10 Infectious Facts About “Resident Evil”

Jay Serafino and Mental_Floss present 10 Infectious Facts About Resident Evil.  Here are three of my favorites…

1. GEORGE ROMERO WAS ORIGINALLY TAPPED TO WRITE AND DIRECT.
George Romero basically created the zombie movie genre with 1968’s Night of the Living Dead, and his signature undead style had a huge influence on the original Resident Evil video game series. So the decision to bring him on to write and direct the first movie was a virtual no-brainer. Video game studio Capcom and Sony came to an agreement with the horror legend in 1998 to bring the film to life, and despite not being familiar with the game series (he researched by watching someone else play the games), Romero wrote a script that closely followed the events of the first Resident Evil title.

Despite early enthusiasm from everyone involved, Romero’s script treatment was eventually rejected and he was fired. “Romero’s script wasn’t good, so Romero was fired,” Capcom producer Yoshiki Okamoto tersely said of the ordeal. That’s not to say Romero never directed anything Resident Evil-related. Before the movie fell through, he was at the helm of a live-action commercial for the Resident Evil 2 video game that only aired in Japan. (You can watch it above.)

6. ALICE NEVER APPEARS IN THE VIDEO GAMES…
Milla Jovovich has been one of the most visible action movie heroines over the past 15 years, but her Resident Evil movie character, Alice, never even shows up in a single Resident Evil video game. Anderson reasoned that the role of Alice helped people enjoy the movie even if they never played the games.

“There’s the hardcore fans, who know everything about the video game and about the world and then there’s the more general audience, who you also need to come and see the movie, who don’t know anything about the world,” Anderson told The Hollywood Reporter. “I think sometimes they feel a little excluded because they go, ‘Oh this is not for me.’ Milla really became the avatar for that audience.”

7. ALICE’S NAME IS NEVER SPOKEN THROUGHOUT THE MOVIE.
Seriously, watch the first movie again. Milla Jovovich is never referred to as “Alice”; you’d only know her name by staying and watching the closing credits. This was intentional, as Anderson didn’t even want Alice to know who she was in the first movie.

“What I provided her with in the first movie, was like a blank slate,” the director told Thrillist. “She wakes up in the first movie, she has no memory. She has no concept of who she is and how she feels about things. While you’re watching as an audience member, you’re watching a character being constructed in front of your eyes.”