ali larter – Smaller Pictures

With Halloween fast approaching, it’s time to think about what films you’ll be watching on Halloween night. Are you the kind of person who likes a more family friendly scare? Perhaps super gore is more your taste? Or an zombie-filled action franchise to marathon? This post is all about the latter as I will be reviewing and ranking the films in Paul W. S. Anderson’s Resident Evil series. Taking inspiration from the hugely popular video games, the Resident Evil films follows the spread of the T-virus which kills people and turns them into zombies. Engineered by the evil Umbrella Corporation, protagonist Project Alice travels around the world to put a stop to the company’s experiments.

The films are not critically well received by any means and I don’t think they’ll be competing for Oscars anytime soon but they are entertaining to watch and hugely popular with audiences. With the first film released in 2002 and the latest having been released in 2016, Resident Evil may not be among the most impactful horror franchises of all time but it is a fun little watch. Of course if you’re going to watch them then it makes sense to watch them in chronological order but I thought I would do my usual reviews and ranking. Bear in mind that this will only include the live-action films directed by Paul W. S. Anderson only so the animated films are not going to be discussed in this list.

Here are my reviews for the Resident Evil films:

Resident Evil (2002)

Resident Evil opens in the iconic mansion from the first game and follows the initial T-virus being leaked within Umbrella Corporation’s headquarters, The Hive. Following this we are introduced to protagonist Alice, who has passed out in the shower struggling with short-term memory loss. The basic plot is that Alice and policeman, Matthew, are forced to go underground to The Hive with agents to shutdown the Red Queen and retrieve the antivirus. There they are faced with death at the hands of mutated zombies and monsters. To coincide with Alice’s memory loss, the audience doesn’t learn the specific details of the leak until Alice figures it out for herself. The first installment of the franchise was met with negative critical reviews and amazing box office success which would become the regular trend for the Resident Evil films. It also features one of the most iconic sequences in the franchise with the laser corridor scene that sees the death of several agents. Also, for all of its flaws, Resident Evil proves to be an entertaining horror and has great concluding scenes when Alice is captured by Umbrella.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)

The second film shows the growth of the infection which has spread to Raccoon City, the place directly above The Hive. Also bringing game favourite Jill Valentine into the films, Resident Evil: Apocalypse is another fun inclusion to the franchise, turning up the campness and adding in Nemesis as the main villain. As well as including more features and characters from the game, Resident Evil: Apocalypse attempts to go more creative with its deaths. Sadly, it doesn’t have the same impact as its predecessor as it feels as if Anderson was trying to one-up the first film but it feels a bit too busy and a lot going on with the introduction of numerous key characters. Whereas the first film thrived from its simplicity, it feels as though Anderson has put too much on his plate with this segment. That being said, I do like that there is more faithfulness to the games in this one. Also, Jared Harris is always a welcome presence in any film and I enjoyed his performance as Dr. Charles Ashford.

Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)

The T-virus has now spread across America and shows Alice teaming up with more survivors and venturing across the Mojave Desert to reach Alaska where it is claimed there is safety. Resident Evil: Extinction sees the inclusion of zombie crows as well as Claire Redfield, Albert Wesker and the super villain Tyrant. Anderson decided to rein in the camp vibes from the previous installment and reflecting the desert setting, gives the film a grittiness and seriousness. Whereas Apocalypse felt like too much was going on, Extinction has been pared back the characters who are introduced do not overwhelm the storyline too much. Ali Larter gives a brilliant performance as Claire, a favourite character from the games and Iain Glen is also fantastic in his role as Dr. Alexander Isaacs, a scientist who created the Nemesis program and Project Alice. What makes this installment even more terrifying is that most of the action takes place during the day which is almost unheard in zombie films. It shows that there really is no stopping the zombies’ hunger and the affect this has on the remaining survivors.

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)

Resident Evil: Afterlife follows Alice’s ruin upon the Umbrella Corporation’s headquarters in Tokyo and her subsequent search for Arcadia, a safe haven for survivors. As expected, her plan goes awry and she is faced with crowds of zombies and monsters. I have a soft spot for this film because I went to see it in the cinema in 3D and it was a brilliant experience. Usually 3D films aren’t worth the money, particularly when they were being released 10 years ago, but this was fantastic. As Alice teams up with a group of survivors including Claire in a bid to get to Arcadia, they are trapped in a building surrounded by hoards of zombies as well as a giant monster called Axeman. Taking inspiration from the Resident Evil 5 villain The Executioner, the Axeman is one of the best monsters in the whole franchise and the fight between him and Alice and Claire is among the best choreographed. I know this is one of the worst reviewed of the franchise (which is saying a lot since they are all received pretty negatively) but the fun experience I had seeing it in 3D at the cinema leaves it higher than expected on my list. I find it thrilling and entertaining and think it is definitely a crowd pleaser.

Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)

Directly following the conclusion of the fourth film, Resident Evil: Retribution shows Alice’s capture and escape from Umbrella Corporation through their simulators which have various sets and clones of old and new characters alike. We are also introduced to the last bunch of game characters that haven’t been put into the films with Leon S. Kennedy, Ada Wong and Barry Burton entering the film franchise. Showing Umbrella’s elaborate simulations as well as vigorous torture techniques on Alice, Umbrella shows no signs of slowing down. The T-virus has become a valuable asset on the market as countries purchase it to use it on their enemies to spread the outbreak. Showing the outbreak on a global level, Alice now has to fight alongside Ada and Leon and venture to the Deep North to put an end to their testing facility. On top of this, Alice must find a way to stop Jill who has been brainwashed by Umbrella. The film brings in more aspects of the game and Anderson has shot the film to resemble the videogames. Bringing back some much-loved characters including Michelle Rodriguez as Rain, Resident Evil: Retribution feels like a great combination of what fans love about the series.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016)

The final installment of Anderson’s Resident Evil films follows Alice’s last stand against the Umbrella Corporation once and for all. It takes them back to the ruins of Raccoon City and into The Hive. Teaming up with the Red Queen to stop Wesker and Dr. Isaacs from wiping out humanity, Alice has to journey from Washington to the Hive within 48 hours before Umbrella destroys all human settlements. The series feels like it has come full circle in that the Hive is where it began and ends but equally, the virus’ affect on humanity has been catastrophic. Down to the last 4,000 humans, Alice is captured by Dr. Isaacs and has to escape and meet up with fellow survivors who are living within a guarded compound in Raccoon City. Rounding off the series in style, Anderson brings back plenty of old faces that we have missed as well as some new bad guys to wince at. One cannot help but also notice Alice’s growth from the first film. Milla Jovovich’s portrayal has matured during the franchises 14 year tenure and it’s nice that Anderson and Jovovich were able to give the series the ending they wanted.

So with all the reviews done and dusted, I do think it is a franchise that gets better and more faithful to the games as it goes on. Needless to say, regardless of whether they are good films critically or not, they do a great job at entertaining the audience. Anderson’s films may have their flaws but his passion for bringing videogames to life have helped propel this series to an iconic status among videogame adaptations. They’re among the first horror films I watched and I’ll always have a soft spot for them. Even though there are horrors that I think are better, they introduced me to a genre that has become one of my favourites over the years.

Here is my ranking of the Resident Evil series:

1) Resident Evil (2002)

2) Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016)

3) Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)

4) Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)

5) Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)

6) Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)

What do you think of my ranking? Which Resident Evil film is your favourite? Let me know in the comments below!

The franchise that was one of my first introductions to the horror genre. The Final Destination franchise is almost a passage of rite for teens and have been massively popular since the first installment dropped in 2000. The basic set-up follows a teenage protagonist and their friends on some sort of adventure or activity when the protagonist suddenly has a tragic premonition that sees their demise. The protagonist then prevents them and their friends going through with the premonition only to discover that the group starts to die violently and mysteriously one by one.

With the news that the studios have sixth and seventh installments planned for release, it made me think back on the films that helped shape my love for horror and I thought it would be a nice idea to see where they would rank.

Here are my reviews for each installment:

Final Destination (2000)

The one that started the craze. We follow recent graduate, Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) who is venturing off to Paris with his classmates. He suddenly has a graphic premonition that sees the plane explode and every passenger diminishes. Alex freaks out and is escorted off the plane along with several of his classmates. Minutes after the plane takes off, it explodes and Alex finds himself under police investigation. It doesn’t end there however as the survivors start to die one by one in violently crazy ways as death seeks its revenge. The film brings something new to the table while also paying homage to previous franchises such as the welcome cameo by Tony Todd who works as a mortician. As the film goes on, the deaths become more and more elaborate compared to his friend Tod’s demise due to strangulation to his teacher’s death sequence which saw her computer explode, followed by a knife to the chest which was pushed in by a chair. We see Alex’s descent into madness as death becomes his nemesis and he escapes to a cabin in the woods with the help of his friend Clear (Ali Larter), who believed in him from the plane accident.

Final Destination 2 (2003)

This is one of those rare franchises where the sequel is better than the original. The second installment takes the ideas from the first film and builds on them. The film follows Kimberly Corman (A. J. Cook) who has a premonition of a major road accident on a motorway that sees a huge body count. Like the previous film, she freaks out and saves herself and others only to discover that the survivors are being stalked by death. There are so many iconic sequences in this film and it’s pretty much every death. From teenager Timmy being squished by a falling window pane to the creepy ladder through eyes fiasco with young millionaire, Evan. This sequel turns up the ante and the body count. It’s gruesome and brilliant and the acting and writing is a big improvement on the first installment. It also incorporates a new theory on evading death where life can counteract death and eliminate the whole list which is an interesting twist. We also see Ali Larter return as Clear and Tony Todd reprising his cameo. I don’t care what anyone says, I have a soft spot for this film and I think the deaths are great and imaginative.

Final Destination 3 (2006)

The most famous and recognisable installment comes with the third film which features the incredible rollercoaster premonition. Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Wendy in a role that would solidify her position as the 21st century “scream queen”, Final Destination 3 has an abundance of imaginative sequences that have long tortured the minds of teens alike namely the sunbed death which sees two girls trapped and burned alive by their sunbeds where the temperature has been mysteriously tampered with. If I had to rank individual performances from the whole franchise, I would probably say by Winstead is by far and large the best of the bunch. It’s a really involved performance filled with guilt and sadness. This performance is what thrusted Winstead into the spotlight where she has managed to grow into a star. It’s nice to see that happen in the modern day the same way horror made stars of Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween) and Patricia Arquette (A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors). It also features great support performances from Kris Lemche and Alexz Johnson as goth couple Ian and Erin who aren’t fazed by the concept of being chased by death.

The Final Destination (2009)

By far the worst installment, The Final Destination is a film that underestimated its audience and provides a film that is neither fun or memorable. The premonition takes place at a race track where a tyre flies off a speeding car and hell breaks loose. They shot this with 3D in mind and it shows. The studio was more bothered about making sure random objects and body parts are flying at you so much that they forgot to include any creativity in the process. It’s not a franchise known for its deep characterisations (nor do we expect it to be) but none of the characters are particularly likeable and they are all one note. The death sequences are predictable and elongated with some lasting way longer than necessary (the organs in the swimming pool drain being a prime example) and it soon becomes a tedious experience to watch. In a totally bizarre twist, this installment is by far the highest grossing in the series so far so Thankfully, the studios veered away from this aspect in the fifth installment.

Final Destination 5 (2011)

The fifth and latest installment of the franchise looks back to the original for inspiration and becomes more old school. After the critical failure of the fourth film, the studios reflected on what went wrong and made what is the “best” installment in the franchise. The script is actually tight and the characters are well-developed compared to the other films. The opening disaster is a road accident which sees a bridge collapse while a group of colleagues are on their way to a work retreat. It’s a simpler set-up than previous installments but the effects are brilliant and the deaths are just as gory. Like the fourth film, this was also released in 3D but it didn’t feel as though they were just catering for 3D and the use of it was interesting and minimal. It didn’t need the 3D to succeed but it did amplify the experience in the cinema. Following Sam Lawton (Nicholas D’Agosto) who has the premonition and the usual set-up of rescuing his friends. This installment has an array of theories and twists that are not overthought or complicated and works brilliantly as a franchise installment and also a standalone.

With all of this said and done, I am even more excited for the new installments to be released. I think that the Final Destination idea is really interesting and they’re great fun to watch. I’ll definitely be front and centre on release day with a box of popcorn in hand.

I think it’s a credit to the writers for the franchise that all but one of the sequels managed to surpass the original and even the film that is deemed the worst was the one that made the most at the box office. There is a huge audience for these films and it’s a shame that there’s been such a big gap between the last installment and now.

Here is my final ranking:

1) Final Destination 2 (2003)

2) Final Destination 5 (2011)

3) Final Destination 3 (2006)

4) Final Destination (2000)

5) The Final Destination (2009)

What do you think of the ranking? Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments below!