Marco Castellini
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In an ultra-secret underground complex called the Hive, Umbrella Corporation illegally conducts studies on the T-virus, a substance capable of causing genetic mutations in living beings that come into contact with it. A laboratory accident triggers the security measures of the central computer, the Red Queen, which immediately seals the base and kills all its occupants. A rescue team is then sent to the location, accompanied by special agents Alice (Milla Jovovich) and Spencer (James Purefoy), with the apparent objective of investigating, but with the real intention of sealing the area and eliminating any residual traces of the virus. Once inside the complex, the rescue team finds itself, however, facing an extremely critical situation: the base is infested with zombies and horrible, albeit lethal, mutant creatures. This is the cinematic adaptation of the famous and eponymous survival-horror video game created by Capcom. Almost unnecessary to recall the numerous vicissitudes the film underwent when it was still in development, with the dismissal, by the production, of George A. Romero and the assignment of the project to the European director Paul Anderson, who completely rewrote the screenplay to make it more consistent with the story of the various chapters of the video game. Usually, when a film has such a troubled genesis, the result is not the best, but - for our luck - with "Resident Evil" it did not go that way. Anderson (who in his filmography also includes the excellent, and too often underrated, "Punto di Non Ritorno") succeeds in the difficult task of making a film capable of satisfying a very heterogeneous audience. Video game fans will not be disappointed at all, both by the numerous references to the various editions and by the protagonists themselves, very similar to those of the game; but horror enthusiasts will also find something for themselves, not only in the suspense but especially in the creatures that populate the Hive (the makeup of the zombies is really effective and the dogs are really terrifying). The slow and claustrophobic beginning gradually transforms into increasingly thrilling action, structured in a very classic way: a group of people besieged by countless enemies, who are slowly overwhelmed. The choice of the actors also proves absolutely spot on: the beautiful and talented Milla Jovovich is perfect in the role of the iron heroine - perfect clone of Sigourney Weaver in "Alien" -, but Michelle Rodriguez, although a bit too stony in her (limited) facial expressions, is convincing in the role of the fearless soldier. The other actors, on the other hand, are reduced almost to extras, with their "filler" characters (after all, someone to kill is always needed!). The director also has fun in sowing the film with quotes and references to more or less recent horror films: it starts with "The Cube - Il Cubo", it passes through "Alien" to end with "Zombi" and "Il Giorno degli Zombi" (quoted more than once). The special effects are very well cared for and it is interesting to note that the choice of using classic techniques based on makeup, prosthetics, and optical effects has nothing to envy to the much-praised computer graphics, which is also present in many of the sequences involving the "Red Queen". Certainly, a greater presence of splatter scenes would have been desired, given the subject of the film - living dead and mutant creatures that tear apart a group of people - this "Resident Evil", to be really memorable, would have needed massive doses of splatterism, but, as usual, it was preferred to privilege the commercial success of the film, avoiding censorship bans that would have lost many revenues. In conclusion (setting aside for a moment the innate blood thirst of every horror lover) it must be recognized that Anderson's film is an excellent product, which has not disappointed the hopes of fans, both of the video game in question and of horror cinema. Curiosity: the original title of the film was supposed to be "Resident Evil: Ground Zero", but it was changed following the events of September 11th to the simpler and less evocative "Resident Evil".
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