Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)

Directed by: Johannes Roberts | 107 minutes | action, horror | Actors: Kaya Scodelario, Hannah John-Kamen, Robbie Amell, Tom Hopper, Avan Jogia, Donal Logue, Neal McDonough, Lily Gao, Chad Rook, Marina Mazepa, Nathan Dales, Josh Cruddas, Pat Thornton

In 1997 the first game of ‘Resident Evil’ was released. Then twenty-seven more games follow. In 2002 the film franchise started, now consisting of six parts, starring Milla Jovovich. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (Johannes Roberts, 2021) comes out nearly twenty-five years after the first game and nearly five years after the last film. The reboot goes back to 1998 and shows the original story of Claire (Kaya Scodelario) and her brother Chris (Robbie Amell), known from the earlier films. The two were orphans at the Raccoon City Orphanage. But when Claire realized that strange things were going on there, she fled the city. As an adult woman, she returns after receiving a message from a resident that ‘Umbrella’, the local pharmaceutical company, is leaking toxic substances into the water, making the residents sick. Arriving in town, however, she seems to be too late. The inhabitants turn into zombies and it becomes a race against time to safely leave Raccoon City before ‘Umbrella’ finally destroys the city.

‘Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City’ seems to have lost its way in the maze of the ‘Resident Evil’ franchise. A film that goes back to its origins in order to add more information must then actually add more information. Instead, Johannes Roberts chooses to make a mysterious film that doesn’t add much. Too many storylines go together without really maintaining a certain perspective and that makes the film messy, confusing and sometimes even a bit boring. The film also relies heavily on the viewer’s prior knowledge, making it less easy to follow for a layman.

The unfortunate casting sometimes adds to the confusion. Leon (Avan Jogie), an outsider new to the local police force, is the first to be seen after Claire. This and the fact that he is very similar to a young Chris (Daxton Gujral) incorrectly suggests that he is her brother. Also, the adult Chris looks a lot like his colleague Tom (Albert Wesker) and because of this it is difficult to tell the two apart. In addition, the characters in the film are very flat because the film constantly changes perspective. Especially for Claire and Chris, that’s a shame because they are the characters that are central to this reboot.

What saves the film is the nostalgic 90s music and the story style of a game. For example, the film seems more like a sequence of cutscenes that allow for an amateurish narration. As a result, the mediocre CGI is also acceptable and the weak plot with many illogical twists can still be followed as a slightly entertaining zombie film. Finally, ‘Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City’ is lucky that it bears the title ‘Resident Evil’ and can therefore be worn purely as nostalgia. The previous films were never really well received and therefore the bar is not high. There is something to be said for the fact that this film perfectly meets the expectations of a mediocre zombie film.