RESIDENT EVIL
Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson
2002 – 101 Minutes/Widescreen

RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE
Directed by Alexander Witt
2004 – 94 Minutes/Widescreen
DVD Provided by Sony Pictures
Article written by Mark Engle

This new 2-Disc Special Edition is an obvious attempt to cash in and promote the franchise. That’s not a bad thing at all, especially if you don’t own either title to begin with and since the list price is about the same as each of the individual DVD releases. With some new extras, including an ultra-gory sneak peak of the third upcoming movie, I admit, it’s just worth picking this zombie sucker up.

Most of you who visit our Cultcuts review site will obviously be familiar with both titles here. You either like them or don’t, and both sides of the coin have good reason. Horror fans cited too much action, not enough scares. Fans of the game, well, making anything into a movie leaves gamers in chaotic disagreement, so I won’t go there. Action fans not into horror will obviously be watching their LETHAL WEAPON or DIE HARD discs because zombies just aren’t realistic enough (sorry, had to throw that joke in!). That leaves people like you and me, if you are reading this. I grew up watching action packed monster movies that were obviously not meant to scare even the kiddies. From some of the more family friendly GODZILLA classics to DR. PHIBES, they're all a lot of fun. Either way, I enjoy both RESIDENT EVIL films and look forward to the third.

Now that doesn’t mean there aren’t some scares to be had. There are, but you won’t find either at the top ten lists of zombie classics. These aren’t NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD or Lucio Fulci’s THE BEYOND. What we get are jump scares. Not knowing what’s around the corner for our armed to the teeth heroes. Among the heroes is the beautiful Milla Jovovich as Alice, who wakes up in the first film with no clue who she is. She eventually learns that she was trained as a field officer to protect the entrance to an underground testing facility that dealt with DNA and germ warfare. When someone tries to break the latest experiment out of the complex, there’s a leak and everyone is knocked out via gas. Unfortunately, the people below are now contaminated and wake up as raving zombies, while Alice is left wondering what the hell is going on when a squad of military secret ops show up. With a couple of survivors and agents left, they head down into the facility to stop the computer from blowing everything up and to look for anyone left alive.

As each one gets knocked off one by one, either by the security system or those that munch on human flesh, Alice starts having flashbacks revealing who she is and the training she has received. In fact, she was one of those that were trying to help a group of rebels bring out the secret of the facility to the public. Unfortunately, someone else in her new group isn’t who she or he claims to be, which presents another problem for Alice. Will Alice survive and succeed and how many will fall prey to the rotting corpses below?

If you haven’t seen the first film, the fact that Jovovich is back in the sequel doesn’t necessarily mean she survived. Well, not the way she wanted. Having made it up topside in the first, she discovers the whole town is infected, but her agency is there to greet her and start the experiments all over again, this time on her. Yup, the sequel is more super hero laden than the first, which means more action and stunts. Alice is now laced with the chemical agent, giving her superior strength and moves (this also includes posing tough and sexy in a mini-skirt). When the Agency can no longer contain the zombie horde from spreading outside the city, they close the place off, leaving several special ops and lots of innocent people inside to be intestine fodder for the massing army of undead. Also inside are a scientist’s daughter, whose father makes a deal with Alice to be rescued in exchange for providing a way out, and another uber-zombie that survived with Alice in the first film. The zombie was bitten before the film’s end and now he’s mean, ugly, and under baddie corporation control.

So this time around, Alice now has to contend with some special ops who take her side, a couple of survivors, and a little girl. Tough for any super heroine, but she’s more than up for the task. Well, some die along the way, but the whole point is the kick-ass action as they travel from one part of the city to the next, looking for a way out. The gore is heavier, but so is the realm of disbelief. I don’t care how cool the Hollywood folks make it look, someone can’t just come crashing through a window (in this case a church stained glass mural that is about two stories up in the air) on a motorcycle without a special ramp being built first! But alas, it’s Hollywood, and we’re here to be entertained, and I admit, I was.

So there you have it. Two movies for the price of one, a beautiful woman who kicks zombie ass, lots of senseless action and violence, and yet some moviegoers still complain. Fine, don’t watch movies based on horror and video games. You won’t be happy. I, for one, enjoy both RESIDENT EVIL films, along with SILENT HILL. No, they aren’t on par with the horror classics and they aren’t the best in the action genre either, but damn if they aren’t a lot of fun.

Sony Pictures offer two discs, the first containing both films. Special features included are the sneak peak of the upcoming movie mentioned before, set tours, several featurettes, photo galleries, a fun quiz, and much more. The quality is excellent, along with high definition re-mastered prints for both titles and high quality Dolby Digital Sound. If you like RESIDENT EVIL and RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE and aren’t waiting for the someday released trilogy box set, then this 2 disc special edition is worth picking up.