January 23, 2018 | Tony Braun

Undead Facts About The Resident Evil Movies


The Resident Evil films (and games!) brought the zombie apocalypse to life on the screen long before AMC turned The Walking Dead into a TV series. Love it or hate it, here are 24 horrifying—yet interesting—facts about the films.


Resident Evil Movies Facts

1. Without a Trace

The first film contains a subtle reference to the video games: When the group returns to the laser hallway, the victims' bodies have disappeared. This also happens in the video game, as corpses will vanish as soon as a player leaves and reenters the area.

The Resident Evil Movies facts Resident Evil (2002), Constantin Film

2. Count Me in

Michelle Rodriguez, who plays Rain, loved the games so much that she told her agent to let her know if anyone ever wrote a script for a film version. When director and writer Paul W.S. Anderson's screenplay was snatched up, Rodriguez jumped right in.

The Resident Evil Movies facts Resident Evil (2002), Constantin Film

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3. Change of Name

The first film was originally titled Resident Evil: Ground Zero, but this was changed (to the simple Resident Evil) for obvious reasons after September 11th.

The Resident Evil Movies facts Resident Evil (2002), Constantin Film

4. Hands-on Research

The main cast was instructed to play the original games all the way through as a part of their training and research for their roles. Some members, worried they wouldn't be able to complete the games before filming began, acquired videos of other people beating the game instead. Too bad we didn't have Twitch back then!

Resident Evil FactsFlickr,Rob Obsidian

5. Fate

Gwyneth Paltrow was originally slated to play Alice. When that didn’t work out, Milla Jovovich landed the role, and ended up meeting her future husband, none other than the director Paul W.S. Anderson.

Ben Affleck factsGetty Images

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6. Everything Has a Price

James Cameron, Mr. Avatar himself, convinced Anderson to shoot the second entry in the franchise in 3-D. The technology was relatively new, and it didn't come cheap: the 3-D effects of Resident Evil: Afterlife cost a startling $12 million on top of its regular budget.

The Resident Evil Movies factsResident Evil: Afterlife (2010), Screen Gems

7. Multi-talented

Jovovich designed her own costume for Resident Evil: Extinction, the third installment. Makes sense, since Jovovich first gained success as a fashion model.

The Resident Evil Movies factsResident Evil: Extinction (2007), Screen Gems

8. Huge Fan

Many people in the cast had never played the Resident Evil games prior to signing on for the films. The main reason Jovovich agreed to the role was because her brother Marko was a huge fan of the games.

The Resident Evil Movies factsResident Evil: Extinction (2007), Screen Gems

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9. Too Much Fun

On the DVD commentary for Resident Evil, Jovovich recounted a debauched last day on set: It was a crew member's birthday, and someone brought in bottles of champagne. Despite the worries and protests of Anderson, who very unreasonably wanted sober actors to direct, the cast got drunk while waiting for the final scene to start shooting.

The Resident Evil Movies factsResident Evil (2002), Constantin Film

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10. Cameo appearance

The presidents of both Capcom Japan and Capcom American appear in first film as zombies; Capcom created the video game series.

The Resident Evil Movies factsResident Evil (2002), Constantin Film

11. Inspiration

The games were actually inspired by George Romero’s zombie films, and the legendary filmmaker was brought in early on as a potential writer and director. Unfortunately, the studio passed on his script, which apparently stayed more true to the game series.

The Resident Evil Movies factsWikimedia Commons

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12. Toronto Connection

Parts of Resident Evil: Apocalypse were shot in Toronto, Canada. At around the five minute mark of the film, you can see the CN Tower in the background; although they edited out the tower throughout the film, they must have missed this in post production!

Resident Evil Facts Wikimedia Commons

13. Horror Film History

The film franchise as a whole grossed over $1 billion with the release of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, making it the highest grossing horror franchise of all time.

The Resident Evil Movies factsResident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016), Screen Gems

14. Packing on the Pounds

In Apocalypse, the suit for Nemesis weighed a whopping 60 pounds! Because of how heavy it was, stuntman Matthew G.Taylor could only wear it for 15 minutes at a time before overheating.

The Resident Evil Movies factsResident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), Constantin Film

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15. Zombie Boot Camp

Most of the zombies used in the films are actually professional dancers, and they had to attend what was essentially zombie boot camp to prepare for their roles. During their training, the coaches stressed that they shouldn't do stereotypically "zombie" things like drag their feet or walk around with outstretched arms.

The Resident Evil Movies factsResident Evil (2002), Constantin Film

16. Hitchcock

In Resident Evil: Extinction, there is a scene with crows sitting on power lines that then attack as a huge group. This is a direct reference to Alfred Hitchcock’s film The Birds.

The Resident Evil Movies factsResident Evil: Extinction (2007), Screen Gems

17. She Doesn’t Exist

The character of “Alice” was created just for the films; she never makes an appearance in any of the games. We also never hear her name spoken in the first film, and it is only mentioned in the credits. This was intentional, as Anderson wanted the character to be a blank slate. As he said, "While you're watching as an audience member, you're watching a character being constructed in front of your eyes."

The Resident Evil Movies factsResident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), Constantin Film

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18. Binge Session

Before directing Resident Evil, Anderson played the first two Evil games back-to-backIt took him about 10 days.

Resident Evil FactsGetty Images

19. That Scene

Who can forget the famous laser grid scene from the first film? Apparently not game developers: That famous laser hallway made its way into Resident Evil 4 (2004). Indeed, over time, the games have adopted more and more of the action movie style present in the films.

The Resident Evil Movies factsResident Evil (2002), Constantin Film

20. No Faith in Females or Zombies

Back in 2002, there wasn’t a lot in the way of zombies or female heroes in mainstream media; a zombie film hadn’t actually been made in years, and studios weren't so sure about a female lead. Anderson definitely proved them wrong, and now we've got zombie shows everywhere. And, uh, some female leads too.

The Resident Evil Movies factsResident Evil (2002), Constantin Film

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21. Game of Thrones Connection

In Extinction, Iain Glen, who plays Jorah Mormont on Game of Thrones, plays Dr. Isaacs, who ends up transforming into the Tyrant beast. Looks like this Glen is used to playing hapless men who don't turn out so great.

The Resident Evil Movies factsResident Evil: Extinction (2007), Screen Gems

22. Break it You Buy it

Film equipment doesn’t come cheap, especially cameras. While filming Afterlife, Jovovich accidentally shot out a camera worth $100,000. The perils of working on an action film. Hopefully they didn’t take it out of her pay!

The Resident Evil Movies factsResident Evil: Afterlife (2010), Screen Gems

23. Raking in the Dough

People seem to really like their Resident Evil films.They liked it so much that Afterlife ended up becoming the highest grossing Canadian film, and raked in $300 million worldwide. It also brought in the most money of any Resident Evil film to date.

The Resident Evil Movies factsResident Evil: Afterlife (2010), Screen Gems

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24. Real danger

After a grisly motorcycle crash on the set of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, Olivia Jackson, a stuntwoman, had to have her arm amputated, and in another accident on the same set, Ricardo Cornelius, a crew member, was crushed against a wall; he died of his injuries. Filming any stunt is not without its risks, and this franchise has its share of real-life danger.

The Resident Evil Movies factsResident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016), Screen Gems

Sources:  12345678


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