucking Friday films people still don't get it. They expect the latest Friday to be directed by Martin Scorsese and De Niro to play Jason! What is wrong with you guys? For that matter any movie with PART 10 in its title can't possibly be taking itself seriously right? RE and Jason X are fun popcorn movies and you shouldn't take them as anything else.

Having said that, Jason X is alot of fun. The film makers had a ball with this one, its violent and absurd, great deaths, fun cheesy dialogue, and just about everything else you could accept from part 10 to a fucking slasher series. This ain't oscar material here guys, its a Friday the 13th movie. And its one of the more entertaining episodes in the series. Kiss my grits-shawn

[violentm]

I like the Friday films for the exact reasons you listed Shawn, but this entry just didn’t do it for me. For one thing I’m not much of a fan of futuristic space films. I would have preferred the same ol’ stuff if they were going to make another film -- Jason back to his stomping grounds, choppin’ shit up with naked chicks a plenty.

I know, making another rehash in Crystal Lake is redundant. So they should have just stuck to working towards a Freddy / Jason film, instead of all this future space/matrix shit every movie has been leaning towards. Not that Jason X has bullet-time or anything, but you catch my drift.

I’m still gonna venture to the theatre for this. I’ll prolly enjoy it more there anyway.

[Remo D]

As we stray from RESIDENT EVIL a bit more...

RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD--for the most part, I guess you're right--there's all sorts of slime and rot flying around, but perhaps I remembered a bit more actual blood than there was on screen--except, of course, for the scene where the zombie bit right through the punk's skull in closeup and wet red sprayed all over the boards they were using to close off the mortuary...

As for JASON X? Heck, to me not even all FRIDAY films are created equal--some were a lot more fun than others, and some were cut a lot more badly than others. None of them were Scorsese films, nor were they meant to be. No nudity in 6, almost no nudity in 8. 7 was the worst of the bunch, combining hideous edits (talk about a "bloodless" movie) with the stupidest story to date. Everyone's supposed to think 8 was the worst, but I enjoyed the "boxing match" scene more than anything in 7 and managed to have a decent time with it, at least. Then we get 9 (GOES TO HELL) which pretends 8 didn't happen... now we get X, which pretends that HELL didn't happen. I don't think JASON X will bore anyone to death, but did they have to make it an ALIENS ripoff? Space marines hopelessly outmatched--android crewmember, etc? Could anyone offer even a feeble attempt to explain Jason's Houdini trick at the beginning, or are we just supposed to accept that he can do whatever he wants whenever he wants, for reasons that change from film to film? I'm not looking for a classic--just give me something to GO on!

------------------
"Nya-nya, nya-nya, nyahh-nyahh... I made you eat your parents!!!" --Cartman

[shawn]

Remo, your analyzing the Friday the 13th series??? Thats a losing battle... "Jason's Houdini trick"??? You're taking the fun out of it man come on!

Yea it rips Aliens, but the original Friday ripped off Halloween... Friday the 13th has always been a rip off of one thing or another. I still say Jason X is the "best" one since part 3 and 4... Two more days until Blade 2!!! Keep your fingers crossed people, but I think this one is going to be a kick-ass genre flick...

[ROBERT]

Latte, there are venues in the states Where the gore film can make a come back. Film Festivals.Support them. <"Two more days until Blade 2!!! "Keep your fingers crossed people,I think this one is going to be a kick-ass genre flick."> Fucking right! Something we can all agree on.

[Latte Thunder]

Blade 2? Hells yeah... Loved the first one, and from the looks of it, this sequel is going to whip a werewolf with a belt (Wesley Willis reference).

As for Jason X, I don't even pretend that these movies are any good, and with that in mind, I really thought JX was well worth the time spent downloading it. It just seemed to me like the producers were willing to finally have some fun with it and take a chance on something new... Good times.

[Remo D]

Shawn--of course you're right about "analyzing" the F13 series, and I'm not really trying to get into any serious depth on them. I might as well attack James Bond for not acting his age (at least what his age should be today in both the books and the movies) while everyone else ages around him--I'd rather have Bond than no Bond, after all. But at least Bond is always "Bond, James Bond, agent 007 on Her Majesty's Secret Service."

I lost track of what Jason was supposed to be somewhere around the third one, but I still loved the 3-D. First, it's revenge against camp counselors. Then, it's anyone who gets near him. Then he dies for real and it's an impostor. Then he comes back as a zombie. Then he's a possessive, body-hopping spirit that's controlled by a family curse and can only be stopped by another family member. Then he goes to hell to meet Freddy, only he doesn't really, but he might do it again later. Now...

But you're still right--the fun (or lack thereof) in a Jason movie depends on how he goes through his paces, how much skin we get (or don't get), how much gore we get (or don't get), and how much the director knows about pacing. And that's the real reason that I can't ever say "seen-one-you've-seen-'em-all" about Jason, Freddy, Michael or any of them. And at least JASON X tries to deliver the goods the way most modern slasher film makers are still AFRAID to, and I'll take it over VALENTINE any day.

------------------
"Nya-nya, nya-nya, nyahh-nyahh... I made you eat your parents!!!" --Cartman