WWLTP | We Would Like To Play
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NOW THIS
IS RESIDENT EVIL!
OH BABY — RESIDENT EVIL CAME TO PLAY!
I had a GREAT time watching this movie.
I've watched the Resident Evil movies for years. Some were good. Some were fun. Some went so far off the rails that you just had to sit back and enjoy the madness.
But this one?
THIS ONE UNDERSTOOD THE ASSIGNMENT!
Resident Evil gave me something I've wanted from these movies for a long time: a film that actually made me feel like I was inside a Resident Evil game.
It was scary. It was funny. It was bloody. It was tense. And every time I thought I could relax, the movie found another way to make me wonder what was hiding around the next corner.
And here's something else that surprised me.
My wife is not a big horror-movie goer. I'm usually the one ready for zombies, monsters and people walking into rooms they absolutely should NOT be walking into.
But she had a great time too.
That's important because it told me this movie wasn't working only because I'm a Resident Evil fan.
You can walk into this thing knowing nothing about Green Herbs, Umbrella, Raccoon City or William Birkin and still have fun.
But if you've played these games?
IT ACTUALLY FEELS LIKE PLAYING THE GAME
That's probably the biggest compliment I can give this movie.
Resident Evil doesn't simply throw a few familiar names onto the screen and expect gamers to applaud.
THE MOVIE UNDERSTANDS THE LANGUAGE OF RESIDENT EVIL.
Bryan starts out overmatched. He has limited resources. He searches rooms. He needs ammunition. He finds better weapons. And he moves from one dangerous environment to another.
FARMHOUSE. CITY. SEWERS. HOSPITAL. UMBRELLA.
Come on!
That's Resident Evil progression!
Then there are the camera angles. We get traditional cinematic shots, over-the-shoulder framing and moments that suddenly feel like first-person gameplay.
The movie understands something important: Resident Evil isn't just about zombies.
THE GREAT WWLTP EASTER EGG HUNT
This movie is loaded with references for longtime players. Some practically jump off the screen. Others are sitting in the background waiting for somebody who has spent way too many hours in Raccoon City to notice them.
First Aid Bag
The medical bag immediately plays into Resident Evil's long history of medical supplies and healing imagery. To Bryan it's equipment. To Resident Evil players, anything green and medical deserves a second look.
Ganados-Style Barn
The farmhouse and barn sequence immediately gave me Resident Evil 4 vibes. The environment, ladder and weapon placement feel like the kind of location where a Ganado could appear at any second.
First Aid Spray
There it is! One of Resident Evil's classic healing items. And Bryan goes right past it. Resident Evil gamers know exactly what that means: PICK IT UP!
Green Herbs
Green Herbs appear as background details around the farmhouse and other locations. Bryan doesn't have our gamer knowledge, so he doesn't realize he's basically walking past health pickups.
The Typewriter
Resident Evil veterans know exactly what seeing a typewriter means: SAVE POINT! What looks like an ordinary antique represents decades of relief to players who finally reached somewhere safe.
Load-Screen Doors
Slowly opening doors into darkness recall the classic Resident Evil loading transitions. Something originally associated with the technical limitations of the games becomes a suspense device again.
The Mounted Shotgun
Bryan finds a shotgun mounted on the wall and suddenly we've reached the weapon-upgrade portion of the game. Resident Evil players know the feeling: NEW WEAPON!
Heavy Field Shotgun Shells
Bryan desperately searches for ammunition and encounters the familiar green shotgun-shell packaging. The gun isn't the scary part. Having the gun with NO AMMO? Now we're playing Resident Evil.
Where's the Ammo?!
Limited ammunition isn't merely a joke. It's one of the foundations of survival horror. Every bullet matters. Bryan feels like a player who didn't manage his inventory before walking into the boss room.
Locks & Keys
Resident Evil has never met a normal locked door it liked. The movie's environmental obstacles and key-based progression echo the games' constant question: WHAT DO I NEED TO UNLOCK THIS THING?!
Umbrella Corporation
The name that tells every Resident Evil fan things are about to get much worse. Umbrella's presence connects the movie with the corporate nightmare sitting at the center of the franchise.
Multiple Perspectives
First-person. Over-the-shoulder. Traditional cinematic framing. The changing perspectives acknowledge the different ways Resident Evil itself has been presented across generations.
Leon S. Kennedy
Look closely around Raccoon City and the movie drops references to one of the biggest names in Resident Evil: LEON S. KENNEDY. The movie doesn't need Leon standing in the middle of the scene to remind longtime fans that his shadow is hanging around Raccoon City.
Las Plagas-Style Mutations
Some of the infected designs immediately bring the parasite-driven nightmare of Resident Evil 4 to mind. These aren't just generic movie monsters. They look like they belong in this universe.
Those Dogs!
Resident Evil players know one rule: NEVER TRUST THE DOGS. The movie's monstrous canine threats bring back memories of some of the franchise's most famous four-legged nightmares.
Big-Eyed Birkin
Bryan's grotesque eye mutation immediately brought William Birkin to mind. Birkin's G-Virus transformations are famous for enormous eyes emerging from his mutated body. Resident Evil fans know that visual language immediately.
WELCOME TO RACCOON CITY
The deeper Bryan gets into the nightmare, the more the movie starts feeling like a campaign.
One environment gives way to another. The streets become underground areas. The underground areas lead toward the hospital. Eventually we're staring into the kind of clinical nightmare that tells Resident Evil fans Umbrella isn't far away.
It feels like somebody keeps loading the next level.
EVERY TIME BRYAN SURVIVES ONE LEVEL, THE MOVIE SAYS: CONGRATULATIONS — HERE'S SOMETHING WORSE!
THE WIFE TEST
Here's one of the biggest reasons this movie worked for me.
My wife isn't a big horror-movie person.
She doesn't walk into Resident Evil looking for typewriters, Green Herbs, ammunition boxes or references to Leon.
She just wants to know:
IS THIS MOVIE ACTUALLY FUN TO WATCH?
And she had a great time.
That told me Resident Evil was succeeding on two levels.
Newcomers get a scary, funny survival-horror ride.
Resident Evil veterans get that same movie PLUS an entire second layer of references, game mechanics and visual jokes.
I'm watching Bryan run for his life.
But I'm ALSO staring behind Bryan wondering:
THE WWLTP SCORECARD
THE BEST RESIDENT EVIL MOVIE TO DATE
For me, this is it.
Resident Evil finally gave me something that didn't just carry the Resident Evil name.
It gave me the FEELING of Resident Evil.
I laughed. I jumped. I searched the background. I caught Easter eggs. I probably missed some.
And when the credits rolled, I wanted to start talking about everything I had just seen.
That's what a video-game movie should do.
93 JOYSTICKS.
RESIDENT EVIL IS ALIVE.
RESIDENT EVIL IS SCARY AGAIN.
AND WWLTP IS HERE FOR IT.