Capcom’s legendary survival horror video game series, Resident Evil (1996-2026) had plenty of cinematic adaptations. Starting from 2002, Paul WS Anderson’s first crack at the franchise, revised the zombie genre for a new generation even if he avoided doing a direct translation of the first game. Although critics have slammed most (if not all) of Anderson’s adaptations initially, time has been kind to them due to their shameless b-movie approach, diverse casting, strong female characters, stylish visuals, and Milla Jovovich’s on-screen charisma as Alice, a brand new character who sidelined fan favorites such as Jill Valentine and Leon S. Kennedy. The audience seemed invested in keeping coming back for more resulting in a whopping $1.2 billion dollars worldwide across six films. Half a decade after The Final Chapter (2016) was released to commercial success, Johannes Roberts sought to compile both Resident Evil 1 (1996) and 2 (1998) into one movie (Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)) with disastrous results and a low budget until Zach Cregger (Weapons (2025)) in 2026 took the Anderson route by having a story set within Resident Evil 2. But which one is the best and which one can cure insomnia? Grab your zombie gear and let’s go!
Budget and Box Office
Most successful entry
Resident Evil (2026): 320 million dollars worldwide
Most expensive entry
Resident Evil (2026): $75 million dollars
Highest score in Rotten Tomatoes
Resident Evil (2026): 96%
Lowest score in Rotten Tomatoes
Apocalypse (2004): 19%
Highest IMDB score
Resident Evil (2026): 7.6
Lowest IMDB score
Welcome to Raccoon City (2021): 5.2
Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB
Monsters: Zombies, zombie dogs, lickers, Nemesis, zombie crows, super zombies, tyrant, las plagas zombies, las plagas dogs, Axeman, bloodshot, human tumbleweed, sewer man, puker, spider baby
Antagonists: Red Queen, Alexander Isaacs, Major Timothy Cain, Albert Wesker, Jill Valentine, Lisa Trevor, William Birkin, Umbrella mercenaries
Directors: Paul WS Anderson, Alexander Witt, Russell Malcahy
Cities: Raccoon City (fictional), Washington DC, Las Vegas, Tokyo, Los Angeles
Landmarks: Las Vegas strip, Capitol building, White House, Red Square, Times Square, Shibuya crossing
8. Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)
Five years after The Final Chapter, the hype around Welcome to Raccoon City designated it as a step towards a more faithful adaptation of the long-running video game series. Director-writer Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down (2017)) promised a horror approach with emphasis on survival away from Anderson’s dizzying (and non-sensical) action shenanigans. Yet this new reboot is plagued by an obviously low budget, subpar special and make up effects, terrible acting, abysmal writing, and horrendous cinematography. Most importantly, changes on the zombie look and behavior result deminish the scare factor while the actors look nothing like their video game counterparts, particularly Jill Valentine and Leon S. Kennedy who suffers from a severe character assassination. Despite Roberts attempting to cram so much lore within 100 minutes, the pace is a drag and key moments from the games are recreated with the convintion of a toddler solving thermonuclear formulas.
Faithfulness:
🕹️
Direction:
🎬
Horror:
😵😵
Zombies:
🧟
Monsters:
👹👹
Action:
⚔️⚔️
Best moment: The marketing campaign. The film is a travesty of epic proportions.
7. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016)
The Final Chapter manages to deliver an appropriate send off for Alice’s story by tying everything together as best as it can. However, its editing (i.e., Doobie White) might be one of the worst in recent years rendering Milla’s commitment and effort to perform her physically demanding action scenes pointless. Anderson abandons his previously stylized approach to favor earthly and autumnal desaturated colors and hyperkinetic framing that prevents the audience from understanding action geography. Any sense of suspense and horror has been replaced by ADHD camera movements in a film rushing towards the finishing line for no clear reason. There are some scarce moments of inspiration (e.g., a fight on top of a tank that is pursued by undead hordes) but the swift resolution to pretty much everything along with an expendable cast (Wesker was done dirty) makes The Final Chapter a remarkably underwhelming experience.
Faithfulness:
🕹️
Direction:
🎬
Horror:
😵
Zombies:
🧟🧟🧟
Monsters:
👹👹👹
Action:
⚔️⚔️⚔️
Best moment: A fan-tastic meeting between Ruby Rose and a gigantic metal fan.
6. Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
Following the unexpected success of the first movie, a bigger sequel was inevitable. Apocalypse takes many elements from Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999) aiming to raise up the dramatic stakes with a larger variety of monsters in a short period of time. The increased budget and the intriguing setting of a zombie-infested city though cannot save Apocalypse from the now outdated Paul Greengrass editing style, the banal direction of second unit helmer Alexander Witt, the PG-13-zation of the proceedings, and the parade of stock characters. Nevertheless, there is a strangely appealing schlocky charm to it; from the Matrix (1999) like stand offs with Nemesis and explosions at every turn to the cheesy climax with a by-the-numbers corpo villain, Apocalypse desires to punch above its weight (unsuccessfully). Milla, on the other hand, is more confident handling her material with ease while Sienna Guillory is perfect as Jill Valentine.
Faithfulness:
🕹️🕹️
Direction:
🎬
Horror:
😵
Zombies:
🧟
Monsters:
👹👹
Action:
⚔️⚔️
Best moment: Alice’s first fight with Nemesis has the tacky charm of a B-movie.
5. Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)
By the third entry, Resident Evil had started incorporating intriguing (but unexplored) plot elements even if it does not actually propel (or satisfy) the cliffhangers from the previous movies. Aussie Russell Mulcahy (Highlander (1986)) lends this threequel a distinct visual style and an interesting background to explore the various zombie skirmishes. The R-rating is back with Anderson’s script taking cues from the (then) Mad Max (1979-1985) trilogy adding an expanded cast and a crisp cinematography. Mulcahy shoots the straightforward story well delivering some cool moments (zombie crows! Tyrants!) while Milla continues to look gorgeous as Alice; a joy at this point to watch her dispatch zombies in creative ways. Iain Glen does feel a bit hammy as the Machiavellian scientist but that is all part of the film’s B-movie roots. The soundtrack is solid too composed this time by Charlie Clouser (Nine Inch Nails).
Faithfulness:
🕹️
Direction:
🎬🎬🎬
Horror:
😵😵
Zombies:
🧟🧟🧟
Monsters:
👹👹
Action:
⚔️⚔️⚔️
Best moment: An attack from infected crows makes for a surprisingly dynamic sequence.
4. Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)
Retribution is probably the wackiest of the series simply because it has the most elaborate and stylized set pieces. Anderson is back at the director’s chair after the hugely successful Afterlife conjuring elaborately monster fights with a complementary hi-tech and more expansive production design that blends together random elements (The Red Queen!, Umbrella Corporation! Clones!). A car chase in Moscow’s Red Square is a delight while a corridor shoot’em’up has Milla aiming for headshots in exquisite choreography before John Wick did his thing in 2014. Yet all the trademarks of Anderson’s shortcomings as a screenwriter are in abudance here - weak characters, incomprehensible plot, mediocre acting, and a total lack of emotional depth. Still, it is hard not to root for Retribution with its futuristic cinematography, OTT action sequences, a charismatic lead and one of the most original opening credits sequences in cinema history.
Faithfulness:
🕹️
Direction:
🎬🎬🎬
Horror:
😵
Zombies:
🧟
Monsters:
👹👹👹
Action:
⚔️⚔️⚔️
Best moment: The inventive opening credits.
3. Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)
Afterlife is stitched together with tiny threads of plot with Anderson struggling to find a compelling reason for his characters to do what they do. Yet, Afterlife oozes universal dread due to the use of real locations and some truly wonderful shots across Los Angeles, Tokyo, and the Alaskan wilderness. The operatic slow motion opening credits of at Tokyo’s busy Shibuya crossing puts the audience in the middle of action with Tomadandy’s industrial score blasting from the speakers while Alice’s attack at the Umbrella’s headquarters is a glorious excuse for gratuitous violence and 3D-style. Anderson inserts here fan favorite supervillain Albert Wesker to complicate matters for Jovovich’s Alice and the Redfield siblings although none have much to do besides shooting stuff or spouting standard lines of exposition (especially Chris). While this fourth entry lacks substance, it makes up for it with its gonzo style and Milla who is still the main attraction for almost a decade.
Faithfulness:
🕹️🕹️
Direction:
🎬🎬🎬🎬
Horror:
😵
Zombies:
🧟🧟
Monsters:
👹👹👹
Action:
⚔️⚔️⚔️
Best moment: Gorgeous and hyper-stylized opening credits with Tomandandy’s pulse pounding score.
2. Resident Evil (2026)
Zach Cregger’s take on the Resident Evil mythos pretty much follows the same route of Anderson. Cregger decides to present a Resident Evil tale from the perspective of an innocent bystander. Enter Austin Abrams’ courier who has to transport a medical box all the way to Raccoon City deep in the snowy Colorado mountains. Since our hero is not a badass, Cregger’s choice heightens the tension when things go to hell. The director creates some visually arresting sequences assisted by the vibrant and deliciously hyper-saturated cinematography of Dariusz Wolski (The Crow (1994)) and amps up the gore significantly more than Anderson’s all six outputs combined. With John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) in mind both in the film’s monster presentation and the use of Holladay brothers’ score, Cregger hits more than he misses. Although its rushed ending and non-stop humor undercut the tension with one too many on-the-nose one liners, it is a gross and exciting rollercoaster ride.
Faithfulness:
🕹️🕹️
Direction:
🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬
Horror:
😵😵😵😵
Zombies:
🧟🧟
Monsters:
👹👹👹👹👹
Action:
⚔️
Best moment: A sequence inside a country house is by far the best thing in the whole movie.
1. Resident Evil (2002)
The first Resident Evil is still the best. Anderson takes his time to get to the action biding his time to create a superb atmosphere of techno-dread. Away from the overblown spectacles of the sequels, the film is focused with brilliant framing and camerawork that capture perfectly a feeling of claustrophobia and the sense of inevitability. It does help that in a stroke of genius, Anderson brought together Marco Beltrami and Marilyn Manson to compose an unnerving and unique score around some pretty solid jump scares. The opening sequence with the Red Queen shutting down the hive is a masterclass in tension while the corridor laser stand off has now become iconic. Serving as a metaphor for the ethical boundaries that mega corporations cross every day, Resident Evil works on a variety of levels because it does not try too hard. The cast is genuinely involved with the material while a young Milla Jovovich will explode to the action heroine status that she has obtained today.
Faithfulness:
🕹️🕹️🕹️
Direction:
🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬
Horror:
😵😵😵
Zombies:
🧟🧟
Monsters:
👹👹👹
Action:
⚔️⚔️⚔️
Best moment: The laser gets activated and things don’t go as planned.