The Resident Evil games helped to define the horror genre of gaming and set off a phenomenon of zombie-inspired releases. Many people credit The Walking Dead with the last decade or two’s obsession with the undead, but in many ways, it was Capcom’s first Resident Evil release that set off the craze.
In light of this, Hollywood has attempted numerous live-action adaptations over the years. More than a dozen Resident Evil games are floating around the gaming world, with several boasting stellar storylines, villains, and heroes. Despite this, it seems impossible to track down a genuine Resident Evil adaptation. While several films and series have included beloved characters from the hit games, they are typically unrecognizable by the time they hit the screen.
Characters like Chris Redfield, Albert Wesker, and Jill Valentine have all cropped up in various Resident Evil adaptations, but they tend to be vastly overshadowed by random, made-up additions that have no connection to the games. The stories rarely stay true-to-form, instead choosing to massively alter the source material to suit a different narrative. While this can work if done well, the Resident Evil live-action releases have missed the mark.
It leaves fans of the games with endless terrible adaptations and no true-to-origins projects to enjoy. The story of Resident Evil has already been told in game form, so why does it seem so hard to get a proper, genuine recreation?
Why can’t we just adapt the Resident Evil games?
For years now, fans of the Resident Evil games have screamed the same question into the void, and we’ve never truly gotten a proper explanation. Why? For the glory of all that is holy, why can’t we just get a solid Resident Evil adaptation that’s actually based on the games?
A few half-explanations have attempted to shed light on the situation after hordes of gamers flooded the internet with questions. Many directors are looking to do something new rather than recreate the magic of an already-established storyline, and thus attempt to put their own spin on existing material.
Other claims that executives wanted the films to avoid excessive horror—in a horror franchise—shed further light on the disappointing nature of RE’s many adaptations. It seems that far too few people have faith in the existing material, but their attempts to gloss it up for the big screen perpetually fall short.
As proof that the franchise will never be properly adapted, fans cling to reports that George A. Romero once attempted to create his own Resident Evil flick. A Romero-helmed horror film sounds like exactly what fans are looking for, but the screenplay he penned back in the late ’90s never got off the ground. It was apparently “too zombie-ish,” according to one passionate Quora user, which feels like a Resident Evil adaptation was never meant to be.
Ultimately, it seems like the primary reason behind the lack of a genuine Resident Evil adaptation is lack of faith. The money behind these blockbuster creations feel that attractive people plus zombies should be enough to make a good movie, but fans of the franchise disagree. We’d love to see the flawed, intriguing, and horror-driven stories we’ve come to love adapted for television or the big screen, but at this point that seems like a futile hope. I guess we’ll have to cross our fingers that HBO Max’s The Last of Us does a much better job.
